Warrior Origins

The Historical and Legendary Links between Bodhidharma, Shaolin Kung-Fu, Karate and Ninjutsu

Hutan Ashrafian, Dr Hutan Ashrafian

• Publisher: The History Press
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9780750956185
• eBook ISBN: 9780750957472
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

Warrior Origins is an account of the history and legends of the world's prominent martial arts and how they share a common heritage. It chronicles the origins of the Shaolin warrior monks, Shaolin Kung-Fu and their celebrated founder, Bodhidharma, who is also considered the first patriarch of Zen (Chan) Buddhism. The book considers Bodhidharma's origins in the context of ancient Persia and its royal houses and continues with the rise of Karate from ancient Okinawan roots to Japan and then into a global sport. It connects the record of Ninja and Ninjutsu and the influence of some of its latter luminaries, including Seiko Fujita, whilst also revealing new evidence on renowned martial artists such as Bruce Lee. This work takes a dramatically original approach to the heart of the martial arts and their founders. Author Dr Hutan Ashrafian, who holds black belt grades in several martial art styles, including a 5th Dan in Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate and championship medals in Karate and Judo at World and European Masters level, delineates the inheritance of these arts using innovative evolutionary approaches to find previously unidentified links between them. Warrior Origins traces the pattern from Bodhidharma to the remarkable diversity of modern martial arts.

1

Enter the Dharma

The enigmatic origins of the martial arts are a preoccupation of martial artists worldwide. Attending the training halls of the most prominent and popular styles from around the globe including Kung-Fu, Tai Chi, Karate and Taekwondo, you will hear an almost universal claim that these schools have a lineage that can be traced back to a monk known best in the English-speaking world by his Indian name: Bodhidharma (Damo in Chinese, Daruma Taishi in Japanese). The fact that this monk is also considered to be the father, or first patriarch, of Zen (Chan) Buddhism adds to these origins stories a feeling of legitimacy; and also assumes for the fighting arts a spirituality, in the association with Zen philosophy and ascetic practices.

Instructors of all levels and grades proudly list their personal lineage of training, reverentially putting pictures of their particular style’s forefathers on the wall and almost always acknowledging that Bodhidharma was the first of all. The monk is also depicted proudly alongside the more recent forefathers, with a short explanation that he had ‘created’ the first martial art of Shaolin Kung-Fu, which eventually evolved into many different schools and other martial arts, such as Karate. Many Japanese dojos to this day are inaugurated by the painting of eyes on Bodhidharma dolls, whose subsequent auspicious open-eyed presence will favour the martial enlightenment of their students. (In Japan this is actually a widespread practice outside of the martial arts too, especially for shop openings and during election campaigns.)

The ‘creation story’ of the martial arts in many clubs is typically recounted thus. Bodhidharma was travelling from India to China, when he encountered a group of weakened and sickly monks at the Shaolin Ssu (Young Forest Temple), the site where the practices known as Shaolin Boxing, Wushu or Kung-Fu would later originate. As a result, he designed and instigated a series of health-giving exercises in the monks’ daily routines (some based on the movements of animals). The monks then flourished physically, and continually practised these exercises, which eventually became known as Kung-Fu. As most of the Asian martial arts claim descent from this style of fighting, Bodhidharma is largely credited as ‘the father of all martial arts’. Zen Buddhist schools often use the same story but usually ask the first Zen question, why did Bodhidharma travel to the East?

In view of the current popularity of martial arts, it is no overstatement to say that billions of people worldwide readily consider Bodhidharma as the originator of their martial art, sport, or even Buddhist religion. However, the direct evidence to support these claims is not clear. There are of course a wide variety of legends ascribed to Bodhidharma, no doubt having been told, retold and modified for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Travelling to various clubs around the world, both in the East and West, provides the practitioner with interesting insights about the evolution of these legends, as they form a patchwork of narratives regarding this monk’s life. There is currently a significant lack of firm historical details regarding Bodhidharma, and any true morsels of evidence are overwhelmed by the surfeit of legendary stories to such an extent that discriminating between history and legend is like untying the Gordian knot. Is it possible to dissect out the real history from the fiction? Unsurprisingly, varying groups of martial artists and historians are polarised regarding Bodhidharma; some unquestioningly pronounce their faith in the truth of his legendary exploits whilst others question whether he even existed. Is there any tangible evidence of his existence, or his origins and his deeds? What was his contribution to the founding, establishment and development of the martial arts and what has his impact been to this day?

By the fifth century CE of the Julian calendar, the world as we know it was beginning to take shape, with the foundations of institutions, philosophies and cultures that we would readily recognise today. In Western Europe, the Roman Empire was gradually declining and the Anglo-Saxons were settling in Britain. Technological and social sophistication and refinement were international phenomena that were being constantly and independently reinvented, so that in the Americas, for example, the Maya were building massive stone temples comparable to those of the ancient Egyptians, although with completely different technology.

The East was no different and China had its Southern and Northern dynasties, whilst in Persia the empire of the Sassanids was comfortably established. The famed Silk Road between them that allowed the mutually beneficial transmission of goods and culture had already been in existence for many centuries and with the political and military strength of these territories, communication and exchange was flourishing. In India, a ‘golden age’ was taking place, and both religion and science were thriving (the concept of the number zero having been invented during this time).

In these times of cultural development and transmission of ideas, religion was taking a prominent role. The Persians were adhering to their ancient religion of Zoroastrianism, considered by many as the world’s oldest monotheistic belief system, whilst St Augustine of Hippo, who had himself studied Zoroastrianism and its Gnostic-type offshoot of Manichaeism, had written the important Christian work: The City of God (De Civitate Dei). Hinduism, which had existed for several millennia, was constantly expanding, and the newer religion of Buddhism had commenced a late but continual expansion, particularly through its Mahayana school.

It is through Mahayana Buddhism that we first come across the name of Bodhidharma. Although historically this religious sage is understood to have studied the Mahayana way, he is largely famed for and credited with founding the Zen (Chinese: Chan) strand of Buddhism, and instigating the exercises and forms that he subsequently taught to monks at Shaolin.

Opinions are split as to the importance of these proto-martial exercises as although the legends of Bodhidharma allude to the fact that he introduced and created the basic forms of the martial arts, he is also reputed to have achieved his spiritual self-enlightenment not through their practice but through contemplation and meditating for years on end. This gives credence to those Zen Buddhists who believe in a more formal and conservative practice of meditation without the incorporation of martial arts or strenuous exercise. Furthermore, the Zen (Chan) Buddhism of the famed Shaolin monks is more akin to some sects of Buddhism in Tibet, Korea and the smaller schools of Japan than it is to Chinese and mainstream Japanese schools of martial arts and Buddhism. The Shaolin School can be seen to have Taoist influences, and uses a large amount of martial practice to augment and accompany meditation. The martial arts are used to strengthen the body, allowing deep meditation to occur. Other schools of Zen believe in more of a deep and continued static meditation, allowing the mind to empty.

The fact that both martial artists and Zen Buddhists independently claim their philosophy as coming from the same Bodhidharma lends some credence at least to the idea that one or a group of monks started their school at approximately the same time and place in northern China. Indeed, with the many years of rewriting history, and political propaganda, one could easily imagine that martial artists and Zen Buddhists could have come up with different and independent originators of their disciplines, which later became confused and unified into the same individual. But the fact that both strongly adhere to the one unified Bodhidharma theory reinforces the implication that it was indeed one of the same group of monks, bearing the name Bodhidharma, who founded both disciplines.

Variations of the name Bodhidharma are listed in various Asian languages as:

Sanskrit:	Bodhidharma or Bodhi Dharma
Chinese – Cantonese:	Pou Dai Daat Mor or Daat Mor
Chinese – Mandarin (Pinyin):	Pu Ti Da Mo or Da Mo
Japanese:	Daruma or Daruma Taishi
Vietnamese:	Bo de dat ma
Korean:	Dalma or Boridalma

This name is accepted by many as not being his birth name but an adopted name when he entered the Buddhist order, probably given to him by his master or seniors, as in Sanskrit it means ‘he who has reached enlightenment’.

As mentioned previously, there is no lack of conflict regarding the authenticity of the legends of Bodhidharma, a not uncommon finding when dealing with the posthumous chronicles of influential figures. However, it is important to note that there is an almost complete unity in the belief of the single figure of Bodhidharma as the first forefather, even though the context can be subject to speculation. The fact that he started what we know today as the Asian martial arts and first passed it on to the Shaolin monks is generally accepted in folklore. However, some claim that although he was the first Patriarch of Zen Buddhism in China, he was not the first patriarch or originator of this strand of Buddhism in India, and indeed posit that he learned and adopted Zen as a disciple from one of the Indian patriarchs before taking it to China. Others say that Zen existed in China before Bodhidharma and that he came later, and was simply effective at promoting, teaching and disseminating this new form of spirituality. The orthodox view, however, is clear: Bodhidharma was the originator of Zen Buddhism and the first Zen Buddhist patriarch in the world.

2

Shaolin and Kung-Fu

As it is practically impossible to date the origins of the various legends attributed to Bodhidharma himself, they are reported here in a loose chronological order of the monk’s life. Actual historical evidence is scrutinised in Chapter 3.

We are told virtually nothing about Bodhidharma’s childhood and he is generally described as appearing on the stage of history as a middle-aged or even as an elderly man (Figure 1). He is reputed to have had piercing blue eyes and very dark black hair. His hair was copious, especially on his chest, seen coming out of his monk’s robes, which made him notable in China as the presence of such hair made him stand out when compared to the comparatively bare-chested Chinese men.

He is shown sometimes wearing an earring and is portrayed as having a very prominent nose, which together with his blue eyes added to his reputation as an outsider or alien. Blue eyes are another rare trait in the ethnic Chinese (and also in the indigenous peoples of neighbouring India and Persia) and his eyes became an important subsequent characterising feature in artistic representations, where they are usually illustrated as bulging out. This effect adds to the aura he is attributed with in the chronicles, as having the almost superhuman ability to attain a profound meditative state with a steely and unremitting stare.

Most legends state that Bodhidharma came from south-east India and was born c.440–470 CE on 5 October (Chinese lunar calendar). Another date given is 482 CE. He is described as the third son of a ‘great king’. More specifically, this is thought to be King Sugandha from a dynasty known as the ‘Sardilli’, or, according to the theory favoured by most narratives and South Indologists, the Pallava King Simhavarman (ruling between 436–460 CE) who was based in the region of Tamil Nadu in the ancient city of Kanchi or Kanjeevaram (today’s Kanchipuram). This is significant, as at one point in history Kanjeevaram was a Buddhist kingdom. Some legends give Bodhidharma’s birth name as ‘Bodhitara’ or ‘Bodhipatra’.

Some claim that he was born into the priestly caste (Brahmanas), whilst others describe him as originating in the warrior caste (Kashatriyas). The stories that adopt the latter go on to state that he learned armed and unarmed combat such as Kalarippayattu, Vajra Mushti, Kuttu Varisai or any of the indigenous martial arts likely to have come from what were then known as the Dravidian combat schools.

Those who believe in his Brahminic origins say that he trained in various schools of Yoga (Devanagari), specifically the four branches of yoga explained in the Sanskrit text Bhagavad Gita (Song of the Lord, c.400–100 BCE). These are Karma yoga (action and exercise), Jnana yoga (knowledge), Bhakti yoga (religious devotion) and Raja yoga (meditation).

Figure 1: Image of Bodhidharma in the cave.

As he was the third son, this allowed him the freedom to adopt a religious life, as the first royal son typically would be responsible for the family lands and inheritance of leadership, whilst the second would be expected to devote himself to the military and matters of national defence. Although this is a tenable theory, such a practice was never strictly adhered to and would be highly variable. A good example would be the case of Siddhartha Gautama, the founding Buddha, who was the first son of a king but adopted the religious life, leading to his founding of Buddhism. Furthermore, there would have been no onus on a young Bodhidharma to specifically adopt Buddhism, with Hinduism or one of ancient India’s many other religions being a more likely ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• About the Author
• Acknowledgements
• Preface
• 1. Enter the Dharma
• 2. Shaolin and Kung-Fu
• 3. Unravelling the Silk Road
• 4. Prince of Persia
• 5. Power House (Zurkhane) and PPayattu
• 6. Karate
• 7. Ninja
• 8. Karate–Ninja Connections
• 9. Conclusion: Shaolin, Shorin, Shinobi
• Appendix 1 The Death of Bruce Lee: A Medical Perspective
• Appendix 2 Taekwondo
• Notes
• Copyright