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Shaolin Temple
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Nestling among the verdant pines and cypresses
at the western foot of Mount
Songshan , Henan Province, one of China's five .sacred mountains
(the other four are Mount Tai in the east, Shandong Province,
Mount Hua in the west, Shanxi Province, Mount Heng in the
south, Hunan Province, and Mount Heng in the north, Shanxi
Province) is Shanlin Temple, a famous ancient monastery
in China. In 495, when Bodhid 'harrna, a Mahayana Buddhist,
left Sri Lanka for China in the 6th century and developed
the Chun (Zen) Sect (a Chinese Buddhist school). At that
time, Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386 534
) ordered the establishment of a magnificent Buddhist temple
( Shaolin Temple ) in honour of Bodhidharma , a knowledgeable
monk who came from India to teach Buddhist scriptures to
the Chinese. According to historical records, the famous
Buddhist arrived in the city of Guangzhou in South China
in 527, several years before going to Mount Songshan. Instead
of touting the Buddhist scriptures at the very beginning,
Bodhidharma spent nine years meditating about philosophical
problems inside a cramped cave close to the top of the mountain.
Facing a large rock at the end of the cave, which was seven
metres long by three metres wide, Bodhidharma meditated
for most of the day as he was so engrossed in Buddhist theories.
Legend claims that sunlight burnt an image on the surface
of the rock in front of him. In order to commemorate a monk
with such unparallel will power, people named the historical
site Bodhidharma's Cave. In order to protect the cave from
demolition, monks moved the valuable stone inside the temple
and occasionally presented it with tributes, because the
rock is one of the treasures of the Shaolin Temple. Another
valuable legacy left by the famous founder of the Chinese
Chan (Zen) Sect is martial arts. It is said that Bodhidharma
was accustomed to doing exercises by imitating a tiger,
monkey, scorpion and mantis during the intervals in his
meditation. Over time the original form of martial arts
came into being. Due to the efforts of the original monks
and those of later generations, the art was constantly improved
and formalized. Practising kungfu (a Chinese style of fighting
without weapons that includes blows with the hands and feet,
related to Karate; a Chinese system of self-defenee resembling
the Japanese system karate ) has become commonplace among
monks since then. He gathered together a large number of
followers to whom he taught the doctrines of Chan Buddhism.
Since that time, Shao[in Temple has become the ancestral
court of the Chan (Zen) Sect of Chinese Buddhism.
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At that time, the elderly disciples of
Bada, Seng Chou and Hui Guang, were skilful in martial arts,
and capable of kicking a shuttlecock back and forth 50 times
on a raised platform by the side of a well, and "walking
on the side of the wall and jumping upon roof beams."
They started the tradition of martial arts at Shaolin Temple.
After his arrival, Dharma advocated sitting absolutely still
in meditation by facing the wall for a long time. In order
to exercise the bodies and strengthen the nerves of the
monks as well as for self-defence, the tendency of practising
martial arts became increasingly popular. At the end of
the Sui Dynasty (581 618), and in the early years of the
Tang Dynasty (618-907), a general of the Sui Dynasty by
the name of Wang Shichong ordered his nephew Wang Renze
to occupy a strategic terrain in the vicinity of Shaolin
Temple and resisted the attack of the Tang army. Emperor
Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty sent his son Li Shimin, Prince
Qin, to attack Wang Renze in order to unite the whole country,
Li Shimin ( 599-649, reigned 626-649 ) led his troops to
capture the city of Luoyang, which was controlled by the
powerful warlord Wang Shichong. Unfortunately, Li's troops
were defeated and the warlord's soldiers caught the prince.
The city of Luoyang was only about 50 kilometres from the
Shaolin Temple so the monks heard the bad news quite soon
(ill news runs apace). Out of deep love towards the wise
prince, the abbot decided to send 13 monks with superb martial
arts to save him from jail. Disguised as ordinary folks,
the monks entered the prison and succeeded in rescuing the
incarcerated (imprisoned) prince. With the help of 500 monks,
the prince's troops conquered the enemy days later. After
Li Shimin ascended the throne years later, he returned to
the temple in a bid to show his gratitude. The emperor praised
the Shaolin Temple, saying it was the top temple in the
country. In addition, he made the 13 monks generals, but
did not succeed for quite some time.
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In the time of danger, Shaolin monks Tanzong
and Zhieao, dissatisfied with the oppression by Wang Renze,
led 13 valiant monks to break into the barracks of the Sui
army. They captured Wang Renze and went over to Li Shlmin,
the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Taking this opportunity,
the Tang army overwhelmed the army of Wang Shichong at one
stroke. This is the well known story of 13 Shaolin monks
rescuing Prince Qin. Afterwards, the fame of the martial
monks of Shaolin Temple was spread far and wide. The martial
arts of Shaolin Temple has developed day by day and attained
high degree of proficiency through tempering during the
Five Dynasties and the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qingdynasties.
The martial arts of Shaolin today include several hundred
varieties, such as Chinese boxing, broadsword, spear, sword,
rod, qigong (a deep breathing exercise), qinggong (light
skill), neigong (internal skill), tongzigong (boy skill),
zhuanggong (skill on stakes), mashanggong (skill on horseback),
and buxiagong (skill on foot). Every kind of skill is practised
to surprisingly high attainments.
Shaolin boxing is characterized by "lifting
up leg as light as feather, kicking as heavy as Mount Taishan;
appearing as delicate as cat and as fierce as tiger; proceeding
like dragon, moving like lightning and roaring like thunder;"
and the difficulty of distinguished attack from defense
and constant change. There is also "figure boxing"
which imitates the actions of birds, beasts, insects and
fish and is designed to take the opponent by surprise.
In addition to 18 kinds of common weapon
such as sword, spear, and lance, the weapons of Shaolin
also include rare weapons as iron fan, iron pen, iron flute,
Shaolin prick, hand helmet and spearhead, used to take the
opponent by surprise too.
The internal qigong of Shaolln can cultivate
the heart and nature, and the external qigo,g (hard qigong
) can help strengthen one's health and self- defense. Iron-sand
palm, breaking stones with the top of head, iron cloth shirt
and steel belly are all types of hard qlgong.
The Shaolin's tongzigong, once mastered,
can make every part of the body as .soft as cotton, as light
as a swallow and as hard as steel. Sbaolin plum- blossom
stakes, each over two metres high, are used for practising
skill on them. The skill of "heart-and-mind stake"
is a combination of breathing and force. The hollows on
the ground inside the Thousand-Buddha Hall of Shaolin Temple
have been formed by monks' practising skill.
Usually, the martial arts of Shaolin is
kept secret and not to be passed on to outsiders. The practice
of the skills is also not to be made public. Their genuine
skill (kungfu) is accomplished through ten or scores of
years of hard practice. Their skill is indeed marvellous;
the monks walk rapidly atop glass; they walk on precipices
like walking on flat ground; they sleep on stakes leisurely;
they stand on the top of their heads on granite. They can
break a brick with the head, cut a stone with the hand,
pierce wood with the finger, resist a lance with the ttu:oat,
hold a car with the teeth, lick fire with the tongue and
hang them.selves on roof beam with the jaw. They can al.so
break a rock with a kick, draw a motorcycle with an arm.
If you are a guest in Shaolin Temple, please be careful[
The iron kettle for containing tea is over 50 kilograms
in weight.
Shaolin Temple is widely considered to
be one of the birthplaces of Chinese martial arts. Historical
records show that the Shaolin Temple's kungfu dates hack
some 1.500 years ago.
The original Shaolin Temple, built in
485 by Emperor Yuan Hong to help spread Buddhism, consisted
of 5,000 halls encompassing 1,400 ,square kilometres. Unfortunately,
a warlord in 1928 burned down most of it and the 100 or
so halls now on view were rebuilt in the 1980s. But despite
that Shaolin has still managed to retain its ancient charm
and it would be difficult to find a place to match it in
terms of atmosphere and enthusiasm for kungfu.
The Pagoda Forest
With a history of more than 1,000 years
from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911),
the Pagode Forest has more than 230 pagodas for Buddhist
abbots, and is the largest one in China that has survived
till now. Despite the difficu[ty, the temple has been making
active moves to safeguard its intallectual property rights.
The forest is a treasure house for the study of the ancient
Chinese brick structure and sculpture art.
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