Warrior monks. oxymoronic? or sheer brilliance? the psychology of Shaolin.

  Though I have only been a buddhist for a short time, I have been a martial artist, or at least a martial arts enthusiast for much longer. Now, Buddhism is a supremely peaceful religion, violence is not preferred under any circumstances. Yet at the same time It is a realistic religion, not an idealistic one. A proper Buddhist understands that violence is sometimes the only way to survive, it is unfortunate but it is the truth. when attacked by animals or aggressive criminals, all the wisdom and inner peace in the world will not help you. There are times where the minds stronger powers such as reason and compassion are either of no use or simply too slow to be useful. Enlightenment cannot stop a bullet, and compassion cannot calm a rabid dog. But still, buddhism teaches karma, meaning everything that happens is the result of a previous occurrence. So things such as this are often written off as unfortunately, unavoidable. Knowing this, one would think that Buddhism would specifically forbid training to fight. And that it is better to not worry about what /might/ happen and avoid violence anyway right? Not necessarily...

 The best example of why this isn't necessarily true is that of the monks of Shaolin temple. Shaolin temple is a temple of the Mahayana Buddhist sect called cha'n (more commonly known as "Zen" Its Japanese pronunciation). The monks of this temple, while peaceful, happy and kind as any other Buddhist monks, just so happen to be some of the most powerful fighters in the world. Capable of smashing through rock, wood and steel with relative ease. And capable of taking hits so tremendously brutal that any other man would be reduced to a wailing pile of bruises and blood. They have been known to take crowbars to the head,  baseball bats to the ribs and bricks to the face without so much as a fracture or a bloody nose. they hang by the throat for several hours and literally punch through concrete walls for training every day. Some report them even being able to take down a raging bull bare handed. they're that powerful. Now what on earth do Buddhist monks think they're doing practicing martial arts to such an extreme?? Well the answer to that lies in both the spirit of martial arts and buddhism as well as psychology. There is also a practical reason some monks practiced martial arts as well, The ancient and feudal age world was full of danger and lawlessness. A traveling monk was an easy target for bandits. Granted they didn't have much to steal. But you know how that goes. A temple is an even better place to rob, full of pacifist monks with lots of valuable food and supplies to steal, and no military guards.  So naturally they had to defend themselves somehow. And it wasn't like nowadays, where guns overpower just about any martial art. In that time, a powerful martial artist was truly something for criminals to fear. So that is part of how monks and martial arts came to be connected. But this article is more about why they still do this in the modern world. And why they believe that martial arts actually improves their practice as buddhists.

  Now its no secret, martial arts is awesome. When people think of martial arts, images of Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee might come to mind. But monks? like the Dalai Lama? what would they see in the martial arts? Well, the truth is that traditional martial arts are not just about kicking butt and taking names. Martial arts... proper martial arts, is also non violent and pro-peace. Its about training of the mind and body, and excellence of self. A healthy body leads to a healthier mind and a healthy mind to a healthier body. Its a beautiful cycle. Learning to fight and take down one opponent after another seems to clash with the buddhist desire for compassion and love. But thats not so... to master martial arts is to know confidence. to know confidence is to know courage, and to know courage is to know how to stay cool in dangerous situations. In a situation where you are attacked, one who does not know how to fight will only know fear. and fear leads to irrational decisions. The courageous and cool mind of a true martial artist and the compassionate and loving nature of buddhism is a perfect combination! It's just that martial arts serve the solider and the assassin just as well but for different reasons...

  The Buddha once said, "you yourself, as much as anyone in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection". We can take this to mean that while we do not wish others to suffer, we do not wish ourselves to suffer either. So if you are fighting for yourself or another makes no difference. the point is to prevent needless suffering at the hands of another. But you do not want them to suffer needlessly either. Martial arts is perfect for filling that gap. A good martial artist can shut down an unskilled opponent with incredible swiftness. And that is an act of compassion. you cannot let yourself or another suffer at the hands of this aggressor. But if you don't know martial arts its hard to defend yourself without straight up killing the guy, or recklessly beating his face in with a rock or something. A martial artist is capable of dishing out a lot of long term and often lethal damage. But his hands are controlled and calculated.  he can also win a conflict without causing any unnecessary suffering to his opponent. And many people are oddly enough, very eager to open up to a guy who can so easily hand them their arse on a silver platter, yet will help them to the hospital afterwards. it's the oldest form of winning instant respect.

  So in summary, The logic behind martial arts in connection to Buddhism is that martial arts is an excellent way to improve the mind and body. Wisdom is a virtue, but one that often goes out the window when fear is involved. Same with compassion, fear causes us to become wild animals. Lack of action when a person is being hurt by another is not very compassionate. So martial arts is a way to shield yourself and the innocent from suffering while doing as little harm as possible to those with evil in their hearts. After all, we all have buddha nature, some people have just fallen off the path of awakening. It's actually a perfect way to spread compassion and master yourself to a much higher degree. They are only so strong because they have mastered the mysterious power of Qi (or ki). That is, internal energy, It is the ultimate power of the human species. And if you can master the body to such an extreme, certainly you are disciplined enough to attain full spiritual and mental enlightenment as well. And that is the connection between buddhism and martial arts. It seems a contradiction at a glance. But there is in fact, a very logical and powerful significance behind the practice.

Thank you dear readers. I will see you in the next article, may you all know peace and happiness ^^

The Temple in my heart and a new path.

   Well now. Its been some time since I've written anything and for that, my cherished readers I apologize. I have been without internet since mid-december and only got re-connected today! But wow, what an adventure Ive had in that time. Its been an incredible spiritual Journey. You see, after I went offline for a while I moved 1,800 miles from Reno NV to Houston TX. Very shortly after my online presence dissipated I made one of the most rewarding changes of my life. I went from being a very spiritually aware agnostic, to a devout Buddhist. And let me just say, I have never been happier. I have read a book called "The art of Happiness" by his Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet and Howard Cutler. It is basically a how to manual for achieving ultimate happiness. The kind of happiness that can only come from within. Since then I have drastically altered my plans in life and overall demeanor. Before, though spiritual and kind indeed, I was cruel, heartless and obsessed with money in comparison to now! I now plan to live the life of a spiritual hermit. Living on perhaps 150-$250 a month. Only enough to cover my basic needs such as toiletries, property tax and food I cannot grow myself, by renting a space on the land our family is going to buy and offering lessons In spiritualism and gardening to a willing apprentice. Almost as a monk in many ways. I would pursue monkhood but I do not feel like the traditional monastic lifestyle is for me. I am so at peace right now with everything in my life, that whether I have money or not means nothing in my heart, and I am happy inside regardless of outside circumstances. I don't know how It is that I never figured it out myself, but his Holiness really described the way to be happy in plain and simple directions. I highly recommend that book to everyone. I'll cover that in more detail in another article though.

  This life of pure, unrestrained, and unselfish service to others and dedication to a spiritual life turns out to have been the ultimate goal to my happiness in life. I haven't even started yet and I feel almost overwhelmed with so much weight lifted off of my shoulders. I must learn a great deal about the buddhas teachings in the next five years, but for a practitioner of all of 2 1/2 months Id say I have an excellent grasp on the basics of his teachings. But I know I still have a very long way to go. I still get angry, I still feel lust toward the opposite sex and I still have moments of greed just as anyone else does. But these things are fading for me and fading quickly at that. Speaking of the opposite sex, I have taken a completely passive approach to dating, and now debate on whether I will bother seeking romantic love in my life at all. As I studied the Buddhas teachings I began to wonder about the desire for love, and how much that had made me suffer. Being here in Texas where my friends are has reminded me that good friends can mean as much to a person as a spouse without near as much put into having them. I refer back to my article "the real power of real friendship" in which I mentioned the incredible power of true friends. Seeking a mate is a long, complicated and tedious process, and the compromises I would have to make in my life to attract a woman to my side may not even be worth it for me personally.  But having good friends handy has soothed my loneliness and all that remains of that desire is shameless sexuality. In reflecting on this, I realized that perhaps for me, a female companion is simply not in the cards. Despite how wonderful love can be, it can be very... distracting to one seeking spiritual enlightenment. I don't know that I can accomplish this by handing 50% of my being over to someone who is not equally dedicated to doing so. And for that reason I believe I may choose to remain single. That being said, If I meet an amazing girl who sees my way of life as something to be treasured and wishes to live the same way alongside me I would be open to such a love, but I have ceased actively pursuing romance, and that alone opens up many many possibilities for me.

  Since beginning to walk the path, I have known great patience, tolerance, and compassion. And I did not realize how closed off and selfish I still was. It has always been a belief of mine that surprising yourself is an extremely good feeling. And yes I could say, "wow, was I really still that bad?" but I prefer to think, "wow, look how much Ive improved as a person in such a short time! I didn't know I was capable of such great compassion!" Because of this, my powers of empathy have grown even stronger. In many ways It feels like I was born to be a buddhist. How quickly and easily I grasp these concepts and how natural it feels for me to let go of anger and see the good in all beings is very unusual. It seems that many people cannot control these things without a great deal of effort. however for me it comes so naturally I almost do it instinctively. That does not mean however that I will allow myself to become arrogant and complacent. after all, my awakening is for the sake of all beings as well as myself, as is a popular buddhist concept. I love the path that the Buddha has layed before me. It is free of judgement and guilt. Free of harsh rules and inflexible traditions. And It is based on truth, not blind faith. It fills me with hope, for myself, for the ones I love personally and for the entirety of the human family. We are all equal, we all deserve happiness. There is much to come from now on dear readers, thank you for staying by me, thank you for reading. namaste ^^ see you next time!