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BODHIDARMA’S INFLUENCE ON BUDDHISM IN EARLY 6TH CENTURY |
Newsletter 07/03
In the longtime evolution of martial arts, although many names are famous, there are few who have definitely influenced their development. Dirk Heene, as a modern Lucianos, provides his insight of the ‘’Parallel lives’’ of Bodidarhma and Kase Taiji and their influence on the development of martial arts. Here is the first part of the story, the second will appear in the next Newsletter.
BODHIDARMA’S INFLUENCE ON BUDDHISM IN EARLY 6TH CENTURY
In the period preceding the 6th century AD one could not speak of noble or philosophic influence in Oriental martial arts. Only the roughest and hardest specimens of society were deemed fit for fighting and warfare. These did not involve chivalry, higher human aspirations or philosophy of life.
At the beginning of the 6th century an Indian monk came to China. He undertook this long journey to broaden his vision on Buddhism. Later on his vision was called ΄΄Chan΄΄ (Japanese: Zen). The monk’s name was Bodhidarma, or Dharma, in a shortened version. In China he was commonly called ‘Damo’.
He arrived by ship in Guangzhou and then traveled to the North. At that time many Indian monks journeyed to China to do mission-work. Lots of them asked an interview from the Chinese emperor, in order to get support for the building of monasteries and temples. Damo, as well, asked an interview from the Chinese emperor, but it did not turn well.
Damo’s main interest was his vision on Buddhism, and not any material or detrimental things. The emperor wanted to make a practical arrangement with Damo but he did not get that far. Wisdom cannot be bought; It is pure, difficult to gauge and can surely not be reached through material actions. Zen is in the perception of one’s own nature. The enigmatic answers of Damo infuriated emperor Wu and Damo left the palace, with the intention never to return there.
Damo left Nanjing and continued his journey through China. In 527AD he arrived in the Buddhist monastery of Shaolin (built in 495). In Shaolin, many Sanskrit works were translated into Chinese. The monks worked day and night, in shifts. They translated over 600 works in their language. At Damo’s arrival in the monastery the abbot was afraid that the religious beliefs of the monastery would be disturbed by the Chan-theory of this newcomer, who thought that learning from books was unnecessary. The abbot requested Damo not to live in the monastery any more. Damo choose a cave as his shelter and he wanted to prove that ‘’the highest form of wisdom had nothing to do with the orthodox performance of ritual practice, nor with the translation of Sanskrit texts into Chinese’’.
He began to meditate every day, seated in front of a stone wall in the cave. After some time the monks started feeling admiration and they went to visit the ‘spiritual eccentric’ in his cave. Damo remained in meditation throughout and avoided conversation. Finally the abbot could not overlook Damo’s authority any more and Damo entered the Shaolin monastery, as the first patriarch of Chan (Zen). He observed the monks, their meditation and religious practice. Their muscles were weak, their bodies powerless and certainly not in a condition to withstand hard mental exercise.
The sole object of original Buddhism was the salvation of the soul, but Damo proved that spirit and body are inseparable. The unity of both must be strengthened in order to be able to reach enlightenment (Satori). Soon following his return, Damo introduced his strengthening exercises to the monks.
Damo developed two series of exercises; The YI-JIN-JING and the XI-SUI-JING.
YI-JIN-JING: ‘’Classical strengthening of muscles and nerves’’. A complex of 12 Qi-gong exercises to make the body more mobile and strong.
XI-SUI-JING: ‘’Classical bone marrow growth’’. A collection of inner and outer exercises for mediation and Ki-flow.
Damo was probably inspired during his travels by Taoist priests, who had been using such techniques for centuries. He was influenced by Indian yoga as well. In any case, as the monks started exercising and rehearsing daily, they steadily grew stronger and healthier. The striving for inner strength and the intuitive enjoyment it procured, gave the monks perseverance and stamina, combined with a sense of improvement and moral clarity. Contrary to all Buddhist ideas, Damo brought about the essence of the newly-founded Chan.
After the death of Damo in 536AD (probably by poisoning), the exercises became an integral part of monastery life and Zen grew into one of the most important tendencies in Asia.
YI-JIN-JING and XI-SUI-JING were at first exercises for the monk’s energetic and spiritual perfection; Later on they became the bases for all styles of Asian martial arts.
After Damo’s death, his successors in Shaolin took care of the Chan-teachings and the practice of YI-JIN-JING and XI-SUI-JING. Outside Shaolin, qigong exercises were not used, except in taoist-inspired tendencies. Thus Shaolin quickly became a rather special Buddhist monastery. The monks were regarded with suspicion and mistrust by other monasteries.
When Zen was introduced in Japan, qi gong exercises had nearly all disappeared. In the 14th century YI-JIN-JING was only practiced as part of the newly developing martial arts; XI-SUI-JING was completely forgotten. It was only in the Qing-dynasty (1644-1911) that the old teachings of Damo spread again widely, when the masters in martial arts arose against the mandsjoes in secret leagues (Hui-Dang).
We can state that Chan, in its basic face, was much more Taoist-oriented and that it moved further away from Buddhism. In the style of movements especially, there is an interchange between Chan-followers and Taoists. Damo himself was strongly inspired by Taoism. The impulses, that were important for martial arts, thus have Taoist as well as Buddhist origins.
Indian yoga and Tibetan related yoga have little influence. Chinese developed further since Daruma. In origin: taking care of the spirit and further developing it; ameliorate Karma. Health, body care and physical exercises were then of less importance.
TAOIST QIGONG
Cannot be seen apart from healing qigong. The principle is that the spirit can only be cultivated if one lives life, and best of all a life with health and well-being. Coupled to spiritual development based on unity of man-nature-tao. Spirit and body are inseparable and should be trained simultaneously.
Especially the healing aspect evolved more and more. That is why almost all YI-JIN-JINH and XI-SUI-JING exercises are strongly Taoist influenced, such as the martial arts that flowed from them, tai-chi-chuan and ba-gua-chuan. Taoists exercised more in public whilst the Buddhists were somewhat more reticent. Taoists were also the only ones to put their experience on paper.
500 years after Damo’s death, the exercising of YI-JIN-JING and XI-SUI-JING also revived in the Shaolin monastery. Their values gradually got a place in Shaolin martial arts as basis for fighting techniques.
In origin there were 12 non-martial exercises, accompanied by breathing techniques and a deep state of mind. Later they were inserted in between fighting exercises (Chinese, Lu; Japanese, Kata). The aim was to take away some of the aggressiveness in combat techniques and not to block the Ki-flow. The techniques were thus handed down in later styles and they still appear in different forms of fighting arts.
These ‘five old ones’ laid the basis for the five main kung-fu styles practiced nowadays: Hung-gar, Liu-gar, Mok-gar, Li-gar and Choy-gar. Chinese martial arts have developed for years in secret societies and they have come to us this way.