Shaolin

This article is about the Shaolin temple(s). For the Shaolin style of martial arts, see Shaolin (martial arts)

Main gate of the Shaolin temple in Henan.

The Shaolin temple (}}}; }}}; literally "Young Forest Temple") is a Chinese Buddhist monastery famed for its long association with Chán (Japanese: Zen) Buddhism and martial arts, and is perhaps the Buddhist monastery best known in the West.

According to the Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks (645 AD) by Daoxuan, the original Shaolin monastery was built on the north side of the Shaoshi peak of Mount Song, one of the Sacred Mountains of China, by Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty for the monk Batuo, who for thirty years preached Nikaya Buddhism in China. Yang Xuanzhi, in the Record of the Buddhist Monasteries of Luoyang (547 AD), and Li Xian, in the Ming Yitongzhi (1461 AD), concur with Daxuan's location and attribution. The Jiaqing Chongxiu Yitongzhi (1843 AD) specifies that this monastery, located in the province of Henan, was built in the 20th year of the Tàihé era of the Northern Wei Dynasty (i.e. 497 AD). The monastery has since been destroyed and rebuilt several times, remaining one of China's oldest Buddhist temples.

Perhaps the most famous name associated with Shaolin is that of Bodhidharma or, in Mandarin, Damo. He is said to have been either a Persian or South Indian monk who travelled to China in the 5th or 6th century to teach Buddhism. Bodhidharma's ministry at Shaolin formed the basis for what would later be called the Zen or, in China, Chán (both terms derive from the Sanskrit term Dhyana, which means meditation) school of Buddhism. After entering Shaolin, legend states that Bodhidharma found the monks out of shape from lives spent meditating and they often fell asleep during meditation. The story relates that Bodhidharma meditated facing a wall in a nearby cave for nine years. After that time, he introduced a regimen of exercises sometimes thought to have been the 18 hands of lohan or the damo muscle changing classic. Eventually these movements gave rise to martial arts. Traditionally, the Shaolin monks developed their martial arts expertise as a defense against aggressors' attacks, as a means to promote health, and as a mental and physical discipline.

The codification of martial arts by monks most likely began with military personnel who retired to monasteries or sought sanctuary there. The monastery was a refuge where, unlike the battlefield, such individuals could exchange expertise and perfect their techniques.

A painting on a wall in the temple.

The temple's military fame began during the early Tang Dynasty (618–907). The Shaolin Monastery Stele of 728 describes Shaolin fighting monks assisting then-future emperor Li Shimin in his fight against rival Wang Shichong. Once enthroned, the gratified emperor enlarged their compound and gave permission for some monks to continue their military training. Shaolin kung fu reached its peak during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), when several hundred Shaolin monks were given military status and personally led campaigns against rebels and Japanese bandits. By this time, the Shaolin monks had developed their own unique style of martial arts.

Kangxi, the second Qing emperor, was a supporter of the Shaolin temple in Henan and he wrote the calligraphic inscription that, to this day, hangs over the main temple gate.

The original temple survived being sacked and rebuilt many times. Perhaps the most well-known story of the Temple's destruction is that it was destroyed in 1732 by the Qing government for supposed anti-Qing activities; this destruction is also supposed to have helped spread Shaolin martial arts through China by means of fugitive monks. This story commonly appears in martial arts history and in fiction. However, accounts of the Qing Dynasty destroying the Shaolin temple may refer to a southern Shaolin temple, which Xu Ke, in the Qing bai lei chao (1917), located in Fujian Province. Additionally, some martial arts historians, such as Tang Hao and Stanley Henning, believe that the story is likely fictional, appearing only at the very end of the Qing period in novels and sensational literature. In 1928, the warlord Shi Yousan set fire to the monastery, destroying many priceless manuscripts of the temple library, some of its halls, and damaging the aforementioned Stele. The Cultural Revolution purged all monks and Buddhist materials from within its walls, leaving the temple barren for years. It was subsequently rebuilt, repopulated and designated an official tourist site by the Chinese government after the overwhelming success of the Jet Li movie Shaolin Temple in 1982. Martial arts groups from all over the world have made donations for the upkeep of the temple and grounds, and are subsequently honored with carved stones near the entrance of the temple.

One of the few Westerners to have studied martial arts at the temple, as opposed to nearby privately-run schools, is American author Antonio Graceffo, who used his experiences there as the basis for his book The Monk From Brooklyn: An American at the Shaolin Temple.[link]

A Dharma gathering was held between August 19 and 20, 1999, in the Shaolin Monastery, Songshan, China, for Buddhist Master Shi Yong Xin to take office as abbot. He is the thirteenth successor after Buddhist abbot Xue Ting Fu Yu. In March 2006 President Putin of Russia became the first foreign leader to visit the monastery.

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Shaolin

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