Shaolin Temple, Hometown of Chinese Kongfu

 

People, native or foreign, are easily amazed by Chinese Kungfu performed by Jet Li, a film star now active in Hollywood, or that is shown in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". Anyone interested in Kongfu has heard of Shaolin Temple (Shaolin Si), which is worshipped as the birth place of Kungfu.

 

Shaolin Temple is located in the south of Luoyang and Zhengzhou, nestled in the foothills of Song Shan Mountain. Built 1,500 years ago, Shaolin Temple is considered the birthplace of Chan Buddism-cradle of Shaolin Kongfu. Taking a stroll through the temple, you are sure to learn more about Shaolin Kungfu while listening to the monks practicing in the yard. People from more than 30 countries and regions have come to the Shaolin Temple to receive Kungfu training.

Founded in 496 during the period of the Northern Wei (386-534), the temple is full of history. In 527, an Indian monk, Bodhidarma (known to the Chinese as Da Mo), founded the Mahayana sect of Buddhism, which is known as Chen (or Zen). He stayed there till his death in 535, and the temple has become the centre of Chinese Buddhism.

 

It is said that Da Mo, seeing monks becoming fat and lazy from long hours sitting in meditation, came up with the idea of walking meditation, which imitated the natural motions of animals and birds. Eventually, the imitation evolved into a form of unarmed combat or martial arts, which is known as Kungfu.

 

The layout of the temple is quite similar to other Chinese Buddhist temples. However, there are some differences. One of these variations is the numerous stone steles that line the main roads of the temple on which there have been left important records. On the high stele in front of the Bell Building, people can see the carved autograph of Li Shimin, a Tang Dynasty (618-907) emperor. Li granted the temple the status of "No.1 temple on earth", and gave the monks a high rank, after 13 martial monks saved him from the enemy - this is the plot of the movie "Shaolin Temple". Afterwards, the temple became famous and attracted a lot of lay people to study Kungfu. In other areas of China, other schools were established with names such as Emei Shaolin and Guangdong Shaolin.

 

In another part of the temple, you can see the unique "Forest of Dagobas" (Pagoda Forest), with its 243 stupas or dagobas each containing the remains of an abbot from the Shaolin Monastery. They were built of either stone or brick. The first stupa at this site was built in 791 and the last in 1803. They range from seven stories (14.6 metres) to just a metre in height with many different styles. Against the deep and far mountains, this forest looks more like a holy place.

 

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