The Shaolin Monastery. History, Religion and the Chinese Martial Arts

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9 Chapter 1 The Monastery Sh aolin’s history spans fifteen hundred years. The monastery was founded during the last decade of th ...

10 Origins of a Military Tradition in elite military units, or as freelance bodyguards for affluent businessmen. The very best m ...

The Monastery 11 well aware that the monastery made an enormous contribution to the evolu- tion of Chinese Buddhism, and—it coul ...

12 Origins of a Military Tradition turies BCE it was chosen as one of the Five Holy Peaks (Wuyue), which served as divine protec ...

The Monastery 13 brought the teachings from India to China. They assigned this role to the ob- scure Bodhidharma (Chinese: Damo) ...

14 Origins of a Military Tradition find it anywhere,” at which point it was only necessary for Bodhidharma to con- clude with: “ ...

The Monastery 15 China and told his story, Bodhidharma’s grave was promptly opened. It was found to be empty except for the othe ...

16 Origins of a Military Tradition Bodhidharma’s veneration at the Shaolin Monastery culminated in 1125 with the construction of ...

The Monastery 17 remained visible for centuries.^33 Today visitors to the Shaolin Monastery are shown—inside the temple—a large ...

18 Origins of a Military Tradition a period of spectacular Buddhist growth in Luoyang. Within decades of the court’s being estab ...

The Monastery 19 Situated on a venerable mountain within range of an imperial capital, the Shaolin Temple benefited from sanctit ...

20 Chapter 2 Serving the Emperor Buddhism prohibits violence. Binding the clergy and laity alike, the first of the Five Buddhist ...

Serving the Emperor 21 military operations of his patron, the prince of Nanqiao, exclaiming that “a monk should not be involved ...

22 Origins of a Military Tradition assisted Emperor Li Shimin (600–649) in the campaigns leading to the founding of the Tang dyn ...

Serving the Emperor 23 stands out as the gem of the entire collection. This large monument—11.3 feet tall and 4.2 feet wide—has ...

24 Origins of a Military Tradition gent of Wang Shichong’s army that occupied the strategic Mt. Huanyuan, where the monastery’s ...

Serving the Emperor 25 shangshu) Pei Cui (ca. 670–736).^16 Pei alludes to two instances in which Shaolin monks resorted to arms, ...

26 Origins of a Military Tradition acres], and a water mill. These constitute the Cypress Valley Estate (Baigu zhuang).^19 Pei’s ...

Serving the Emperor 27 What could have befallen the monastery had its monks made the wrong decision is suggested by events that ...