198 Conclusion
lated to Buddhism and violence on the one hand, and those that concern
martial arts history and its relation to native religion on the other.
Buddhism and Violence
“Throughout East Asia,” wrote Frederick Mote, “the Buddhist religion of com-
passion that regards the taking of any life as a great evil has often appealed to
warrior societies.”^1 The circumstances under which the Indian-born faith had
been involved in violence—across cultures, historical periods, and geographic
regions—doubtless differed. Nevertheless, the Shaolin military tradition
might shed light on other instances of Buddhist involvement in warfare. At
least some of the elements that had fashioned the temple’s martial history
might have figured—in diverse combinations and varying degrees—in other
cases of monastic violence.
Two factors stand out in the early history of Shaolin monastic warfare: eco-
nomic power and strategic significance. The temple’s vast holdings required
military protection, and its commanding position on a road leading to the im-
perial capital embroiled its monks in a battle with nationwide consequences.
The monastery’s military history was thus a reflection of institutional wealth as
well as geographic proximity to the nexus of political power.
These initial reasons for the monks’ military activities were quickly joined
by a third: sanction by the political authorities. Even though it likely had not
been the Tang emperor’s intention, Li Shimin’s letter of thanks proved to be a
momentous event in the history of the Shaolin Temple. His approbation pro-
tected the monks’ military activity from the intervention of the political au-
thorities, arguably even from the wrath of the Qing rulers a millennium later.
For despite their stubborn suspicion of it, Qing officials refrained from annihi-
lating the temple. The emperor’s approval, moreover, licensed their military
occupation to the monks themselves. In the Chinese cultural context, a politi-
cal sanction could outweigh a religious prohibition. Even if they did not explic-
itly admit it, Shaolin warriors likely relied on the emperor’s mandate in their
violation of their faith’s proscription of killing. In this respect Li Lianjie’s ( Jet
Li) portrayal of the emperor as a religious authority was faithful to the monks’
understanding of the Tang ruler. In his 1982 blockbuster Shaolin Temple, Li at-
tributed the Shaolin transgressions of Buddhist dietary laws to the emperor’s
absolution.
Imperial authorization was joined by divine sanction. The history of the
Shaolin Temple betrays an intimate connection between Buddhist violence
and the veneration of Buddhist violent deities. In this respect, the Shaolin mili-
tary tradition reflects the age-old contradiction between Buddhism as an ethi-
cal philosophy and Buddhism as a religion of salvation. It was in the latter—in
the mythological realm of martial gods—that Shaolin monks sought an excuse
for their military practice. They did not resort to the sophisticated arguments