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Where is Shaolin Monastery? -

Deep in the Songshan mountains of China, at the foot of Wuru Peak, lies the Shaolin Monastery. This ancient monastery is one of the most important locations in Chinese Buddhism, and the eternal home of the Shaolin sect.

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Inside the compound -

The monastery itself is a massive compound, covering over 14,000 acres of mountainous land. Various temples and holy areas make up 540 of these acres, along with 5,000 residential rooms.

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The Pagoda Forest -

One of the most well-known sites in the Shaolin Monastery is the Pagoda Forest. This forested area is speckled with around 250 stone memorial pagodas, constructed on the sites where the ashes of prominent Shaolin monks were spread.

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Shaolin kung fu -

The fighting style that Shaolin is so famous for today is Shaolin kung fu, one of the earliest forms of Chinese martial arts that still survives to this day.

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The Shaolin monks -

The monks of Shaolin are, of course, the stars of the monastery. Hundreds of young acolytes from across China and beyond flock to the monastery every year in hopes of being accepted into the fold. Many masters live at the monastery for decades, if not their entire lives.

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It's not all fighting -

While Shaolin monks are known across the world for their awe-inspiring fighting skills, the "warrior monks" actually only make up a small portion of the abbey's ranks. Of the 2,000 monks that inhabit Shaolin on an average year, only a few hundred are dedicated to martial arts.

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The founding of Shaolin Monastery -

Shaolin Monastery is said to have been founded in 495 CE by an Indian Buddhist who traveled to the Henan province of China on the Silk Road.

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Master Buddhabhadra -

That figure was Buddhabhadra, simply known in China as Batuo. Batuo was a master of Indian Hinayana Buddhism. Once his Shaolin monastery was built, he began to develop and teach an early Chinese form of Hinayana, known today as Chan Buddhism.

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Chan Buddhism -

Chan Buddhism, as it is known today, is primarily concerned with the practice of meditation and the absorption of the dharma, or the universal law of everything. Unlike many other sects of Buddhism, the Chan School lends more weight to the concept of universality than to the idea of a pantheon of deities.

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The legendary Bodhidharma -

Buddhabhadra may have been the first abbot of the Shaolin Monastery, but the name that has been repeated over the centuries is that of Bodhidharma. Bodhidharma was an abbot of Shaolin during the 5th century, who concretely established the fully developed discipline of Chan Buddhism. Bodhidharma is important not just within the Shaolin compound, but is worshipped throughout China as Chan Buddhism's first patriarch. According to some legends, Bodhidharma was also the founder of the Shaolin style of fighting.

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The birth of Shaolin kung fu -

Shaolin kung fu is known as one of, if not the, earliest style of Chinese martial arts, besides Chinese wrestling. The Shaolin method began as what was simply known as Luohan's 18 hands, "Luohan" simply acting as a Chinese synonym for the Hindu term "Arhat," a title referring to an individual who has achieved enlightenment.

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Luohan's 18 hands -

Traditional beliefs say that Bodhidharma developed 18 simple forms in the Shaolin Monastery in order to help his monks stay in top physical shape, an absolute necessity for men who spent days on end in firm meditative poses. From these 18 movements, Shaolin kung fu emerged, and from Shaolin kung fu emerged innumerable other Chinese martial arts styles.

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To fight or to meditate? -

Shaolin kung fu was actually primarily developed as an exercise regiment, as traditional Buddhism forbade violence. However, Chinese monasteries like Shaolin were large and self-sufficient communities with crops, goods, and sometimes income, meaning that it also wouldn't hurt for monks to be prepared to defend themselves against bandits and raiders.

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Thou shalt not kill -

Even when it was to be used in self-defense, the Shaolin style was never to be used to take a life. Even in the face of danger, Shaolin monks strictly avoided causing mortal injury, on moral and spiritual grounds.

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Yin shou gun -

It was likely this refusal to take lives that made the gun, or staff, the chosen weapon of Shaolin kung fu. Shaolin staff fighting, known as yin shou gun, is even to this day the primary weapon form learned by Shaolin warrior monks. A wooden staff in the hand of a Shaolin master will bring even the toughest of opponents to their knees, but will rarely cause death.

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Shaolin fever -

The teachings of Chan Buddhism and the skills of Luohan's 18 hands spread across China like wildfire. Monks and warlords alike became ardent followers to this new and entrancing marriage of fighting and spirituality. By the 7th century, the Shaolin Monastery was the spiritual epicenter of Chinese Buddhism.

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Fostering a dynasty -

The influence of the Shaolin Monastery and its devotees is made apparent by its very real impact on the military and political history of China. During the tumultuous period of unrest between the fall of the Sui dynasty and the establishment of the Tang dynasty, war came to the homeland of the Shaolin Monastery and threatened to destroy their way of life. Shaolin warrior monks fought alongside Li Yuan and Li Shimin, the first and second emperors of the Tang dynasty, respectively. These monks were instrumental in the success of the 621 CE Battle of Hulao, the battle that ended the interregnum conflict and established the great Tang dynasty.

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Warrior monks vs. Pirates -

The Battle of Hulao was only one of many times that the warrior monks of Shaolin successfully defended their home from outside threats. In the mid-16th century, Shaolin monks were recruited by China to fight off the Japanese pirates that were relentlessly attacking China's eastern shores. The warrior monks made quick work of the wokou, and the Chinese government erected numerous monuments across the country to commemorate their invaluable military contributions.

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Great victories and minimal losses -

Despite their philosophies of non-violence, the Shaolin monks of Old China were known across Asia as some of the most fearsome and effective fighters in the East. It is said that during their worst defeat, against the wokou pirates, the warrior monks suffered only four casualties. During their greatest victory, a group of monks chased a group of enemies for 10 days, killing no less than 100, and again suffering only four deaths of their own.

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Life in the monastery -

The monks of the Shaolin Monastery are thought to have fought in military campaigns on around a dozen occasions over the centuries, but they have nonetheless spent the grand majority of their existence in peaceful practice and meditation. That by no means should suggest that life in the monastery is easy though.

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Shaolin training -

The path to becoming a bona fide Shaolin warrior monk is long and arduous. Some young acolytes start training as young as four years old. Shaolin warriors train seven days a week, from 5:30 am to 6:00 pm. And the training itself is enough to break even the strongest people on Earth.

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Finger punching -

Some training practices, like the infamous finger punching, are a lifelong ordeal. Warrior monks in training start jabbing their fingers into trees and stones from their very first day, and after some years are able to sink holes into bark on first impact as if it was putty.

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Bao Shu Gong -

When monks practice Bao Shu Gong, they wrap their arms around a sturdy tree and simply try their hardest to pull it out of the ground. This is done multiple times a day, and after years of persistent training masters are able to shake the leaves from a tree or even loosen its roots with their bare hands. In combat, one can imagine what a grip like this would do to an enemy's rib cage and internal organs!

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Tie Shu Gong -

Tie Shu Gong is sometime translated as "Iron Head." Like many Shaolin practices, this is done to strengthen the monk's cranium, forehead, cheekbones, and neck until they are, well, as strong as iron. This enables seasoned monks to break stones with their heads, hammer in nails with their face, or stand on their head with ease.

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One finger of Chan -

As if their brute strength and marvelous resistance to pain wasn't enough, the power of the Shaolin reaches new heights with the one finger of Chan. This practice was begun by Hung Hei-gun, a "secular" member of the monastery who was dedicated to Shaolin kung fu but not Chan Buddhism, although the practice he developed is enough to make even the most ardent skeptic believe in something spiritual. Hung Hei-gun spent years focusing his energy through his finger, pointed at a lantern flame just outside his reach. Fast-forward 40 years, and the Shaolin master was apparently able to extinguish the flame through a plate of glass from a distance of 11 feet (3.3 m). In combat, it is said that this technique could destroy an enemy's internal organs without ever laying a hand on them.

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Tie Bue Shang -

Tie Bue Shang, or "Iron Shirt," trains a monk's core to withstand any amount of pain or stress. Before a monk's stomach is able to deny the stab of a blade, however, years of training must be undertaken. To begin with, students simply rub their knuckles over their torso for hours on end. Then, they begin scraping away with a blade. After about three years of this, monks graduate to a wooden mallet, and then an iron hammer, and finally full log battering rams, until there is nothing in the world that can pierce their chest or knock them over.

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The skill of light body -

The skill of light body is the very real practice that has inspired countless fight scene choreographers around the world. This physical mediation practice brings Shaolin monks to a state of near-weightlessness, allowing them to jump to fantastic heights, scamper along brittle tree branches, and, famously, walk short distances on water.

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The diamond finger -

The diamond finger, or Buddha finger, is one of the most infamous practices of the Shaolin Monastery. After years or even decades of training their core, their fingers, and their Qi, some Shaolin masters are able to hold their entire body weight upon just two fingers, or, in rare cases, just one.

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Shaolin today -

Today, the Shaolin Monastery is still alive and well, with around 70 monks permanently residing within the compound. A lucky few young devotees are invited to stay for a minimum of three years to learn the ways of Shaolin. However, much of the compound has been overrun by tourism, and many of the oldest and most sacred areas are blocked off to both the public and the students.

See also: Should you practice tai chi? The benefits, and how to start

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