History

Ch'an

Shaolin Kung Fu emphasizes Ch'an Buddhism throughout, because it is synonymous with the development of Ch'an. Ch'an derives its name from the Indian word Dhyana or Janna, which simply means "Meditation". In China this word became popularly spoken as Ch'anna in Chinese speech, and was later shortened to Ch'an. A similar change took place (later) in Japan, from the spoken form of Zenna to Zen, though China's adoption of Dhyanna predated Japan's via Bodhidharma's (or "Damo's") visit. Dhyanna was an Indian form of Buddhist meditation stressing sitting meditation and other postures of meditation to help bring about enlightenment in its practitioners. Dhyanna is essentially meditation practice, as part of Buddhist practice.

Bodhidharma (Chinese: "Damo") is traditionally counted as the "first Chinese Zen Ancestor" (the most famous being Hui Neng, the Sixth Ancestor who had been a humble monestary cook). When Bodhidharma came to China, he taught the Chinese monks martial exercises which later become known by such names as Wushu, Hao Lin Chuan, and Gung Fu (or "Kung Fu" in the West). These arts spread to Japan, Korea and Southeast Asian cultures which made them their own over the course of time, as well as later spreading to non-asian cultures which have adapted them to a free-market concern for marketabilit and a strong youth market.

Kung Fu did not originate completely "from scratch" or out of a vacuum within China, as many proud Chinese patriots have enthusiastically claimed (and with good reason). Indian martial techniques and exercises like pankration predate their counterparts in China, just as Indian Buddhism and Dhyanna meditation practice does, but the Pan-Asian martial arts as we know them were for the most part formed, innovated, shaped and cradled by the Shaolin Temple throughout history, just as Ch'an and Zen as we know it today are a result of Chinese influence. Shaolin Kung Fu is essentially the recognized Granddaddy of all asian martial arts, with an Indian great uncle. Without the Chinese influence and loving care that it received, the martial arts would simply not be the same, nor nearly as rich, as they are today. Shaolin is still one of the most complex, if not the most complex, martial arts in existence, with multiple considerations of simultaneous offence and defense applications.

Ch'an (or Zen) is is the basis, in large part, of Shaolin Buddhism as an historical movement, and of Shaolin Kung Fu as the longest running martial art in history. In the Chinese history of Ch'an, the Blue Cliff Record is a book containing most or all of the known recorded ancient Chinese "public cases" of Ch'an. These are often hard to understand for modern westerners who do not understand the frequent cultural and historical references and involved, and for this reason it may be better to read the more recent and poetic collected ko'ans recorded by the Japanese master, Eihei Dogen.

In the sense of the Shaolin Temple being a rigorous martial arts college and laboratory for creating, refining and preserving Chinese martial arts techniques, the Chinese influence is overwhelmingly present throughout most asian martial arts that the west has learned of over time, and thus the Shaolin Temple has a lasting and indisputable heritage in the martial arts world. Given the fact that most asian martial arts derive from their Chinese predecessors at Shaolin Temple, the saying that "All martial styles were born under the sun of Shaolin" indeed has overwhelming truth in it. It might be more accurate to say that most popular martial arts that emerged from asia had a pre-history and formation period at the Shaolin Temple, or that martial arts as we know them are a direct result of the Shaolin Temple influence and perfection over time. Certainly, any asian martial arts known or practiced today (including any practiced in the US) derive from Shaolin Kung Fu.

Ch'an Buddhadharma

Ch'an, or Zen historically consists of two sides, equally important, but differing in emphasis:

Calming practice: the practice of Ch'an/Zen Buddhism of calming the mind through meditation, or "Zazen" (Japanese) or "sitting meditation", which was emphasized by T'sung Shan, a famous Chinese Zen master.

Wisdom practice: the practice of comprehending the truth (or "dharma") of ultimate enlightenment through intellectual methods (including, but not limited to philosophical ones), such as Zen talks.

The ancient Chinese masters Lin Chi and T'sung Shan are thus the founders of the main two branches of Ch'an/Zen that survive to the present. Lin Chi became the ancestor associated with Rinzai (Ko'an mastery) Zen and a kind of intekllectually realised sudden enlightenment, and T'sung Shan became the Soto (Just sitting) Zen ancestor, emphasizing a somewhat more gradual realization. Both traditions are honored today in Taiwanese and American Zen--as exemplified in the American SFZC (San Francisco Zen Center organization) and Mountains and Rivers Order (Mt. Trempor, NY based) Zen Centers.

Shaolin Kung Fu is arranged in such a way as to make Zen part of the fabric of the martial art, though it is often masked in simplistic form in the beginning levels. Meditation and calming is important to Shaolin practice for this reason.

The Shaolin 18 Movements derive from Bodhidharma's long visit to China. He taught the Buddhist monks Indian these Indian martial exercises in order to make them more fit for meditation and to keep them active. These later evolved into the 18 Movements of Shaolin Kung Fu, and kung fu itself evolved into a full fighting system of its own, the first knownl fighting system in history.