CHINA 5A TRAVEL
The birthplace of Zen and of kung fu — Bodhidharma's cave above the monastery where Chan Buddhism was born, a Pagoda Forest of 240 brick tombs, warrior monks' daily performances, and the book-cliff gorge of Mount Song's Shaoshi range behind it all.
Shaolin Temple on Mount Song (the Central Sacred Mountain) is two births in one place: in the 5th century the Indian monk Bodhidharma sat nine years in a cave above the temple and founded Chan — Zen — Buddhism, China's own Buddhism; and from the monks' conditioning exercises grew 'the kung fu under heaven' that the 1982 Jet Li film carried to every screen on Earth. The temple remains a working monastery of the Chan school.
The visit is a fixed spine: the memorial archway, the stele-lined approach, the halls of the main courtyard (from Heavenly Kings to the Thousand Buddha Hall with its stamped-brick training floor), then the Pagoda Forest — 240 brick stupas of abbots across a thousand years, the largest such forest in China. Beyond, cable or trail climbs the Shaoshi range to Bodhidharma's cave, the First Ancestor's shrine and the cliff-wall trail of the Three Emperors' Stockade with its 'book-shelf' strata.
The ¥80 ticket includes the temple, the Pagoda Forest, the kung-fu shows at the theatre, and the outer sights. A focused half-day does the core; a full day adds the mountain. Pair with Longmen in Luoyang for Henan's classic one-day double (¥258 tours).
Highlights
The Pagoda Forest
240 brick stupas of ten centuries of abbots — monastic history as a stone grove.
Kung Fu Performances
Warrior monks' daily shows at the theatre — iron-shirt, staff and animal forms, included in the ticket.
The Thousand Buddha Hall Floor
The training hall whose 48 sunken footprints generations of monks stamped into brick.
Bodhidharma's Cave
The cliff hollow of the nine-year meditation above the temple — Zen's ground zero.
Book-Shelf Cliff
The Shaoshi range's layered 'book' strata on the Three Emperors' Stockade trail.
Mount Song Itself
The Central Sacred Mountain — the Songyang academy and Han cypresses on the Taishi side.
Photo Gallery
Comments