Shaolin Temple (Look Out Jet Li)

(Allison)

We are currently somewhere outside of the city of Luoyang..at the Shaolin Temple Scenic Zone. The Shaolin Temple is the birthplace of Zen Buddhism, and a very specialized form of kung fu. A Buddhist monk named Bodhiharma (Damo) traveled from India to China. He walked across the country for three years and finally settled in a mountain outside of Luoyang (the future site of the Shaolin Temple). He lived in a cave for nine years. While living in the cave, Damo drank only water and ate vegetation available to him on the mountain. In the cave he meditated, and observed the actions and movements of the animals –which led him to develop kung fu.  Eventually he traveled down the mountain, settling at the site of the current Shaolin Temple. He became the father Zen (Chan –Chinese Word) Buddhism, a form of Buddhism with a major emphasis on meditation. The kung fu that was developed, through Damo’s teachings, is a combination of Buddhist meditation and martial arts.  The movements are brief but strong and it is only used in self defense.

Next to the Shaolin temple, there is a martial arts school, the Shaolin Monastery Wushu Institute. Their student population is huge – 18,000 --they all wear red jackets and black pants. We are staying in one of their dorms…which is kind of run down and dingy..and there is no hot water in the morning, but everyone is very nice and helpful. 

Mark and Alex are in heaven here. They have been obsessed with buying swords since we entered the country…

George,  our new tour guide, is quite a character, he a little older than most of our guides have been, and he kind of looks like a cowboy to me… he wears pointing leather boots, and he has a big buckle belt…He met us in the lobby and we headed towards the temple.  Before we reached the temple, we stopped to attend a martial arts performance.

The performance was very impressive….the performers were all students from the school, ranging in age- decked out in their gi’s ( kung fu garb)  Two of the highlights included – one student throwing a large metal needle through a pane of glass, in order to pop a balloon, another student split a piece of steel over his head.

Lunch time – we walked to a restaurant that was attached to the temple.. vegetarian of course! Yummy noodles, and pieces of “chicken” made out of tofu…

Next – the renowned Shaolin temple. At this point in the trip, we have been to quite a few temples…as you know -if you have been reading… The Shaolin temple looked very similar to most of the other temples that we have seen…( I still think it is kind of weird that we get to walk around and take pictures in Buddhism’s most sacred places of worship) - but the history of the Shaolin temple is unique --considering the popularity of Zen Buddhism, and the cultural phenomenon of kung fu. 

The temple was built in 495 CE – but most of it was burnt down during various uprisings over time. Most of the structures are reconstructions, except for the two buildings that are the farthest back. These two buildings have beautiful - and very old- frescoes covering the walls. One of the frescoes depicts the monks of the temple using kung fu to defend themselves from invaders. 

 Back to the dorm to rest, and get ready for our kung fu instruction. Ok..so I have never taken any type of martial arts classes and I was a bit wary of the experience, but to my pleasant surprise, it was actually quite enjoyable, and very challenging.

Our lessons took place in a small gym area within the dorm. George introduced us to our instructor – Mr. Hu. He had us warm up by running , and then engage in some serious stretching.. We learned very quickly that kung fu requires a large amount of flexibility. We then did some calisthenics, -- running back and forth…including jumping, high kicks and spinning in the air.  Then Mr. Hu began teaching us the basic stances of kung fu….including “ma bo” (sp?) or horse stance…which involved sitting in a squat for a long period of time). Then he began teaching us a very basic series, continual movements involving various stances, punches kicks and other arm formations --  kung fu actually kind of reminds me  a little bit of yoga..  it took us a very long time to master the series - but it was fun… Mr. Hu was very kind and patient with all of us. Finally, he said that if we could get through the series – individually, on our own, we could end class. We did it!

After class we were exhausted, but somehow managed to get in the van to go to dinner, get back to the dorm, shower and go to bed….