Shaolin temple, the birth place of the most influential martial arts in China and Zen Buddhism is a place you definitely should checkout if you want to learn more about martial arts and Buddhism. Shaolin temple is located in the same area as one of the sacred mountains of China in Dengfeng City, Henan Province.
The Era of Kung Fu
Kung Fu was founded by an Indian monk named Bodhidharma in China. He founded Shaolin Kung Fu as a system to teach monks basic methods in order to defend themselves and improve their overall health.
Though Shaolin Temple is the birthplace of Shaolin Kung Fu, there are different styles of Martial Arts now. Some styles are suited for different age groups than others. For instance, Tong Zi Gong is a style performed by teenagers to train one's flexibility and strength. Today, many people practice Shaolin Kung Fu to be stronger or for other personal reasons.
Shaolin Ta Gou Martial Arts School
Once you arrive at Shaolin temple, the first thing you will see is this big stone archway which is the main gate.
Once you are inside the gate, you will see Shaolin Ta Gou Martial Arts School. You will see many young students training. This martial arts school is known for having trained over 50,000 kung Fu students, and for being one of the largest kung Fu schools in China.
As you keep walking you will see a much larger group of students training in a bigger field. All this area belongs to Ta Gou Martial Arts School. And it is also the only school that owns and practices on Shaolin Temple ground.
Soon you will come across the Shaolin Kung Fu Show Theater. Depending on the time you go, you can watch a short stunt show the students perform for visitors. If you want to watch the actual Martial art performance, you have to pay an additional fee because that show is the true Chinese Shaolin Temple Kung Fu. And because it is also performed by a professional performance team.
Just like everywhere else in China, there are a lot of tourist stands with a lot of overpriced souvenirs.
You definitely don't want to buy anything here unless you got money to blow.
The Origin of Zen
Believe it or not, Zen actually originated from India. Back then, Buddha wanted to solve the human suffering and realized enlightenment while practicing Zen meditation under a tree. He came to the conclusion that even when we possess everything we desire, we still remain often unsatisfied. This is because true happiness doesn't depend on what we have, but on who we are. This knowledge was passed on, and in the sixth century, Bodhidharma brought Zen to China. However, it was originally called Chan. The name Zen came from the Japanese trying to Pronounce "Chan."
The Temples
The first temple you will come across is the Shanmen Hall, but there isn't much to see here.
Next, you will arrive at The Hall of Heavenly Kings. This hall enshrines the four kings who are the guardian of the world.
Then comes the Mahavira Hall.
Here you can see deep pits on the ground left by monks who practiced Shaolin Kung Fu. Now, those pits are considered the footprints of the monks.
After that comes Buddhist Living Quarters for temporary staying monks.
Shaolin temple has amazing Chinese architectures, but it is best not to spend much time on the temples.
Pagoda Forest
After the temples and strolling around the compound, you will come across the graveyard for Buddhist dignitaries known as the Pagoda forest. This is China's largest Pagoda forest.
The pagodas are not all equal in size or shape because the shape and size of a pagoda depends on many factors of a Buddhist life like his status, achievements, and prestige during his lifetime.
You are going to walk along the trails to a different attraction which is hiking one of the 5 sacred mountains of China.
Songshan Mountain
Songshan Mountain also known as Songs mountain is one of the sacred mountains in China and the original place of Chinese culture.
Bodhidharma actually founded Shaolin Kung Fu after he climbed to the highest point of Songshan Mountain and noticed that many Buddhist monks were unable to keep up demanding meditation.
It takes about 4 to 5 hours to hike to the peak and longer if you want to check out a Temple that lays within the mountain top.
From Shaolin temple compound it is best to take a cable car to the peak of the mountain, and than hike for couple hours to the temple to see the attraction that is worth it.
If you are not a hiker nor have enough time, do not hike to the top of the mountain. We made that mistake and our legs paid the ultimate price for it. But on second thought, the view was worth it!
I'm definitely blown away by how much I have learned during my visit, and although I was always fascinated by Kung Fu, I realized I never knew much about it. I hope you enjoyed reading this blog as much I as had fun writing it. I'm curious on what was more interesting to you, so let me know in the comments below.