INTRODUCTION

The Shaolin Temple is known worldwide for martial arts and being the center for Chan (Zen) Buddhism in China. However, the stories about the temple are often shrouded in myth and fantasy. When one hears about the Shaolin Temple images of “Grasshopper” and “Kung fu Theatre” are sure to pop into the mind’s eye. Realistically, the Shaolin Temple has played a very important role in China’s history and in the development of Chan Buddhism. The role the temple and its martial monks have played in the evolution of Chinese history has lead to resurgence in popularity in the past few decades.

EARLY HISTORY

The Shaolin (Young Forest) Temple was constructed at the base of the Song mountain range in Dengfeng district, Henan Province. The temple was ordered to be constructed by Emperor Hsiao Wen-t’i of the Northern Wei Dynasty, ruled 471-500 CE, for the Buddhist monk Batuo, who was given provisions to live by the public. However, it would be another monk whose name shall forever be associated with the Shaolin Temple, Bodhidharma. Bodhidharma is considered the first patriarch of Chan (Sanskrit: Dhyana, Japanese: Zen, English: Meditation) Buddhism in China. Bodhidharma was the third child of King Sugandha in southern India and was a member of the Kshatriya (warrior) caste. He is said to have received his religious training from the Dhyana master Prajnatara. “According to the standard Chan version, The Record of the Transmission of the Lamp, compiled in 1004 CE by Tao-yuan, this worthy arrived in China in 520 and, after a fruitless interview with Liang Wu-ti crossed the Yangtze and went to the Northern Wei kingdom” (Ch’en, p.351). Bodhidharma eventually ended up at the Shaolin Temple and began teaching the monks Chan meditation. “Bodhidharma, in true Mahayana spirit, was moved to pity when he saw the terrible physical condition of the monks who had practiced the long term meditation retreats. Likening them to the young Shakyamuni – who almost died from such ascesis – he informed the monks he would teach their ‘bodies and minds’ the Buddha’s dharma” (Dukes, p. 229).

Many myths surround Bodhidharma, such as, he gazed at the wall of a cave behind the temple for nine years listening to the “ants scream” and sat for so long that his image transmigrated into the stone wall. *Note: In the cave behind the monastery where Bodhidharma meditated when can go see Bodhidharma’s image on the cave wall. One story indicates, “while he was thus engaged (meditation), a monk named Shen-kuang came and asked him to teach the truth of Chan. Bodhidharma paid no attention to him until the monk cut off his arm to prove his sincerity. After this, Bodhidharma instructed him, and changed his name from Shen-kuang to Hui-k’e” (Ch’en, p.351). The earliest source to deal with Bodhidharma is the Lo-yang chia-lan-chi by Yang Hsuan-chih, finished in 547 CE. In this work Yang, will describing the beautiful Yung-ning Temple in Lo-yang, reported that a Persian monk named Bodhidharma was so impressed with the splendor of the structure that he declared it was greater than anything he had ever seen. Next to the Lo-yang-chia-lan-chi in historical importance in relation to Bodhidharma is the Hsu-Kao-seng-chuan by Tao-hsuan. This source seems to verify stories pertaining to dates and places in the life of Bodhidharma.

The Lankavatara-sutra (Descent to the Island of Lanka) was one of the main texts transmitted to Hui-k’e (considered the second patriarch of Chan) from Bodhidharma, which espoused the doctrine of inner enlightenment. The text teaches, “one who has realized this inner enlightenment no longer sees any duality, for he has transcended mental discriminations” (Ch’en, p. 352). The Lankavatara-sutra also teaches that words are not necessary for the communication of ideas. “Some teachings are transmitted by gazing, moving of facial muscles, raising of eyebrows, frowning, smiling, and twinkling of eyes” (Ch’en, p. 353). The Lankavatara-sutra occupied an important role in the philosophy of the Mahayana Buddhism of China. The central thesis of the Lankavatara-sutra focused upon the content of enlightenment, including specific reference to such doctrines as mind-only and all-conserving consciousness (Maliszewski, p. 45). In line with the Chan tradition, a central theme of the Lankavatara-sutra is the importance placed on a transmission of doctrine from mind to mind rather than basing its faith on the use of words or reliance upon written texts. The facts surrounding Bodhidharma’s life is ambiguous, but it is agreed among scholars that he was an actual person.

So, what exactly is Chan? “Chan has been described as an intuitive method of spiritual training aimed at the discovery of a reality in the innermost recesses of the soul, a reality that is the fundamental unity which pervades all the differences and particulars of the world” (Ch’en, p. 357). Like other forms of Mahayana, Chan teaches emptiness philosophy, all things are sunya (void), ineffable and unimaginable in thought. To illustrate this point Chan masters often resorted to silence or negation to express the truth. Being ineffable and unimaginable, this reality can only be seized by intuition immediately, absolutely, and instantaneously. In order to apprehend it one must calm the mind and have no conscious thought. In any conscious thought, there is the ego at work, making a dichotomy between subject and object. Performing any ritualistic actions should be abandoned because there is no need, because all is empty. Instead, one should allow the mind to operate freely, spontaneously, and naturally (Ch’en, p.358).

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by Dale (10/2003)