Shaolin Temples
Buddhist Temples | April 7, 2010There is hardly any Kung Fu movie buff who has not heard about Shaolin and the world famous martial arts related with it. The Shaolin temples are a group of Chinese Buddhist monasteries located in Henan Province in Dengfeng in the People’s Republic of China (on Song Shan m ountain). The Shaolin temples are associated with Chán (Zen) Buddhism.
History
Shaolin temple was founded during the reign of Northern Wei dynasty in around 497 AD and it is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in China. History claims that the temple was used by an Indian monk named Batuo during the thirty years he spent in China while preaching Nikaya Buddhism. However, the name that is mostly associated with Shaolin is that of Bodhidharma or Tamo, an Indian monk who travelled to China in the 5th century to teach and peach Buddhism.
Bodhidharma had introduced a regime of gymnastics and fitness after entering Shaolin to help the monks keep in shape and coupled with meditation, the monks subsequently began to study and copy movements of animals such as snakes, tigers and mantises.
The agile exercises soon evolved into a form of self-defense, as Shaolin soon turned into a lawless territory and eventually emerged Kung Fu karate arts.
Shaolin monks underwent tremendous training from a very tender age and it is only after 20 years of practice that they earned the recognition of Kung Fu masters. They were then masters of committing of incredible acts in a whisker. Shaolin temple’s military credentials became prominent during the days of early Tang Dynasty (618-907) when Shaolin monks took to save the life of future emperor Li Shimin.
Shaolin Kung Fu had reached its peak during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) when Shaolin monks even attained military status and also developed their own unique style of martial arts, known as ‘Shaolinquan’.
The original Shaolin temples survived several attacks throughout history. The Manchus had destroyed the compound in 1647 and massacred the monks. Shaolin was rebuilt around 1800. It was set on fire in 1928 by warlord Shi Yousan in 1928 while it was sacked during the days of Cultural Revolution (mid-1960s) with Kung Fu being banned. However, realizing the popularity and the tourism potential of the Shaolin temples and the Kung Fu, thanks to the movies, Shaolin was reopened in the 1980s and has been a very popular attraction even today.
Attractions:
- The Qing murals in the White Robe Hall temple depicting ‘the Rescue of Emperor Tai Zong by Thirteen Monks’
- The Thousand Buddha Hall contains a Ming mural of 500 arhats.
- In the Hall of Wen Shu, one can witness deep depressions in the floor
caused by monks standing in the same place over a long period and practising their stance kicks repeatedly. - Forest of Dagobas (or Pagoda Forest) located about 200 metres uphill from the temple. It has numerous stone pagoda memorials erected in the honour of Shaolin monks dating back between the 9th to 19th centuries.
- Cave where Bodhidarma is said to have spent nine years while in a state of Zen enlightenment. A telescope is here to view the place more closely.
- Songshan National Park
Reaching:
Shaolin temples can be visited by road from Zhengzhou.
Time of visiting:
The temple remains open from 8 am to 7 pm throughout the year.
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A short story appearing in Zhang Zhuo’s (660-741) Tang anthology shows how the deity had been venerated in the Monastery from at least the eighth century.
It is an anecdotal story of how the Shaolin monk Sengchou (480-560) gained supernatural strength and fighting ability by praying to Vajrapani and being force-fed raw meat.
Shaolin abbot Zuduan (1115-1167) erected a stele in his honor during the Song Dynasty.It reads:
1517 stele dedicated to Narayana’s defeat of the Red Turban rebels. Guanyin (his original form) can be seen in the clouds above his head.
According to the scripture [Lotus Sutra], this deity (Narayana) is a manifestation of Avalokitesvara (Guanyin).
If a person who compassionately nourishes all living beings employs this [deity's] charm, it will increase his body’s strength. It fulfills all vows, being most efficacious. … Therefore those who study Narayana’s hand-symbolism (mudra), those who seek his spell (mantra), and those who search for his image are numerous. Thus we have erected this stele to spread this transmission.
— Stele re-erected (chong shang) by Shaolin’s abbot Zuduan