The best movies filmed on location at Shaolin Temple

[GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG]

Last night I was thrilled to find a perfect print of Holy Robe of Shaolin on YouTube

This is one amazing kung fu movie. For those who have not seen HROS I highly recommend it.

This got me thinking of how many kung fu movies were filmed on location @ Shaolin Temple.

What are the cream of the crop of movies filmed @ Shaolin.

I can think of only a few.

Shaolin Temple series with Jet Li.

Shaolin Drunken Monk

And of course Holly Robe of Shaolin.

Any further suggestions would be appreciated.

GD Y-Y

[Sheng]

Shaolin doesn't even look remotely like this...

And just for the record: before 1982, when director Zhang Xinyan shot his SHAOLIN TEMPLE movie (Jet Li’s debut feature) at the temple's original Songshan site, all films purporting to be Shaolin movies used Taiwanese, Korean or HK monasteries dressed up as “Shaolin”. The ballistic success of this film led to the thorough restoration of what was by 1981 a totally run-down temple that wasn’t functioning (at that time) as a religious or martial arts center any more. No wonder that Yongxin, Shaolin’s abbot, had a commemorative stele erected inside the temple for the film and its makers. The film basically set the foundation for Shaolin’s phenomenal commercial take-off that culminated in the temple becoming the biggest tourist attraction (or rather tourist trap) in Henan (the province where the monastery is situated). And neighbouring Dengfeng grew into a town housing more martial arts schools than any other in the world (no matter where you stay in town, you’re guaranteed to wake up in the morning through the shouts of wushu students being drilled!).

And now, with Li Keqiang, the ex-governor of Henan becoming China’s new PM, the influence and the commercial prospects of Shaolin can only expand...

[GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG]

Thank you both.

The pictures of Shaolin interesting..... too picture perfect..... but mind that!

I have the following favorite scenes from the Temple (in the movies) that fill me with awe every time I see them.

1. The graveyard Stupas of those Mighty Masters from the past whose bones are interned there. I marvel at all the Buddhist Saints located there.

2. Da Mo's cave.

3. The practice room, where the brick floors are concave do to the endless practice that went on in that hall over the century's.

4. The painting where the Shaolin monks are shown in various postures of their kung Fu practice.

5. The dilapidated front entrance to the temple which showed its (hidden) character from our first exposures in film via Jet Li and his Shaolin Temple..

The photos that JMRC sent and thank you again. Don't sit right with me..... its just to pristine perfect......which is no doubt understood..... when you have a tourist trap that gets more visitors than the Forbidden City.

GD Y-Y

[GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG]

Shen, how many times was Shaolin Temple burned down to the ground and by whom?

I know the Ching Dynasty did burn and utterly destroy Shaolin a few times.

Maybe it was burned down during the Republic era too?

Thanks,

GD Y-Y.

[TibetanWhiteCrane]

I thought that whole chings burning down shaolin temple thing was all myth.

[Omni Dragon]

The photos that JMRC sent and thank you again. Don't sit right with me..... its just to pristine perfect......which is no doubt understood..... when you have a tourist trap that gets more visitors than the Forbidden City.

GD Y-Y

Sorry I'll delete my post. I was wrong I was tricked by movie magic. I don't know the real historical stuff that well just the films.

[GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG]

JMRC do not delete:

WIKI ? >>>>

The monastery has been destroyed and rebuilt many times. During the Red Turban Rebellion in the 14th century, bandits sacked the monastery for its real or supposed valuables, destroying much of the temple and driving the monks away. The monastery was likely abandoned from 1351 or 1356 (the most likely dates for the attack) to at least 1359, when government troops retook Henan. The events of this period would later figure heavily in 16th century legends of the temple's patron saint Vajrapani, with the story being changed to claim a victory for the monks, rather than a defeat.[6]

In 1641, rebel forces led by Li Zicheng sacked the monastery due to the monks' support of the Ming Dynasty and the possible threat they posed to the rebels. This effectively destroyed the temple's fighting force.[7] The temple fell into ruin and was home to only a few monks until the early 18th century, when the government of the Qing Dynasty patronized and restored the temple.[8]

Perhaps the best-known story of the Temple's destruction is that it was destroyed by the Qing government for supposed anti-Qing activities. Variously said to have taken place in 1647 under the Shunzhi Emperor, in 1674 under the Kangxi Emperor, or in 1732 under the Yongzheng Emperor, this destruction is also supposed to have helped spread Shaolin martial arts through China by means of the five fugitive monks. Some accounts claim that a supposed southern Shaolin Temple was destroyed instead of, or in addition to, the temple in Henan: Ju Ke, in the Qing bai lei chao (1917), locates this temple in Fujian province. These stories commonly appear in legendary or popular accounts of martial history, and in wuxia fiction.

While these latter accounts are common among martial artists, and often serve as origin stories for various martial arts styles, they are viewed by scholars as fictional. The accounts are known through often inconsistent 19th-century secret society histories and popular literature, and also appear to draw on both Fujianese folklore and popular narratives such as the classical novel Water Margin. Modern scholarly attention to the tales is mainly concerned with their role as folklore.[9][10][11]

GD Y-Y

WELL 'NOW 'ANY' AUTHORITY'S ON THE SUBJECT MAY ELUCIDATE....OF COURSE ONE CAN RESEARCH THIS ON THE W.W.W. BUT LETS SEE?????

[GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG]

From Wiki on Patron Saint

Patron saint

1517 stele dedicated to Narayana's defeat of the Red Turban rebels. Guanyin (his original form) can be seen in the clouds above his head.

In his book The Shaolin Monastery (2008), Tel Aviv University professor Meir Shahar notes that the bodhisattva Vajrapani is the patron saint of Shaolin Monastery. A short story appearing in Zhang Zhuo's (660-741) Tang anthology shows how the deity had been venerated in Shaolin from at least the eighth century. It is an anecdotal story of how the Shaolin monk Sengchou (480-560) gained supernatural strength and fighting ability by praying to Vajrapani and being force-fed raw meat.[23] Shaolin abbot Zuduan (祖端禪師) (1115–1167) erected a stele in his honour during the Song Dynasty.[24] It reads:

According to the scripture [Lotus Sutra], this deity (Narayana) is a manifestation of Avalokitesvara (Guanyin).[25][26] If a person who compassionately nourishes all living beings employs this [deity's] charm, it will increase his body's strength. It fulfills all vows, being most efficacious. ... Therefore those who study Narayana's hand-symbolism (mudra), those who seek his spell (mantra), and those who search for his image are numerous. Thus we have erected this stele to spread this transmission.[27]

— Stele re-erected (chong shang) by Shaolin's abbot Zuduan

Shaolin believes Vajrapani to be an emanation of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, rather than a stand-alone deity. The Chinese scholar A'de noted this was because the Lotus Sutra says Avalokitesvara takes on the visage of whatever being would best help pervade the dharma. The exact Lotus Sutra passage reads: “To those who can be conveyed to deliverance by the body of the spirit who grasps the vajra (Vajrapani) he preaches Dharma by displaying the body of the spirit who grasps the vajra.”[28]

He was historically worshiped as the progenitor of their famous staff method by the monks themselves. A stele erected by Shaolin abbot Wenzai in 1517 shows the deity's vajra-club had by then been changed to a Chinese staff,[29] which originally "served as the emblem of the monk".[30] Vajrapani's Yaksha-like Narayana form was eventually equated with one of the four staff-wielding "Kimnara Kings" from the Lotus Sutra in 1575. His name was thus changed from Narayana to "Kimnara King".[31] One of the many versions of a certain tale regarding his creation of the staff method takes place during the Red Turban Rebellion in the Yuan Dynasty. Bandits lay siege to the monastery, but it is saved by a lowly kitchen worker wielding a long fire poker as a makeshift staff. He leaps into the oven and emerges as a monstrous giant big enough to stand astride both Mount Song and the imperial fort atop Mount Shaoshi (which are five miles apart). The bandits flee when they behold this staff-wielding titan. The Shaolin monks later realise that the kitchen worker was none other than the Kimnara King in disguise.[32] Shahar notes the part of the kitchen worker might have been based on the actual life of the monk Huineng (638-713).[33] In addition, he suggests the mythical elements of the tale were based on the fictional adventures of Sun Wukong from the classical novel Journey to the West. He compares the worker's transformation in the stove with Sun's time in Laozi's crucible, their use of the staff, and the fact that Sun and his weapon can both grow to gigantic proportions.[34]

Statues and paintings of Kimnara were commissioned in various halls throughout Shaolin in honour of his defeat of the Red Turban army. A wicker statue woven by the monks and featured in the center of the "Kimnara Hall" was mentioned in Cheng Zongyou's 17th century training manual Shaolin Staff Method. However, a century later, it was claimed that Kimnara had himself woven the statue. It was destroyed when the monastery was set aflame by Shi Yousan in 1928. A "rejuvenated religious cult" arose around Kimnara in the late twentieth century. Shaolin re-erected the shrine to him in 1984 and improved it in 2004.[35]

The Buddhist monk Bodhidharma is often popularly considered to be the creator of the monastery's arts. An example is provided by Wong Kiew Kit, who writes: "It was during this time that the Venerable Bodhidharma came from India to China to spread Buddhism. In 527 CE, he settled down in the Shaolin monastery in Henan province, and inspired the development of Shaolin Kung Fu. This marked a watershed in the history of Kung Fu, because it led to a change of course, as Kung Fu became institutionalised. Before this, martial arts were known only in general sense."[36] Wong cites the "Sinew Metamorphosis" as being a qigong style that the Buddhist saint taught to the monks to strengthen their bodies.[37] All of these claims, however, are generally not supported by martial arts historians because the idea of Bodhidharma influencing Shaolin boxing is based on a forged qigong manual written during the 17th century. This is when a Taoist with the pen name "Purple Coagulation Man of the Way" wrote the Sinews Changing Classic in 1624, but claimed to have discovered it. The first of two prefaces of the manual traces this qigong style's succession from Bodhidharma to the Chinese general Li Jing via "a chain of Buddhist saints and martial heroes."[38] The work itself is full of anachronistic mistakes and even includes a popular character from Chinese fiction, the "Bushy Bearded Hero" (虬髯客), as a lineage master.[39] Literati as far back as the Qing Dynasty have taken note of these mistakes. The scholar Ling Tinkang (1757–1809) described the author as an 'ignorant village master'."[40]

Bodhidharma is traditionally said by Buddhists to have meditated at the temple and the important early Ch'an practitioner Shenhui locates it as the site at which Bodhidharma's disciple Hui-ke cut his own arm off to obtain the ineffable dharma. The collection of works attributed to Bodhidharma is called "The Six Gates of Shaoshi Collection" (少室六門集 Shǎoshì liùmén jí) [Taisho Tripitaka Vol. 48, No. 2009[41]] and consists of the six treatises or discourses of relatively brief but different lengths traditionally said to be authored by Bodhidharma. Each work is considered a gateway to the Buddhist dharma, making the "Six Gates" of the title. Shaoshi, the peak where Shaolin Temple is located on Mount Song, means "little hall" and thus the name of the peak becomes a play on words for the six gates or doors by which the reader may enter the little hall on Mount Song and find enlightenment. The actual authorship by Bodhidharma is disputed, but the Third Gate titled "Two Kinds of Entrances" (二種入) is considered by one of its translators, Red Pine (Bill Porter), to be the one most likely actually from Bodhidharma.[42] That work is also found in the Buddhist Canon as a separate treatise with the longer title of "Great Master Bodhidharma’s Outline For Discerning the Mahayana and Entering the Way By Four Practices and Contemplation" (菩提達磨大師略辨大乘入道四行觀)[Xuzangjing Vol. X63, No. 1217[43]].

[GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG]

Who is THIS V>>>>>>>>>

Vajrapani

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For Vajrapani in Hinduism, see Indra.

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Indian painting of Vajrapāṇi Bodhisattva, from the Ajaṇṭā Caves

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Vajrapāṇi (from Sanskrit vajra, "thunderbolt" or "diamond" and pāṇi, lit. "in the hand") is one of the earliest bodhisattvas of Mahayana Buddhism. He is the protector and guide of the Buddha, and rose to symbolize the Buddha's power. Vajrapani was used extensively in Buddhist iconography as one of the three protective deities surrounding the Buddha. Each of them symbolizes one of the Buddha's virtues: Manjusri (the manifestation of all the Buddhas' wisdom), Avalokitesvara (the manifestation of all the Buddhas' compassion) and Vajrapani (the manifestation of all the Buddhas' power as well as the power of all 5 Tathagathas). Furthermore, Vajrapani is one of the earliest Dharmapalas and the only Buddhist deity to be mentioned in the Pali Canon as well as be worshiped in the Shaolin Temple, Tibetan Buddhism, and even Pure Land Buddhism (where he is known as Mahasthamaprapta and is one of a Triad comprising Amitabha and Avalokiteshwara). Manifestations of Vajrapani can also be found in many Buddhist temples in Japan as Dharma protectors called Nio. Vajrapani is also associated with Acala who is venerated as Fudo-Myo in Japan where he is serenaded as the holder of the Vajra.[1] Vajrapani here is different from that mentioned in the Vedas as Indra, the king of the Gods and the most widely mentioned deity in all of the Indian scriptures.

Contents

1 Names

2 Doctrine

3 Mantras

4 Patron saint of Shaolin monastery

5 Iconography

6 Gallery

7 See also

8 Notes

9 References

10 External links

Names

In Sanskrit, Vajrapani is also known as vajra-sattva. The Sutra of Golden Light entitles him "great general of the yakshas".[2] Other name-forms are as follows.

Bengali: Bojropani (বজ্রপাণি)

Tibetan: Channa Dorje

Mandarin: Jīngāng shǒu púsà (金剛手菩薩), Héyíluóhuányuèchā (和夷羅洹閱叉) or Báshéluóbōnì (跋闍羅波膩)

Vietnamese: Kim cương thủ bồ tát, Hoà di la hoàn duyệt xoa or Bạt xà la ba nị

Malay and Indonesian: Wajrapani

Mongolian: Ochirvaani (Очирваань) or Bazarvaani (Базарваань)

Korean: Geumgang su bosal (금강수보살) or Balsarapani (발사라파니)

Japanese: Kongō shu bosatsu (金剛手菩薩), Wairaoneisa (和夷羅洹閱叉) or Bajarahaji (跋闍羅波膩)[3]

Doctrine

On the popular level, Vajrapani, Holder of the Thunderbolt Scepter (symbolizing the power of compassion), is the Bodhisattva who represents the power of all the Buddhas, just as Avalokitesvara represents their great compassion, Manjushri their wisdom, and Tara their miraculous deeds. For the yogi, Vajrapani is a means of accomplishing fierce determination and symbolizes unrelenting effectiveness in the conquest of negativity. His taut posture is the active warrior pose (pratayalidha), based on an archer's stance but resembling the en garde position in Western fencing. His outstretched right hand brandishes a vajra and his left hand deftly holds a lasso - with which he binds demons. Although he wears a skull crown in a few depictions, in most depictions he wears a 5 pointed Bodhisattva crown to depict the power of the 5 Tathagathas. (The skull crown is an iconographic symbol of another similar Dharmapala called Mahakala). Vajrapani's expression is wrathful and he has a third eye. Around his neck is a serpent necklace and his loin cloth is made up of the skin of a tiger, whose head can be seen on his left knee.

The Pali Canon's Ambattha Suttanta, which challenges the caste system, tells of one instance of him appearing as a sign of the Buddha's power. At the behest of his teacher, a young Brahmin named Ambatha visited the Buddha. Knowing the Buddha's family to be the Shakya clan who are Kshatriya caste, Ambatha failed to show him the respect he would a fellow Brahmin. When the Buddha questioned his lack of respect, Ambatha replied it was because the Buddha belongs to a "menial" caste. The Buddha then asked the Brahmin if his family was descended from a “Shakya slave girl”. Knowing this to be true, Ambatha refused to answer the question. Upon refusing to answer the question for a second time, the Buddha warned him that his head would be smashed to bits if he failed to do so a third time. Ambatha was frightened when he saw Vajrapani manifest above the Buddha's head ready to strike the Brahmin down with his thunderbolt. He quickly confirmed the truth and a lesson on caste ensues.[2]

According to the Pancavimsatisahasrika and Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita any Bodhisattva on the path to Buddhahood is eligible for Vajrapani's protection, making them invincible to any attacks "by either men or ghosts".[4]

Mantras

The Mantra oṃ vajrapāṇi hūṃ phaṭ is associated with Vajrapani. His Seed Syllable is hūṃ.

Patron saint of Shaolin monastery

Vajrapani Painting at Mogao Caves's Hidden Library, Dunhuang, China Power and anger personified. Late 9th Century, Tang Dynasty. Ink and colors on silk.

In his book The Shaolin Monastery (2008), Prof. Meir Shahar notes Vajrapani is the patron saint of the Shaolin Monastery. A short story appearing in Zhang Zhuo's (660-741) Tang anthology shows how the deity had been venerated in the Monastery from at least the eighth century. It is an anecdotal story of how the Shaolin monk Sengchou (480-560) gained supernatural strength and fighting ability by praying to the Vajrapani and being force-fed raw meat.[5] Shaolin abbot Zuduan (1115–1167) erected a stele in his honor during the Song Dynasty.[6] It reads:

According to the scripture [Lotus Sutra], this deity (Narayana) is a manifestation of Avalokitesvara (Guanyin).[7][8] If a person who compassionately nourishes all living beings employs this [deity's] charm, it will increase his body's strength (zengzhang shen li). It fulfills all vows, being most efficacious. ... Therefore those who study Narayana's hand-symbolism (mudra), those who seek his spell (mantra), and those who search for his image are numerous. Thus we have erected this stele to spread this transmission.[9]

— Stele re-erected (chong shang) by Shaolin's abbot Zuduan

Instead of being considered a stand alone deity, Shaolin believes Vajrapani to be an emanation of the Bodhisattva Guanyin. The Chinese scholar A'De noted this was because the Lotus Sutra says Guanyin takes on the visage of whatever being that would best help pervade the dharma. The exact Lotus Sutra passage reads: “To those who can be conveyed to deliverance by the body of the spirit who grasps the vajra (Vajrapani) he preaches Dharma by displaying the body of the spirit who grasps the vajra.”[10]

He was historically worshiped as the progenitor of their famous staff method by the monks themselves. A stele erected by Shaolin abbot Wenzai in 1517 shows the deity's vajra-club had by then been changed to a Chinese staff,[11] which originally "served as the emblem of the monk".[12] Vajrapani's Yaksha-like Narayana form was eventually equated with one of the four staff-wielding "Kimnara Kings" from the Lotus Sutra in 1575. His name was thus changed from Narayana to "Kimnara King".[13] One of the many versions of a certain tale regarding his creation of the staff method takes place during the Yuan Dynasty's Red Turban Rebellion. Bandits lay siege to the monastery, but it is saved by a lowly kitchen worker wielding a long fire poker as a makeshift staff. He leaps into the oven and emerges as a monstrous giant big enough to stand astride both Mount Song and the imperial fort atop Mount Shaoshi (which are five miles apart). The bandits flee when they behold this staff-wielding titan. The Shaolin monks later realize that the kitchen worker was none other than the Kimnara King in disguise.[14] Shahar notes the part of the kitchen worker might have been based on the actual life of the monk Huineng (638-713).[15] In addition, he suggests the mythical elements of the tale were based on the fictional adventures of Sun Wukong from the Chinese epic Journey to the West. He compares the worker's transformation in the stove with Sun's time in Laozi's crucible, their use of the staff, and the fact that Sun and his weapon can both grow to gigantic proportions.[16]

Statues and paintings of Kimnara were commissioned in various halls throughout Shaolin in honor of his defeat of the Red Turban army. A wicker statue woven by the monks and featured in the center of the "Kimnara Hall" was mentioned in Cheng Zongyou's seventeenth century training manual Shaolin Staff Method. However, a century later, it was claimed that Kimnara had himself woven the statue. It was destroyed when the monastery was set aflame by the KMT General Shi Yousan in 1928. A "rejuvenated religious cult" arose around Kimnara in the late twentieth century. Shaolin re-erected the shrine to him in 1984 and improved it in 2004.[17]

The Buddhist monk Bodhidharma erroneously came to be known as the creator of the monastery's arts. This occurred when a Taoist with the pen name "Purple Coagulation Man of the Way" wrote the Sinews Changing Classic in 1624, but claimed to have discovered it. The first of two prefaces of the manual traces this qigong style's succession from Bodhidharma to the Chinese general Li Jing via "a chain of Buddhist saints and martial heroes."[18] Scholars damn the work as a forgery because of its numerous anachronistic mistakes and the fact that popular fictional characters from Chinese literature, including the "Bushy Bearded Hero" (虬髯客), are listed as lineage masters.[19] In fact, the Qing scholar Ling Tingkan (1757–1809) "dismissed the manual's author as an 'ignorant village master'."[20]

Iconography

Just as Buddhaghosa associated Vajrapani with the Hindu god Indra,[21] his first representations in India were identified with the thunder deity. As Buddhism expanded in Central Asia, and fused with Hellenistic influences into Greco-Buddhism, the Greek hero Hercules was adopted to represent Vajrapani. He was then typically depicted as a hairy, muscular athlete, wielding a short "diamond" club.[22]

In Japan, Vajrapani is known as Shukongōshin (執金剛神, "Diamond rod-wielding God"), and has been the inspiration for the Niō (仁王, lit. Benevolent kings), the wrath-filled and muscular guardian god of the Buddha, standing today at the entrance of many Buddhist temples under the appearance of frightening wrestler-like statues. He is also associated with Fudo-Myo, an incarnation of Acala and the prayer mantra for Fudo Myo references him as the powerful wielder of the Vajra.

Some suggest that the war deity Kartikeya, who bears the title Skanda is also a manifestation of Vajrapani, who bears some resemblance to Skanda because they both wield vajras as weapons and are portrayed with flaming halos. He is also connected through Vajrapani through a theory to his connection to Greco-Buddhism, as Wei Tuo's image is reminiscent of the Heracles depiction of Vajrapani.

[GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG]

From Wiki on Patron Saint

Patron saint

1517 stele dedicated to Narayana's defeat of the Red Turban rebels. Guanyin (his original form) can be seen in the clouds above his head.

In his book The Shaolin Monastery (2008), Tel Aviv University professor Meir Shahar notes that the bodhisattva Vajrapani is the patron saint of Shaolin Monastery. A short story appearing in Zhang Zhuo's (660-741) Tang anthology shows how the deity had been venerated in Shaolin from at least the eighth century. It is an anecdotal story of how the Shaolin monk Sengchou (480-560) gained supernatural strength and fighting ability by praying to Vajrapani and being force-fed raw meat.[23] Shaolin abbot Zuduan (祖端禪師) (1115–1167) erected a stele in his honour during the Song Dynasty.[24] It reads:

According to the scripture [Lotus Sutra], this deity (Narayana) is a manifestation of Avalokitesvara (Guanyin).[25][26] If a person who compassionately nourishes all living beings employs this [deity's] charm, it will increase his body's strength. It fulfills all vows, being most efficacious. ... Therefore those who study Narayana's hand-symbolism (mudra), those who seek his spell (mantra), and those who search for his image are numerous. Thus we have erected this stele to spread this transmission.[27]

— Stele re-erected (chong shang) by Shaolin's abbot Zuduan

Shaolin believes Vajrapani to be an emanation of the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, rather than a stand-alone deity. The Chinese scholar A'de noted this was because the Lotus Sutra says Avalokitesvara takes on the visage of whatever being would best help pervade the dharma. The exact Lotus Sutra passage reads: “To those who can be conveyed to deliverance by the body of the spirit who grasps the vajra (Vajrapani) he preaches Dharma by displaying the body of the spirit who grasps the vajra.”[28]

He was historically worshiped as the progenitor of their famous staff method by the monks themselves. A stele erected by Shaolin abbot Wenzai in 1517 shows the deity's vajra-club had by then been changed to a Chinese staff,[29] which originally "served as the emblem of the monk".[30] Vajrapani's Yaksha-like Narayana form was eventually equated with one of the four staff-wielding "Kimnara Kings" from the Lotus Sutra in 1575. His name was thus changed from Narayana to "Kimnara King".[31] One of the many versions of a certain tale regarding his creation of the staff method takes place during the Red Turban Rebellion in the Yuan Dynasty. Bandits lay siege to the monastery, but it is saved by a lowly kitchen worker wielding a long fire poker as a makeshift staff. He leaps into the oven and emerges as a monstrous giant big enough to stand astride both Mount Song and the imperial fort atop Mount Shaoshi (which are five miles apart). The bandits flee when they behold this staff-wielding titan. The Shaolin monks later realise that the kitchen worker was none other than the Kimnara King in disguise.[32] Shahar notes the part of the kitchen worker might have been based on the actual life of the monk Huineng (638-713).[33] In addition, he suggests the mythical elements of the tale were based on the fictional adventures of Sun Wukong from the classical novel Journey to the West. He compares the worker's transformation in the stove with Sun's time in Laozi's crucible, their use of the staff, and the fact that Sun and his weapon can both grow to gigantic proportions.[34]

Statues and paintings of Kimnara were commissioned in various halls throughout Shaolin in honour of his defeat of the Red Turban army. A wicker statue woven by the monks and featured in the center of the "Kimnara Hall" was mentioned in Cheng Zongyou's 17th century training manual Shaolin Staff Method. However, a century later, it was claimed that Kimnara had himself woven the statue. It was destroyed when the monastery was set aflame by Shi Yousan in 1928. A "rejuvenated religious cult" arose around Kimnara in the late twentieth century. Shaolin re-erected the shrine to him in 1984 and improved it in 2004.[35]

The Buddhist monk Bodhidharma is often popularly considered to be the creator of the monastery's arts. An example is provided by Wong Kiew Kit, who writes: "It was during this time that the Venerable Bodhidharma came from India to China to spread Buddhism. In 527 CE, he settled down in the Shaolin monastery in Henan province, and inspired the development of Shaolin Kung Fu. This marked a watershed in the history of Kung Fu, because it led to a change of course, as Kung Fu became institutionalised. Before this, martial arts were known only in general sense."[36] Wong cites the "Sinew Metamorphosis" as being a qigong style that the Buddhist saint taught to the monks to strengthen their bodies.[37] All of these claims, however, are generally not supported by martial arts historians because the idea of Bodhidharma influencing Shaolin boxing is based on a forged qigong manual written during the 17th century. This is when a Taoist with the pen name "Purple Coagulation Man of the Way" wrote the Sinews Changing Classic in 1624, but claimed to have discovered it. The first of two prefaces of the manual traces this qigong style's succession from Bodhidharma to the Chinese general Li Jing via "a chain of Buddhist saints and martial heroes."[38] The work itself is full of anachronistic mistakes and even includes a popular character from Chinese fiction, the "Bushy Bearded Hero" (虬髯客), as a lineage master.[39] Literati as far back as the Qing Dynasty have taken note of these mistakes. The scholar Ling Tinkang (1757–1809) described the author as an 'ignorant village master'."[40]

Bodhidharma is traditionally said by Buddhists to have meditated at the temple and the important early Ch'an practitioner Shenhui locates it as the site at which Bodhidharma's disciple Hui-ke cut his own arm off to obtain the ineffable dharma. The collection of works attributed to Bodhidharma is called "The Six Gates of Shaoshi Collection" (少室六門集 Shǎoshì liùmén jí) [Taisho Tripitaka Vol. 48, No. 2009[41]] and consists of the six treatises or discourses of relatively brief but different lengths traditionally said to be authored by Bodhidharma. Each work is considered a gateway to the Buddhist dharma, making the "Six Gates" of the title. Shaoshi, the peak where Shaolin Temple is located on Mount Song, means "little hall" and thus the name of the peak becomes a play on words for the six gates or doors by which the reader may enter the little hall on Mount Song and find enlightenment. The actual authorship by Bodhidharma is disputed, but the Third Gate titled "Two Kinds of Entrances" (二種入) is considered by one of its translators, Red Pine (Bill Porter), to be the one most likely actually from Bodhidharma.[42] That work is also found in the Buddhist Canon as a separate treatise with the longer title of "Great Master Bodhidharma’s Outline For Discerning the Mahayana and Entering the Way By Four Practices and Contemplation" (菩提達磨大師略辨大乘入道四行觀)[Xuzangjing Vol. X63, No. 1217[43]].

WHO KNOWS......AFTER ALL..... LEGEND AND MYTH COMBINE INTO science fiction:

"THERE IS MORE HERE THAN MEET THE (modern) EYE!" !!!!

gd y-y

[GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG]

Stele or as I said Stupa:

stele

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red stele

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stele

noun \ˈstēl, ˈstē-lē\

Definition of STELE

: the usually cylindrical central vascular portion of the axis of a vascular plant

Origin of STELE

New Latin, from Greek stēlē stela, pillar

First Known Use: 1895

Other Botany Terms

annual, burgeon, chloroplast, nomenclature, succulent, sylvan, xylem

Rhymes with STELE

dele, eely, Ely, freely, mealy, seely, steelie, steely, vealy, wheelie

stele

noun (Concise Encyclopedia)

Standing stone tablet used in the ancient world primarily as a grave marker but also for dedication, commemoration, and demarcation. Though the stele's origin is unknown, a stone slab was commonly used as a tombstone in Egypt, Greece, Asia, and the Mayan empire. In Babylon, the Code of Hammurabi was engraved on a tall stele. The largest number of stelae were produced in Attica, chiefly as grave markers. The dead were represented on the stelae as they were in life: men as warriors or athletes, women surrounded by their children, and children with their pets or toys.

GD Y-Y

The Stupas or Stele's of Shaolin Temple are the residues of the great Masters of Shaolin Temple and through their kung fu 'MUCH' of the kung fu movie 'legends' were born and from those legends 'WE 'the fans have 'ALL' prospered in various degrees in this the kung fu movie adventure.

GD Y-Y

[GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG]

Sorry I'll delete my post. I was wrong I was tricked by movie magic. I don't know the real historical stuff that well just the films.

Sir.... why did U delete those pictures of Shoalin Temple, AKA....... "TODAY"... we must see those images, as its NOT ....how shall I say... a.detriment to the cause.....Shaolin Temple of the 'OLD' days is 'LONG GONE', lone gone.... Sir..... and may I say, will never return in China as it EXISTS..... t o d ay..... !!!!!,

but we, even seeing the way things are today,

It still rest upon each of 'US' to (VENERATE) this Holy Shrine;

,SHAOLIN TEMPLE,

even as it 'SITS' today....... as it the root of our beloved film genre!

gd y-y.

[GOLDEN DRAGON YIN-YANG]

One LAST foot-note on this discussion.

I know not HOW...... but such words come from me as..... VENERATE:....LOL!

The explanation sums up this dissertation:

Definition of VENERATE

1

: to regard with reverential respect or with admiring deference

2

: to honor (as an icon or a relic) with a ritual act of devotion

GD Y-Y

P.S. (deference) also means great respect or esteem for someone or some thing!

[Sheng]

First off, I think its highly confusing to readers that try to follow a thread if KFC members delete what they wrote (or posted) because then responses to those initial posts become unintelligible.

Also to use a series of posts to copy & paste a ton of (sometimes not entirely accurate) Wikipedia text can also become more befuddling than beneficial for interested parties.

To get back to the beginning: Zhang Xinyen’s SHAOLIN TEMPLE from 1982 was, is and probably will remain the movie that shows more of the real Shaolin temple than any other. You’ll see the most important parts of the temple premise at length, for instance the Thousand Buddah Hall with its ancient murals and the broken up brick floor (supposedly those holes where hammered into the floor by the heels of generations of practicing fighting monks). In the movie you’ll see an awesome practicing sequence filmed inside this hall.

Or the ta lin, the pagoda forest (well, stupas, really), the biggest graveyard of eminent monks in China located about a mile outside the monastery. Today its fenced off and circled by throngs of tourists, in ’81, when SHAOLIN TEMPLE was shot, Jet Li, Yue Sing Wai and others actually used the forest as a chase and fighting location.

The monastery’s surroundings you see in the film you wouldn’t recognize anymore today. Back then you reached the front gate on dirt tracks, now you’ll use a new super-highway to get to the outer “toll gate” (where you drop your 100 Yuan entry fee) surrounded by shopping arcades, then you walk a mile or two with legions of tourists along a paved avenue passing the main practice area (a Tiananmen-sized square) until you reach the monastery’s gateway. I wouldn't be surprised if they're already toying with the idea to built Shaolin its own airport...

By the way, to my knowledge there really isn’t a series of Shaolin / Jet Li films as infered in the first post. I only know of SHAOLIN TEMPLE and KIDS FROM SHAOLIN. The latter uses Shaolin in name only. It was filmed in one of the most scenic places in the world, along the Li river and its craggy karst mountains near Yangshuo / Xingping in Guanxi province, about two-and-a-half hours by plane from Shaolin. There was a brief temple sequence (where the monk is strangulated) but that didn’t appear to be shot in Shaolin. They pretended the temple was by the riverside but there isn’t any temple along the banks of the Li river either...

Finally, the temple was lastly razed in 1928 by local warlord Shi Yousan. The fairly modest front gate with the three Shaolin Temple characters (written by Quing emperor Kangxi) that you always see was build in 1974, towards the end of the Cultural Revolution in other words. Shaolin’s Ming-styled drum and bell towers date from the 1980s.

And yes, Shaolin had a very uneasy relationship with the Qing court (even though some major restoration and rebuilding work was payed for by Qing emperors), but there is no evidence whatsoever that points to the monastery being destroyed by the Manchus.