The Shaolin Monastery (Chinese: 少林寺;
pinyin: Shàolín sì), also known as the Shaolin Temple, is a Chan
("Zen") Buddhist temple in Dengfeng County, Henan Province, China.
Dating back 1,500 years when founded by Fang Lu-Hao, Shaolin Temple is the main
temple of the Shaolin school of Buddhism to this day.
Shaolin Monastery and its Pagoda Forest were inscribed as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010 as part of the "Historic Monuments of
Dengfeng”.
The name refers to the forests of Shaoshi (少室;
Shǎo Shì) mountain, one of the seven peaks of Song mountains. The first Shaolin
Monastery abbot was Batuo (also called Fotuo or Buddhabhadra), a dhyāna master
who came to China from India or from Greco-Buddhist Central Asia in 464 AD to
spread Buddhist teachings.
According to the Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks (645
AD) by Daoxuan, Shaolin Monastery was built on the north side of Shaoshi, the
central peak of Mount Song, one of the Sacred Mountains of China, by Emperor
Xiaowen of the Northern Wei dynasty in 477 AD, to accommodate the India master
beside the capital Luoyang city. Yang Xuanzhi, in the Record of the Buddhist
Monasteries of Luoyang (547 AD), 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 20th year of the Taihe era of the Northern Wei dynasty, that is,
the monastery was built in 495 AD.
The Kangxi Emperor of the Qing dynasty was a supporter of
Shaolin Temple, and he wrote the calligraphic inscriptions that still hang over
the Heavenly King Hall and the Buddha Hall today.
Traditionally Bodhidharma is credited as founder of the
martial arts at the Shaolin Temple. However, martial arts historians have shown
this legend stems from a 17th-century qigong manual known as the Yijin Jing.
The authenticity of the Yi Jin Jing has been discredited by
some historians including Tang Hao, Xu Zhen and Ryuchi Matsuda. This argument
is summarized by modern historian Lin Boyuan in his Zhongguo wushu shi:
As for the
"Yi Jin Jing" (Muscle Change Classic), a spurious text attributed to
Bodhidharma and included in the legend of his transmitting martial arts at the
temple, it was written in the Ming dynasty, in 1624, by the Daoist priest
Zining of Mt. Tiantai, and falsely attributed to Bodhidharma. Forged prefaces,
attributed to the Tang general Li Jing and the Southern Song general Niu Gao
were written. They say that, after Bodhidharma faced the wall for nine years at
Shaolin temple, he left behind an iron chest; when the monks opened this chest
they found the two books "Xi Sui Jing" (Marrow Washing Classic) and
"Yi Jin Jing" within. The first book was taken by his disciple Huike,
and disappeared; as for the second, "the monks selfishly coveted it,
practicing the skills therein, falling into heterodox ways, and losing the
correct purpose of cultivating the Real. The Shaolin monks have made some fame
for themselves through their fighting skill; this is all due to having obtained
this manuscript". Based on this, Bodhidharma was claimed to be the
ancestor of Shaolin martial arts. This manuscript is full of errors,
absurdities and fantastic claims; it cannot be taken as a legitimate source.
The oldest available copy was published in 1827. The
composition of the text itself has been dated to 1624.[6] 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 Da Mo and
the Shaolin Monastery. Scholars generally accept the historicity of Da Mo
(Bodhidharma) who arrived in China around 480. Da Mo (Bodhidharma) and his
disciples are said to have lived a spot about a mile from the Shaolin Temple
that is now a small nunnery. In the 6th century, around 547, The Record of the
Buddhist Monasteries says Da Mo visited the area near Mount Song. In 645 The
Continuation of the Biographies of Eminent Monks describes him as being active
in the Mount Song region. Around 710 Da Mo 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 Huikes many trials in his efforts to receive instruction from Da Mo.
In the 11th century a (1004) work embellishes Da Mo legends with great detail.
A stele inscription at the Shaolin Monastery dated 728 reveals Da Mo residing
on Mount Song. Another stele in 798 speaks of Huike seeking instruction from Da
Mo. Another engraving dated 1209 depicts the barefoot saint holding a shoe
according to the ancient legend of Da Mo. A plethora of 13th- and 14th-century
steles feature Da Mo 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.
Credits: Wikipedia
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