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Chan Buddhist temple in Dengfeng county, Henan, China
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Shaolin Monastery (少林寺; shàolín-sì), also known as Shaolin Temple, is a Mahayana Buddhist monastic institution recognized as the birthplace of Chan Buddhism and the cradle of Shaolin kung fu. It is located at the foot of Wuru Peak of the Mount Song mountain range in Dengfeng, Zhengzhou prefecture, in Henan, China. The name reflects its location in the ancient grove (林; lín) of Mount Shaoshi, in the hinterland of the Mount Song range.
Mount Song occupied a prominent position among Chinese sacred mountains as early as the 1st century BC, when it was proclaimed one of the Five Holy Peaks. It is located some 48 km (30 mi) southeast of Luoyang, the former capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386–534), and 72 km (45 mi) southwest of Zhengzhou, the modern capital of Henan Province.
The first Shaolin abbot, Batuo, devoted himself to translating Buddhist texts and preaching doctrines to hundreds of his followers. According to legend, Bodhidharma, the 28th patriarch of Mahayana Buddhism, arrived at the Shaolin Temple in 527 from India. He spent nine years meditating in a cave of the Wuru Peak and initiated the Chan tradition at the Shaolin Temple. Thereafter, Bodhidharma was honored as the first patriarch of Chan Buddhism.
The Temple's historical architectural complex, known for its great aesthetic value and profound cultural connotations, has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Apart from its contributions to the development of Chinese Buddhism and to its historical, cultural, and artistic heritage, the temple is famous for its martial arts tradition. Shaolin monks have been devoted to research, creation, and continuous development and perfecting of Shaolin kung fu.
The main pillars of Shaolin culture are Chan Buddhism (禅; 禪; chán), martial arts (武; wǔ), Buddhist art (艺; 藝; yì), and traditional Chinese medicine (医; 醫; yī). This cultural heritage, still constituting the daily temple life, is representative of Chinese culture. A large number of prominent people, eminent monks, Buddhist disciples, and many others visit the temple for pilgrimage and cultural exchanges. In addition, owing to the work of official Shaolin overseas cultural centers and foreign disciples, Shaolin culture has spread around the world as a distinctive symbol of Chinese culture and a means of foreign cultural exchange.
Batuo, also referred to in the Chinese sources as Fotuo and in Sanskrit as Buddhabhadra, had enjoyed the sponsorship of the Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei since arriving in Pingcheng via the Silk Road, around the year 490. Yang Xuanzhi, in the Record of the Buddhist Monasteries of Luoyang (AD 547), and Li Xian, in the Ming Yitongzhi (1461), concur with Daoxuan's location and attribution. The Jiaqing Chongxiu Yitongzhi (1843) specifies that this monastery, located in the province of Henan, was built in the twentieth year of the Taihe era of the Northern Wei dynasty, that is, the monastery was built in AD 495.
Thanks to Batuo, Shaolin became an important center for the study and translation of original Buddhist scriptures. It also became a place of gathering for esteemed Buddhist masters. Historical sources on the early origins of Shaolin kung fu show that at this time, martial arts practice existed in the temple. Batuo's teaching was continued by his two disciples, Sengchou (僧稠; sēngchóu, 480–560) and Huiguang (慧光; huìguāng, 487–536).
In the first year of the Yongping era (506), the Indian monks Ratnamati (勒那摩提; Lenamoti) and Bodhiruci (菩提流支; Putiliuzhi) came to Shaolin to set up a scripture translation hall. Together with Huiguang, they translated master Vasubandhu's (世親; Shìqīn) commentary on the Ten Stages Sutra, an early and influential Mahayana Buddhist scripture. After that, Huiguang promoted the Vinaya in Four Parts (四分律; sì fēn lǜ; Sanskrit: Dharmagupta-Vinaya), which formed the theoretical basis of the Luzong (律宗; lǜzōng) School of Buddhism, formed during the Tang dynasty by Daoxuan (596–667).
In the third year of the Xiaochang era (527) of Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei, Bodhidharma, the 28th patriarch of Mahayana Buddhism in India, came to the Shaolin Temple. The Indian arrived as a Chan Buddhist missionary and traveled for decades throughout China before settling on Mount Song in the 520s. Bodhidharma's teachings were primarily based on the Lankavatara Sutra, which contains the conversation between Gautama Buddha and Bodhisattva Mahamatti, who is considered the first patriarch of the Chan tradition.
Using the teachings of Batuo and his disciples as a foundation, Bodhidharma introduced Chan Buddhism, and the Shaolin Temple community gradually grew to become the center of Chinese Chan Buddhism. Bodhidharma's teaching was transmitted to his disciple Huike, who, the legend says, cut off his arm to show his determination and devotion to the teachings of his master. Huike was forced to leave the temple during the persecution of Buddhism and Daoism (574–580) by Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou. In 580, Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou restored the temple and renamed it Zhi'ao Temple (陟岵寺; zhìhù sì).
The idea that Bodhidharma founded martial arts at the Shaolin Temple was spread in the 20th century. However, martial arts historians have shown this legend stems from a 17th-century qigong manual known as the Yijin Jing. The oldest available copy was published in 1827. The composition of the text itself has been dated to 1624. Even then, the association of Bodhidharma with martial arts only became widespread as a result of the 1904–1907 serialization of the novel The Travels of Lao Ts'an in Illustrated Fiction Magazine:
One of the most recently invented and familiar of the Shaolin historical narratives is a story that claims that the Indian monk Bodhidharma, the supposed founder of Chinese Chan (Zen) Buddhism, introduced boxing into the monastery as a form of exercise around a.d. 525. This story first appeared in a popular novel, The Travels of Lao T'san, published as a series in a literary magazine in 1907. This story was quickly picked up by others and spread rapidly through publication in a popular contemporary boxing manual, Secrets of Shaolin Boxing Methods, and the first Chinese physical culture history published in 1919. As a result, it has enjoyed vast oral circulation and is one of the most "sacred" of the narratives shared within Chinese and Chinese-derived martial arts. That this story is clearly a twentieth-century invention is confirmed by writings going back at least 250 years earlier, which mention both Bodhidharma and martial arts but make no connection between the two.
Other scholars see an earlier connection between Bodhidharma and the Shaolin Monastery. The monk and his disciples are said to have lived at a spot about a mile from the Shaolin Temple that is now a small nunnery. Around AD 547, the Record of the Buddhist Monasteries says Bodhidharma visited the area near Mount Song. In AD 645, The Continuation of the Biographies of Eminent Monks describes him as being active in the Mount Song region. Around AD 710, Bodhidharma is identified specifically with the Shaolin Temple (Precious Record of Dharma's Transmission or Chuanfa Baoji) and writes of his sitting facing a wall in meditation for many years. It also speaks of Huike's many trials in his efforts to receive instruction from Bodhidharma. In 1004, a work embellishes the Bodhidharma legends with great detail. A stele inscription at the Shaolin Monastery dated to 728 AD reveals Bodhidharma residing on Mount Song. Another stele from AD 798 speaks of Huike seeking instruction from Bodhidharma. Another engraving, dated to 1209, depicts the barefoot saint holding a shoe, according to the ancient legend of Bodhidharma. A plethora of 13th- and 14th-century steles feature Bodhidharma in various roles. One 13th-century image shows him riding a fragile stalk across the Yangtze River. In 1125, a special temple was constructed in his honor at the Shaolin Monastery.
Emperor Wen of Sui, who was a Buddhist himself, returned the temple's original name and offered to its community 100 hectares of land. Shaolin thus became a large temple with hundreds of hectares of fertile land and large properties. It was once again the center of Chan Buddhism, with eminent monks from all over China visiting regularly.
At the end of the Sui dynasty, the Shaolin Temple, with its huge monastery properties, became the target of thieves and bandits. The monks organized forces within their community to protect the temple and fight against the intruders. At the beginning of the Tang dynasty, thirteen Shaolin monks helped Li Shimin, the future second emperor of the Tang dynasty, in his fight against Wang Shichong. They captured Shichong's nephew Wang Renze, whose army was stationed in the Cypress Valley. In 626, Li Shimin, later known as Emperor Taizong, sent an official letter of gratitude to the Shaolin community for the help they provided in his fight against Shichong and thus the establishment of the Tang dynasty.
According to legend, Emperor Taizong granted the Shaolin Temple extra land and a special "imperial dispensation" to consume meat and alcohol during the Tang dynasty. If true, this would have made Shaolin the only temple in China that did not prohibit alcohol. Regardless of historical veracity, these rituals are not practiced today. This legend is not corroborated in any period documents, such as the Shaolin Stele, erected in AD 728. The stele does not list any such imperial dispensation as reward for the monks' assistance during the campaign against Wang Shichong; only land and a water mill are granted. The Tang dynasty also established several Shaolin branch monasteries throughout the country and formulated policies for Shaolin monks and soldiers to assist local governments and regular military troops. The Shaolin Temple also became a place where emperors and high officials would come for temporary reclusion. Emperor Gaozong of Tang and Empress Wu Zetian often visited the temple for good luck and made large donations. Empress Wu also paid several visits to the temple to discuss Chan philosophy with high monk Tan Zong. During the Tang and Song dynasties, the Shaolin Temple was extremely prosperous. It had more than 14,000 acres of land, 540 acres of temple grounds, more than 5,000 rooms, and over 2,000 monks. The Chan Buddhist School, founded by Bodhidharma, flourished during the Tang dynasty and was the largest Buddhist school of that time.
Information about the first century of the Northern Song dynasty is scarce. The rulers of Song supported the development of Buddhism, and Chan established itself as dominant over other Buddhist schools. Around 1093, Chan master Baoen (报恩; bào'ēn) promoted the Caodong school in the Shaolin Temple and achieved what is known in Buddhist history as "revolutionary turn into Chan". This meant that the Shaolin Temple officially became a Chan Buddhist Temple, while up to that point it was a Lǜzōng temple specialized in Vinaya, with a Chan Hall.
At the beginning of the Yuan dynasty, Emperor Shizu of Yuan installed the monk Xueting Fuyu (1203–1275) as the abbot of Shaolin and put him in charge of all the temples in the Mount Song area. During this period, the abbot undertook important construction work, including the building of the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower. He also introduced the generational lineage system of the Shaolin disciples through a 70-character poem—each character in line corresponding to the name of the next generation of disciples. In 1260, Fuyu was honored with the title of the Divine Buddhist Master, and in 1312, posthumously named Duke of Jin (晉國公; jìn guó gōng) by the Yuan emperor.
The fall of the Yuan dynasty and the establishment of the Ming dynasty brought much unrest, in which the temple community needed to defend itself from rebels and bandits. During the Red Turban Rebellion in the 14th century, bandits ransacked the monastery for its real or supposed valuables, destroying much of the temple and driving the monks away. The monastery was likely abandoned from 1351 or 1356 (the most likely dates for the attack) to at least 1359, when government troops retook Henan. The events of this period would later figure heavily in 16th-century legends of the temple's patron saint Vajrapani, with the story being changed to claim a victory for the monks, rather than a defeat.
With the establishment of the Ming dynasty in the mid-14th century, Shaolin recovered, and a large part of the monastic community that had fled during the Red Turban attacks returned. At the beginning of the Ming dynasty, the government did not advocate martial arts. During the reign of the Jiajing Emperor, Japanese pirates harassed China's coastal areas, and generals Yu Dayou and Qi Jiguang led their troops against the pirates. During his stay in Fujian, Qi Jiguang convened martial artists from all over China, including local Shaolin monks, to develop a set of boxing and staff fighting techniques to be used against Japanese pirates. Owing to the monks' merits in fighting against the Japanese, the government renovated the temple on a large scale, and Shaolin enjoyed certain privileges, such as food tax exemption, granted by the government. Afterward, Shaolin monks were recruited by the Ming government at least six times to participate in wars. Due to their contribution to Chinese military success, the imperial court built monuments and buildings for the Shaolin Temple on numerous occasions. This also contributed to the establishment of the legitimacy of Shaolin kung fu in the national martial arts community. During the mid-16th century, Shaolin reached its apogee and held its position as the central place of the Caodong School of Chan Buddhism.
In 1641, rebel forces led by Li Zicheng sacked the monastery due to the monks' support of the Ming dynasty and the possible threat they posed to the rebels. This effectively destroyed the temple's fighting force. The temple fell into ruin and was home to only a few monks until the early 18th century, when the government of the Qing dynasty patronized and restored it.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Shaolin Monastery”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.