Our Roots — Songshan Shaolin Temple of China
Shaolin Temple is the birthplace of Zen Buddhism and Shaolin Kung Fu. Shaolin Kung Fu is one of the most ancient and influential martial arts systems in the world. It is also a comprehensive system for health and spiritual cultivation.
Shaolin Temple USA
Shaolin Temple USA is an institution for the learning of Shaolin Kung Fu Chan (Zen) culture. It currently has Shaolin Culture Centers located in San Francisco, Fremont, California, and in Vienna, Virginia. These centers offer classes in Shaolin Kung Fu, Shaolin Qigong and Shaolin Wellness for children and adults. Classes are taught in the training tradition of Shaolin warrior monks at the famous Songshan Shaolin Temple in Henan Province, China.
Master Yanran, Executive Director of Shaolin Temple USA, has toured the world as ambassador of Chinese culture. He has performed Shaolin Kung Fu in more than 1,500 productions featuring Shaolin Kung Fu, such as Shaolin: Wheel of Life, for audiences in over 30 countries, and performed for many heads of states and dignitaries.
Shaolin Temple USA - Virginia location is a branch of our parent headquarters in California. You may learn more about our parent headquarters at the Shaolin Temple USA website.
Curriculum
Shaolin Temple USA draws first-hand teaching resources from the Shaolin Temple’s 1,500-year old treasure chest of traditional Shaolin Kung Fu training manuals and physical wellness classics that have never been revealed to the outside world, and from a long and direct lineage of great Kung Fu masters who pass their mantle to younger generations of Shaolin disciples.
Shaolin Temple USA shares its rich heritage with people of all backgrounds and ages by teaching and promoting Shaolin Kung Fu as a unified form of physical and spiritual culture. Shaolin Kung Fu is more than martial arts. It is a discipline that helps people achieve better physical and spiritual balance and wellness.
Shaolin Temple USA’s curriculum includes traditional Shaolin fist and weapon systems, Qigong, Shaolin Wellness Exercises and Chan (Zen) meditation, with comprehensive, structured and well-balanced programs designed for people of all ages and physical aptitude.
The Origin of Shaolin Temple
Shaolin Temple was established in 495 A.D. during the Northern Wei Dynasty of China. The Wei Emperor Xiaowen built the temple on Songshan Mountain of Henan Province to host the Indian high monk Batuo. In 517 A.D., South Indian Buddhist monk Bodhidharma landed in Shaolin Temple. He spent nine years meditating in a cave on WuruPeak behind the temple and founded the Chan School of Buddhism. For physical fitness between long meditation sessions, Bodhidharma created a series of exercises to stretch his limbs and strengthen his body. These exercises were taught to Shaolin monks to improve their health and thus began tradition of Shaolin Kung Fu and Shaolin Kung Fu monks. Bodhidharma was honored as the First Patriarch of Chan Buddhism and Shaolin Temple revered as the birthplace of Chan Buddhism, known to the Western world as Zen (Japanese name for Chan), and the cradle of Shaolin Kung Fu.
For 1,500 years, Shaolin Kung Fu was passed down from generation to generation as a unique cultural and spiritual system manifested in the form of martial arts. It embodies not only the essence of Chinese martial arts but also the wisdom of Chan Buddhism. It is a treasured child of the cultural exchange between ancient China and India — two great ancient civilizations of the world. It is a unique cultural phenomenon founded on Buddhist teachings of “no self” and “inconstancy.” The wisdom and courage inhabited in Shaolin Kung Fu is widely understood and respected by people of different cultures all over the world. Shaolin Kung Fu has become an integral part of mankind's spiritual civilization. Shaolin Temple monks emphasize that Chan and Kung Fu are the two integral aspects of their Buddhist regimen: Chan meditation leads to spiritual enlightenment, while Kung Fu not only maintains physical wellness for the pursuit of Chan, it is also a form of Chan cultivation.
Sharing Shaolin Culture with the World
In the 21st century, under the leadership of Abbot Shi Yongxin, the Shaolin Temple embarked on the monumental task of unearthing and compiling precious Shaolin classic manuals such as 72 Shaolin Supreme Teachings, Shaolin Medicine, Shaolin Wellness Kung Fu, Yijinjing (Change of the Sinews) and Xisuijing (Bone Marrow Cleansing) that have never been revealed to the world. The goal is to preserve and elevate these treasures for the benefit of the world in improving the people’s health and building a harmonious society.
Today, Shaolin Temple is the only temple in China that trains martial monks. The world rediscovered Shaolin Temple through the popular kung fu movie Shaolin Temple starring Jet Li in 1982. Since then, tens of thousands of martial arts enthusiasts visit Shaolin Temple every year to learn kung fu from the masters. Teams of monks have toured over 60 countries and performed their art as a world spectacle for world audiences and many heads of states. Overseas Shaolin cultural centers are established to more directly and accurately transmit the essence of Shaolin culture to people of the world.