Back To Article Brief
Back To Article List
Ch'an Buddhism and Shaolin Martial Arts
Author: Ervin Nieves
Shaolin Temple Fighting Monk Shi Guolin with me for the following interview in the summer of 1996, before my pilgrimage to the 1,500 year-old Henan, China Shaolin Temple in June 1997. At the time, I was troubled about the rising controversy and confusion concerning the authenticity of today's Shaolin monks at the Shaolin Temple, and so I asked my Chinese wife, Li, to help me interview the venerable monk. Shi Guolin, a 34th generation Shaolin Temple fighting monk, currently resides in Flushing, New York and founded The Shaolin Meditation & Martial Arts Center there in July of 1995. The idea to interview Monk Shi Guolin came to me spontaneously as I was driving around New York City on a hot summer afternoon. I called Monk Shi Guolin from a pay phone on the corner of a Korean grocery store on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and explained my desire to gain a better understanding about the state of Buddhism at the Shaolin Temple today and in Shaolin martial arts in general. After a few more words of self-introduction, I asked if I could arrange a meeting. With some rearrangement of his busy schedule, Monk Shi Guolin granted me this exclusive interview.
It was about three in the afternoon when my wife Li and I arrived a bit early at Shaolin Monk Shi Guolin's temple. The reverend had not yet arrived from eating his late afternoon vegetarian meal. Upon entering the temple door, Li and I were greeted by a friendly young man with a shaved head and a prancing Scottish terrier called Bubbly with Buddhist beads around its neck. Adjacent to the entrance to the temple's kung fu school section, where we were received, was a separate room with an immense Buddha. On the north side of the building, a huge bookshelf with free literature on Buddhism was also clearly visible. The sounds of a little fountain of cool, flowing water, set on a table, gingerly carried visitors away from the hustle and bustle of New York traffic.
I was excited that Shaolin Monk Shi Guolin granted me an audience on such short notice. He met us shortly after our arrival, and during the course of the interview made it very clear in passing conversation that he had declined article requests from numerous other martial arts magazines. He had only agreed to be interviewed in Wushu Kungfu because of its established reputation as a magazine dedicated to spreading genuine Chinese martial arts and culture. Unconsciously underscoring this point, Monk Shi Guolin went to his small office adjacent to the kung fu practice floor and returned with an old copy of Qigong magazine that featured Master Adam Hsu on the cover. "Is this the magazine your article will appear in?" he questioned. "Yes," I replied. "Only now it's called Wushu Kungfu and it's run by Gigi Oh." He seemed pleased to hear this and revealed that this article would be the first authorized published interview in a martial arts magazine in America, though he has occasionally granted shorter television, radio, and newspaper interviews to international media. What especially pleased him was the chance to help clear the reputation of the Shaolin Temple from recent charges of inauthenticity. Monk Shi Guolin was very aware of the controversy and appreciated the opportunity to spread a more genuine understanding of the role of Ch'an Buddhism at the Shaolin Temple.
Shaolin Background
Shaolin Temple Monk Shi Guolin's 34th generation monk name is actually Shi Yan Si (pronounced Shuh Yen Tsuh). He took the Dharma name Guo Lin, which means fruitful forest, to symbolize his mission to spread the fruits of Buddhism throughout the world.
In China, the venerable monk Shi Guolin has had a distinguished record of spreading the true Shaolin principles. At the Shaolin Temple, for example, monk Shi Guolin earned the distinguished title of "Iron Arhat," which reflects his profound commitment to and growing understanding of Ch'an Buddhist and Shaolin martial arts teachings. He served as head coach of the Shaolin Temple martial arts monks, won numerous national awards for his mastery of martial arts, served as the Executive Secretary of the Zhong Yuan Qi Gong Research Association, Honorary Director of the Shaolin Martial Arts Research Institute, and has also served on the Board Committees of the Henan Buddhist Association and the Shaolin Chuan Fa Research Association.
This diverse background in Buddhism and Shaolin martial arts prompted 33rd generation Shaolin Temple Great Master Shi Yongxin (pronounced Shur Yong Shin) to appoint Shi Guolin as one of the Shaolin Temple's ambassadors to the United States. Great Master Shi Yongxin is the current chief manager (Zhu Chi) of the Shaolin Temple and is reportedly destined to become the first abbot (Fang Zhang) of Shaolin since the late 32nd generation Shaolin Temple monk Shi Xingzheng (one of the four original monks who faithfully remained at the Shaolin Temple during the 1970s Red Guards attack).
Prior to Great Master Shi Yongxin's appointment of the venerable Monk Shi Guolin, only the venerable 34th generation Shaolin Temple Monk Shi Yanchang, one of the Shaolin Temple's most highly-regarded Buddhist and martial arts monks, has held full Shaolin Temple ambassadorial status in the United States. Shaolin Temple Monk Shi Yanchang was also the first Shaolin monk to permanently reside in the United States. (Monk Shi Yanchang currently worships and teaches Ch'an at a Buddhist temple in New York's Chinatown area, but does not presently teach martial arts to lay students despite possessing impeccable internal and external kung fu.)
I first met Shaolin Monk Shi Guolin about three years ago when a Shaolin kung fu teacher introduced me to him. Then, in June of 1995 at a Shaolin Monk exhibition in Toronto, Canada, I volunteered during Monk Shi Guolin's Iron Jacket Chi Kung exhibition. I tried, quite unsuccessfully, to make Monk Shi Guolin wince while I punched him a few dozen times in the stomach. My fists bounced off his stomach and he looked at me unfazed. Several large bricks and a large slab of stone also failed to disturb Monk Shi Guolin's calm as they were slammed against his head by fellow Shaolin monks in a multiple exhibition of "Iron Head" chi kung.
Although Monk Shi Guolin is well known for his mastery of Ying Chi Kung, a Shaolin system of breathing and energy development that renders the body impervious to attacks, he has also mastered several external styles and weapons of Shaolin Temple Kung Fu. Included in his skills are Shaolin Eagle Claw, Drunkard Fist, Heart-Mind Boxing (Hsing I), Cannonball Fist, Praying Mantis, Kwandao, Wind-Devil Staff, Broadswords, Double Tiger Hooks, and a large variety of other Shaolin Kung Fu styles and weapons.
To promote authentic Shaolin martial arts, Monk Shi Guolin and his students have performed in many states, and Monk Shi Guolin is preparing and distributing a series of bilingual videotapes to expose audiences to the physical and spiritual dimensions of real Shaolin Kung Fu and Buddhist Meditation and philosophy. Proceeds gathered through the sales are used to expand the mission of the Shaolin Meditation and Martial Arts Center in publishing and spreading Ch'an Buddhist materials and teachings throughout the United States and other countries.
Buddhism and Shaolin
Ervin Nieves: Monk Guolin, first of all, I would like to thank you for kindly granting me this interview, especially on such short notice. I would like to begin by asking you when and how were you selected to start training at the famous Northern Shaolin Temple.
Monk Guolin: When I entered Shaolin, it wasn't a matter of selection, so much as a matter of destiny. Prior to entering Shaolin, I was raised a very devout Buddhist from infancy, as well as a vegetarian.
Buddhism and Chinese martial arts were my family's two contributions to my early education. At age fifteen, when I was already an accomplished martial artist, my maternal grandfather took me to Shaolin, where I met my sifu (teacher), Great Master Shi Yongxin.
EN: Did you have to pass any stringent initiatory tests prior to being allowed to study Shaolin martial arts and Buddhism at Shaolin?
Monk Guolin: At the Shaolin Temple, a potential student sometimes has to wait up to three years, during which he is tested to see if he is of the ethical fiber to become a monk. After these three years, the successful monk candidate undergoes a ritual ceremony in which his hair is shaved, and he enters upon a new life.
EN: Why is there so much confusion about who is and isn't a real monk; is some of the confusion due to the fact that there are different levels of monks who actually reside at Shaolin today?
Monk Guolin: [On the] exterior, even authentic Shaolin monks who are on different levels of monkhood appear the same. Initially, monks enter a novice and probationary stage of monkhood in which they follow fewer Buddhist precepts than ordinary monks called Sha Mi Jie (pronounced Shah Me Jyeh, and called Shramenera in Sanskrit), to see if the young monks really want to live the life of a monk. This probationary period has no time limit. A novice monk who feels he is ready to take on more rules of prohibitions need only go to his sifu to learn more Buddhist rules. At the minimum age of twenty, if the novice monk is deemed ready, he is then allowed to take the full vows of a fully ordained monk, which consists in following approximately 250 religious precepts/rules called Bi Chiu (pronounced Bee Chew, and called Bhikshu in Sanskrit).
Two examples of prohibitions include an avoidance of lying and stealing. In addition to rules of prohibition, there are rules designed to foster the spiritual elements of Shaolin Kung Fu. Among these principles are those that form the bedrock of Buddhist teachings at the Shaolin Temple in China and at the Shaolin Meditation and Martial Arts Center in the United States, namely, The Noble Eightfold Path, which are usually grouped according to the three essentials of Buddhist training and discipline: 1) ethical conduct (sila): right speech, right action, and right livelihood; 2) mental discipline (samadhi): right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration; and 3) wisdom (prajna): right thoughts and right understanding.
EN: But isn't there an inherent or at least seeming contradiction between a Buddhist life of contemplation and Shaolin martial arts?
Monk Guolin: That's a good question and one that is frequently asked. Even from its inception, the practice of Shaolin martial arts was inseparable from the Buddhist way of living and thinking. One must only bear in mind that Da Mo, the founder of Ch'an Buddhism was a very important figure in the development of Shaolin martial arts.
[Monk Shi Guolin paused reflectively and briefly]
A quote from Ch'an-Lu, a magazine of China's Shaolin monastery sums up everything very well: Shaolin Kung Fu is a form or manifestation of Ch'an. For those entering the realm of Wu (martial arts) with a mind on Ch'an, the silent smile awaits them. When Ch'an and Wu are in harmony, Ch'an and Chuan (Fist, i.e. an outward display of martial arts) is nowhere to be found. Shaolin martial arts then, is a part of spiritual practice from China's Shaolin Monastery. The idea is that by following a strict martial arts discipline, the gap between the body and mind is bridged. If the Buddhist teachings are adhered to, something magical happens, namely, the martial arts discipline is transformed into a vehicle for spiritual enlightenment. Martial arts, which is meant for fighting and defense, merge with the compassion, loving kindness, and wisdom of the Buddhist teachings.
EN: Can you supply a concrete martial arts example to highlight how this union between Shaolin martial arts and Buddhism takes place?
Monk Guolin: The Shaolin system has its own characteristics in terms of breathing and mobilizing chi. The Shaolin boxing manual says, "The fist depends all on the strength but strength emerges through chi. The hand must move gradually when mobilizing chi. However, swiftness is required in releasing chi. Gradual or hasty movement depends on the technique but is controlled by the breathing. In breathing in and out, the chi should return to the dantien. The mind and body are bridged abiding to the principles of the Three External Harmonies (shoulders and hip, elbows and knees, hands and feet) and the Three Internal Harmonies (mind and intent, intent and chi, chi and power). Gradually, the internal and external are merged into one.
[Shaolin monk Shi Guolin further highlighted this principle of the linkage between mind and body even more explicitly when he spoke of the characteristic movements of the body in martial arts movements].
The movements of rising, falling and traversing are executed with smoothness and rotation in nimbleness, or agility. Thus the body does not lean forward nor backward and attention is paid to grasping the center of gravity to maintain balance. According to the Shaolin boxing manual, one's body is likened to five "bows" consisting of two arms, two legs, and the body's trunk. The body is the master of the five. When in combat, one must draw in the chest so that the shoulders are relaxed and the power stored in the posture. The power is stored released through the "bows" via the waist. The principles in a Shaolin training formula say: center your practice around the mind; there does not exist fixed rules in bodily techniques; the key is to use these accordingly. When engaged in the movements of rising and falling, advancing and retreating, moves of opposing nature, releasing or contracting power, the center of gravity must be grasped. Movements come into existence when everything is aligned. It is difficult to describe the form of the body since there are thousands of variations. Only through the integration of mind and body can one show the capability of the body.
EN: I'm amazed and delighted by your replies Sifu, but can you give me an example of how these deeper Ch'an principles are actually taught at the Shaolin Temple in Henan, China?
Monk Guolin: Yes, I'll give you an example. Before at the Shaolin Temple, there was a sifu designated to teach all Shaolin Tu Di (pupils) Ch'an philosophy, but at the Shaolin Temple today, every teacher instructs his own pupils in both Ch'an philosophy and Shaolin martial arts on a one-to-one basis. One must not think of Ch'an and Shaolin martial arts as separate. Genuine Shaolin isn't merely external form. The form is just a medium with which the monk practitioner can exercise the union between body and mind. It is a time in which all of these dichotomies dissolve.
EN: In Western culture since the ancient Greeks, there has existed what philosophers call a "metaphysical split," in which the mind and body are viewed as separate, and the body as inferio ...
|
Choose your martialarm
|
|
|
Martialarm Testimonials
"This is the answer to the only problem I had in my martial arts training, 'How to effectively test a technique?' I can now experiment using full power which I could never do before with my normal training partner." L-Baxter"After training in the various martial arts systems for over 22 years and thinking I had seen it all I was extremely surprised to train with your martialarm product. It is truly excellent and proves once again simple ideas are the best." F-Barrasong
"I just started to train in Karate and also Wing Chun. I wanted to train as much as possible but there are only two classes per week. Since I bought the martialarm I now train everynight! This is great for a beginner who wants to train alot!" J. Evans
Looking for other martial arts training dummies?Purchase the Wooden dummy, Versaflex, B.O.B. training partner and boxing bags.
|