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The Shao-lin Temples of Asia

Ever since I was a little kid I’ve always been astounded by what miraculous things have come from Asia. Everything from the

Great Wall of China to the numerous civilizations that originated in this epic continent, all amaze me. One thing in particular that has always sparked my interest is the Shao-lin Temples of China and the wonderful aspects of Chinese culture that have arisen from them. The way the monks at Shao-lin temples lived lives totally devoted to spiritual enlightenment and the pursuit of a peaceful life through Buddhism and a monastic life. Also, how if their way of life was ever threatened by invaders or bandits how they were able to defend themselves using kung fu that originated in their temples. These two aspects being interrelated with one another because if it were not for the practicing of Buddhism and its development by the monks, Shao-lin kung fu would not have come to be. The combination of these two aspects, body and mind, made the Shao-lin monks great thinkers and warriors, and allowed them to teach and spread such aspects throughout China’s culture.

When looking for sources on such a topic I naturally went to the Internet first. Not only is it a quick and easy way to find sources of information, it also gives people a broad selection of sources. One of the main websites that I used in this paper is (www.ozemail.com) which gave me several points on the history of Shao-lin temples, the origins of Buddhism and how it came to the Shao-lin temples, and the development of Shao-lin kung fu. The format for my paper is to first give a history on when, where, and how each Shao-lin temple came to be, how Buddhism came to be the guiding religion in Shao-lin temples and its history, and when, how, and why Shao-lin kung fu was developed. For the history of the Shao-lin temples I used
(source-Master Robert Z, Liang-I
Shaolin Kungfu Australia)
numerous websites including (www.webcom.com/shaolin/temple.html) and (www.kungfu.org/templehistory.shtml) which both gave me information on when each Shao-lin temple was started, where they were located in China, and descriptions of each individual temple. For the origins of Buddhism and how it came to the Shao-lin temples I went to the book Buddhism: its origin and spread which I found in the Meriam library. I also used several bits and pieces of information that I found in the various websites I used for the rest of my paper. For the last part about Shao-lin kung fu I used the website (www.kungfu-wusu.com/cmp/shaolin.html),

the above websites, and the book Kung Fu: history, philosophy, and technique also found in the Meriam library. All of these sources, along with some personal knowledge on the subject, were used in order to trace back the original development of Shao-lin kung fu, how it was apart of the monks’ lives, and what its purpose was. Even though Buddhism and Kung Fu seem to be total opposites from each other, through my research I found out that they are very much inter-linked with each other.
When people think of the Shao-lin temple most people only think there is one central temple in China. This is far from the truth because in China there were, at one time, five major temples spread throughout central China. However, these temples were not active at the same times do to war and destroying of temples. The five temple names were the Honan, Fukien, Kwangtung, Wutang, and O mei shan temples.

The Temples The Honan temple was built during the Wei dynasty, between 386-534 A.D., under command of Emperor Hsiao Wen.(www.kungfu-wusu.com) This temple was located in Loyang and was best known for its translations of Buddhist script into
(source-lauga9.freeserve.co.uk/page6.html)
Chinese. Also, the most senior of the Shao-lin order monks lived at this temple. This temple had to be restored by the Chinese government in the 1970’s because it was destroyed during the Boxer Rebellion of 1901. Since its restoration by the Chinese government it became a touristsite or historical town where all of the people working there are actors that portray themselves as Shao-lin monks. (www.webcom.com/shaolin/temple) The Honan temple is also known for the story of Bodhidharma and his influences there, which I will discuss later in the paper.
Next in the Shao-lin temple order was the Fukien temple that was built just after the Honan temple, which was around 650 A.D. This temple was much larger than the Honan temple and served as a refuge for the Honan temple when it was destroyed. However, this temple was also burned down during the Boxer Rebellion,

but was rediscovered in the early 1980’s. (www.webcom.com/shaolin/temple) Not much else is known about this temple since its ruins were only so recently rediscovered.
One of the older temples was the Wutang temple that was built around 800 A.D. in a
politically unstable area of the Wutang province, close to Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula. This temple had to defend itself against several surrounding armies and was often besieged because of its political views on temporal concerns.(www.webcom.com/shaolin/temple)
After the Wutang temple came the O mei shan temple that was built around 1500 A.D. which was located in a very hard to reach area of the Szechuan province. Its name literally means “Great White Mountain” and it was a major library and medical center for the Shao-lin order. This temple had been used as target practice by armies of Shang Kai Shek and Mao Tze Tung, but was restored in the early 1970’s. In the present, it is a conservation service headquarters for the bamboo forests of Szechuan and a research center for pandas. (www.webcom.com/shaolin/temple)
(source-Master Robert Z, Liang-
I Shaolin Kungfu Australia)
The most recently built of the five temples was the Kwangtung temple, which was built in the 1700’s in a mountainous area near Shanghai. This temple was very close to the Fukien temple, about 150 miles, and like Fukien was also destroyed during the civil warring following the Boxer Rebellion.(www.webcom.com/shaolin/temple) It is obvious to see that the Boxer Rebellion had some impact either directly or indirectly with each Shao-lin temple and how long it was established for.

Buddhism and Bodhidharma Buddhism was not taken in with open hands by the Chinese government when it was first introduced to the early Chinese empires. Just as the Chinese government and empires had a problem with the Shao-lin temples and the whole idea of an asocial body existing within a state, Buddhism was something that would just encourage this kind of monastic ideal. That is why it was so greatly accepted by the Shao-lin order because it reinforced their ideals of a monastic life within the body of an authoritative Chinese state. However, in order for Buddhism to be even remotely accepted by the Chinese government and society it had to adapt into a Chinese form of characteristic and distinctive Buddhism.(Buddhism:its origins and spread) After Buddhism was accepted by the Chinese government and society it spread throughout Central Asia down to Southeast Asia.
The best known of stories of how Buddhism came to the Shao-lin temples is the story of Bodhidharma and his journey to

Central Asia to spread the Buddhist faith. Around 525 A.D. Bodhidharma, a holy man from Southern India, left his monastery to travel to Central Asia in order to spread the Buddhist faith. After traveling hundreds of miles, crossing the Himalayas, and crossing the Yangtze River he arrived in the Honan Province. There in Loyang he found the Shao-lin temple of Honan near a forest. He knew this temple was famous for translating the Buddhist script into Chinese and he wished to enter and teach the monks more. However, he was denied entrance by the monks, so to prove his faith to the monks he went into a near by cave and meditated for nine years straight. Supposedly, after those nine years his piercing eyes had drilled a hole through the cavern walls looking directly at the temple. This was a true sign of faith and the monks could no longer deny him entrance into the temple. Bodhidharma’s influence was so great on the monks and their Buddhist ways that he became the first Tzu (patriarch) for this sect in China.

Introduction of Kung Fu After Bodhidharma was allowed entrance into the Honan temple and started to teach the monks Buddhism and meditation, he noticed something. He noticed that the monks at the temple were unable to perform his intense meditation exercises and that some monks were even falling asleep during meditation. To compensate for this lack of energy and concentration Bodhidharma developed a series of hand and breathing meditations that would keep the monks from falling asleep. These movements were later named “The Eighteen Lo Han Shou” or the eighteen hand movements of the enlightened one, which became the basis for what is known today as Shao-lin kung fu. Not only did these movements help keep the monks fit for meditation, they also were used as a system of self-defense when the temples were raided by invaders or bandits.(Kung Fu:history, philosophy, and technique) However, you have to understand that martial arts training was not the main focus of life for Shao-lin monks, but instead that it was a last resort of self-defense. The monks lived monastic lives devoted to the seeking of spiritual enlightenment and peace, and those martial arts were just like a P.E. class for the monks.

Also, that monks were not forced to learn martial arts and that they were still considered Shao-lin monks even if they did not study kung fu. (www.kungfu.org/templehistory) Also acknowledge that there were several different types of kung fu that branched off of the original teachings of Bodhidharma, and that each temple had its own styles of kung fu.
The Honan temple was devoted to the styles of the five animals that Bodhidharma developed his movements from, mainly the dragon, snake, tiger, crane, and leopard. This style is known as the five
(source-www.users.tware.net)
animal fist and was the basis for many other animal styles that were invented by later monks and fighters.(www.webcom.com/shaolin/temple)
In the Fukien temple the main animal styles were that of the praying mantis, snake, and dragon, as well as Wing Chun.(www.webcom.com/shaolin/temple)
The Kwangtung temple was known for its dragon style and Choy Li Fut style, which were two styles that were originated in one area and developed by others. (www.webcom.com/shaolin/temple)
There are hundreds of styles of kung fu and almost all of them were influenced by the styles developed at the Shao-lin temples those thousand or more years ago. I have personally taken some kung fu lessons in the past and can say that I enjoy and respect kung fu and its teaching. Some day I would like to tour or even go to train at one of the still existing Shao-lin temples, so that I could learn even more about this art.

Conclusion Through all that I have learned from researching for this paper I can honestly say that Asia has vast sources of culture all throughout its continent. The things that have existed and come out of this large land have influenced so many other cultures that it is no wonder how magnificent Asia really is. Even the two topics that I just barely touched on, Buddhism and the Shao-lin temples, had so much information on them that I could have searched forever. Everything about the cultures of Asia intrigues me to learn more about it, but there is so much information that it would be literally impossible. A vast amount of information is available to all of us, yet we cannot learn all of it in a lifetime. These two topics alone would keep someone busy for decades with all of the information available and I hope to personally learn more in my lifetime. Hopefully, someday I will get the opportunity to visit some of these places that I have researched in this paper, but until that day I will keep learning as much about them as I can.

References Zurcher, Dr. E.
1962 Buddhism:its origin and spread Routledge & Kegan Paul, London
Chow, David & Spangler, Richard
1977 Kung Fu:history, philosophy, and technique Doubleday & Company, Inc. N.Y.
Lee, Alan
History of Shaolin (www.kungfu-wusu.com/cmp/shaolin.html)
Unknown
Shao-lin Kung Fu History (www.iq.com.au/~kfmaster/history.htm)
Unknown
History of the Shao-lin Temple (www.kungfu.org/templehistory.shtml)
Unknown
Temples:Description of the Temples (www.webcom.com/shaolin/temple.html)