How did Buddhism and Yoga/Martial Arts come to the Shaolin Temple
Posted: July 23, 2008 at 8:43 pm | Tags: Bodhidharma, Buddhism, Damo, Martial Arts, Shaolin, Yoga
Damo and Shaolin
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The story of how Chan Buddhism came to Shaolin temple is the story of the man by the name of Bodhidharma. In China, he was known as Damo Puti, or Damo for short. As one of the sons of the Indian King, Bodhidharma left the life of royalty because he saw what a negative effect the passion for the crown had on his older brothers. Even though Bodhidharma was among the younger sons, he was highly favored by his father for being a good and kind-hearted person. Out of fear of being passed up for the crown, Bodhidharma’s older brothers did all they could to discredit him and they even plotted to kill him. Bodhidharma saw this negative drive towards ambition and a greater ego and he left the family and went on to study Buddhism to continue his pursuit of compassion and selflessness.
Bodhidharma began his study of Buddhism under one of the most respected Buddhist monks in all of India. His master saw that Bodhidharma’s understanding and insight into Buddhism was extremely profound. Many refer to this understanding as “sudden enlightenment.” The time Bodhidharma spent with his master was growing short as the master was very old. On his death bed, the master looked to Bodhidharma and told him to travel to the area we now know as China and teach Buddhism. With the passing of his master came the departure of Bodhidharma. He sent several carrier pigeons ahead of him to announce his lectures and teachings. Much anticipation was growing in China for the arrival and teachings of one of the wisest monk-teachers from India. In the year 527 AD, Bodhidharma set foot in China.
32 years prior to Bodhidharma’s first steps into China, the Shaolin temple was founded by another monk from India named Buddhabhadra who is also known as Batuo. Batuo went to Emperor Xiaowen and asked him for land to build a Buddhist monastery. Emperor Xiaowen gave Batuo acreage at the foot Mount Song. It was here in Henan Province that Batuo founded the Shaolin temple and began spreading the Xiao Cheng sect of Buddhism. This sect of Buddhism is known in China as the “Small Vehicle” because its many rules and regulations prevented many from ever crossing over Paramita. It made Buddhism unapproachable because it shunned anyone who was unable to follow even one of the hundreds of rules. This is important to establish because it was for the fact that Xiao Cheng Buddhism was in place that the teachings of Bodhidharma had the impact they did. Batuo continued to teach Xiao Cheng Buddhism at Shaolin temple until he passed away. While he was abbot of Shaolin temple, he accepted disciples from all backgrounds, including martial artists and warriors who wished to turn from their sinful ways. The two disciples who Batuo accepted who first brought martial arts to Shaolin temple were Seng Chou and Hui Guang.
After Batuo passed away, Shaolin temple was without a Buddhist path of study as well as an abbot, so when the Shaolin monks heard of Damo’s journey they made way for him to come to Shaolin.
Damo’s trip to the Shaolin temple brought him through many places and eventually to the court of the Emperor Wu from Liang. As he walked down the road and through villages, people would make space for him to sit and teach. One of the most notable experiences was when Damo actually sat and the people who had traveled for miles to come and see him gathered around to hear him speak. But he said nothing. He simply meditated and after a few hours, he would simply leave without a word spoken. Some people were furious while others nodded pretending they understood. By not saying a word and being himself, Damo revealed to his audience what was inside each of them and thus he taught everyone.
Damo continued to grow famous for his sincerity and simplicity and word got around to the Emperor about this monk from India. As Damo continued to travel north, he was greeted by Emperor Wu and was taken to the Emperor’s palace. As a Buddhist, Emperor Wu spent much time and money on spreading the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama. He built monuments, statues, temples and had supported countless monks and nuns in their pursuit of enlightenment. All these good deeds that the Emperor had done were done with a motive to serve as a testament of the “good” Emperor. The Emperor stopped when he noticed that Damo had said nothing during his tour of the good works the Emperor had done to spread Buddhism. Finally, Emperor Wu asked Damo, “I don’t know why the master doesn’t speak, but aren’t these things good to do?”
“No.”
“Well, these are good things…is there no Buddha in these things?”
“No.”
“Is there Buddha in this world?”
“No.”
With one simple word, Damo had cut through the lies behind the “accomplishments” the Emperor had done and revealed to him that they all served to bring glory to the Emperor himself and nothing else. Damo saw in the Emperor a selfish desire and a lack of self-understanding. The Emperor’s ignorance was as clear to Damo as a piece of glass and with a single “no,” Damo reduced the good deeds of the Emperor to what they truly were…nothing. Damo knew that the Emperor did not truly believe that there was a Buddha in either his deeds or the world. There could be no Buddha in the Emperor’s world because his doubt Buddha was shown by his need to ask if there was Buddha in the good works or in the world.
Leaving the palace, Damo came into Nanjing and walked to a famous pavilion used for social gatherings and public lectures. When he came to the pavilion, another monk, named Shen Guang, was giving a lecture and teaching on the Buddha’s truth (Dharma). Shen Guang had also once been a warrior, like Batuo’s disciples, and had also repented for his ways and turned to Buddhism to find his path. He was a well-liked speaker because of his powerful speaking voice and passion. Damo had a very curious habit which followed perfectly his practice of sincerity and transparency; he would nod if the teachings he heard were true, and shake his head if they were not. Shen Guang noticed this as Damo slowly walked by and became enraged by Damo’s shaking head. He took two of the bead from his prayer necklace and flicked them at Damo which then struck him squarely on the mouth. Damo got right back up, without a word, and spit from his mouth his two front teeth. Seeing Damo’s reaction to having two of his teeth knocked out moved Shen Guang and he became determined to learn from Damo and began following him.
Damo, with Shen Guang trailing behind, made it to Shaolin temple and was greeted by the monks guiding him into the temple halls. Damo, however, walked past the entrance to the temple and straight up to the mountain peak behind the temple. When he reached the summit, Damo entered a small cave and sat down and began meditating. For nine years Damo sat meditating, never lying down to sleep and fully relying upon the kindness of the Shaolin monks and of Shen Guang. Near daily, Shen Guang asked Damo to teach him, and Damo never broke from his meditation. Shen Guang watched over Damo with a sword at his side to protect Damo if need be. One day, nine years from when Damo started meditating, the Shaolin monks came up the mountain and announced that they had built a special room for Damo and asked if he would be so kind as to occupy that room which the monks named Damo Ting. Damo simply got up and walked down the mountain, walked into the room and began meditating again.
Another four years passed with the question of discipleship from Shen Guang every day. Finally, on a very stormy day in winter, Shen Guang lost his patience and demanded to know when Damo would teach him. Ever since they first came into contact, Damo had not said a word to Shen Guang and out of anger Shen Guang stormed out into the cold snow. He looked back into the room to see his rant had not even caused Damo to stray from his meditation at all. He picked up a solid block of ice and threw it into the room. Damo opened his eyes as he turned to face Shen Guang and said, “When red snow falls from the sky, I will teach you.” Shen Guang stood, motionless. He reached for the sword at his hip and without hesitation, cut off his left arm. He then dropped his sword and replaced in his hand the severed limb which was lying in the snow. He took the fallen arm and began swinging it about his head. As the blood drops from the swinging limb fell, they froze. They became red snow. Seeing this, Damo agreed to teach Shen Guang and gave him the name Dazu Huike. In honor of Huike’s sacrifice, Shaolin monks renamed Damo Ting to Li Xue Ting which means “Standing in Snow Hall.” The monks also pay their respects to Huike by greeting each other using only their right hand.
As the monks saw how much impact Damo had on all the people he came into contact, the Shaolin monks made him the abbot of Shaolin temple. He began to notice that the monks lacked the essential strength needed to meditate. Damo was a proponent, and is sometimes credited with the creation, of the Chan school of Buddhism. The word Chan, commonly known by its Japanese name of Zen, comes from Channa which is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyana. Dhyana literally translates to “see” or “concentration” and means meditation. So the Chan sect of Buddhism focuses on meditation as the means to achieving enlightenment. Damo saw in the monks a lack of ability to meditate, so he set out to provide the monks with the ability to strengthen their bodies so that they could strengthen their minds.
Damo began introducing Yoga and Qigong which helped the monks loosen their bodies. The monks were still lacking in power however. With the aid of the martial legacy that Hui Guang and Seng Chou left combined with the expertise of Huike, Damo began the integration of Gongfu to help the monks grown strong. As time passed and the monks grew healthy and gained proficiency in Gongfu, Damo noticed that the monks were experiencing meditation…through the practice of Gongfu. He had found a form of meditation which could be done in any manner so long as concentration and purity were put into the practice. Damo had stumbled upon the basic tenet which set Chan Buddhism apart from most other sects of Buddhism; Action Meditation. With Action Meditation, anyone could become enlightened through any action they concentrated on and acted purely through.
It is for this reason that Shaolin temple martial arts and Shaolin Chan Buddhism are referred to as Shaolin Chan Quan. Shaolin temple is about more than punches and kicks. It is about being selfless and about discipline. Regardless of what religious path you follow, it is important to understand that Shaolin Chan Quan has something to teach everybody. Batuo taught us that we have to expand our minds and not be so narrow-minded. Emperor Wu taught us that we cannot do good things so that they should bring us glory, but rather that they be done for the sake of themselves. Huike taught us that patience is a virtue as well as that we have to deny ourselves in order to learn. Damo taught us what is in us already; by being yourself and expressing yourself, you learn the lessons you need to hear. Listen and go do it.
