A modern tale of Shaolin

One topic that came up in my conversation with the nun and the Englishman was the difference between the types of Buddhism – Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana, and Zen. This led on to a short discussion of Bodhidharma, and the Shaolin temple.

Of course, many people with a reasonable interest in martial arts and/or Buddhism will have some idea of the history of Shaolin. However, it seems very few people know much about the Shaolin temple of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

I learned something about this while I was in China, about how Jet Li in the film The Shaolin Temple massively revived interest in the temple and its history, and how the place went from empty ruin to super-commercialized cash-in very rapidly. That was the story of the 80s and 90s.

In the late 90s, a controversial new abbot took charge. I heard widely different stories about Shi Yongxin, who cleared away all of the martial arts schools, and took a strong, MBA-style, management approach, including taking legal action against companies worldwide for infringing on the Shaolin copyright.

The Buddhist channel has a profile of him here. It highlights the two views: either he’s a well-connected traditionalist, who’s restoring the temple to its true Buddhist roots, or else he’s a shady, well-connected opportunist, living the high life whilst depriving others of their livelihood. I encountered both views while I was in China. I bought a book in the Dashanzi Art District, titled Monks in Shaolin by photographer Hei Ming. It’s strongly pro-Abbot. On the other hand, my friend and teacher Xiaoyan was very upset that the Abbot had driven away the martial arts schools, and had a low opinion of the abbot’s lifestyle.

Who can say? At least one person has written an eyewitness account. In Borders yesterday, I found a book by an American journalist, Matthew Polly, titled American Shaolin. He went to the Shaolin Temple in the early 90s, and studied martial arts full-time for a couple of years (I’m jealous!). At S$45, I didn’t buy it, though I may still do so. Anyway, I was interested enough to Google him, and through his site found that he’d written a 4-page article on Slate magazine. It’s about how he went back to Shaolin, ten years after leaving, and his reaction to the changes he encountered.  After reading that, I’m more in the abbot’s camp, to be honest: although I’m sure that Shi Yongxin will remain controversial, if he is actually restoring Shaolin as  Buddhist centre, and reclaiming the name from unconnected opportunists, I think he’s doing the right thing.