The Origin, History and Meaning of the Kara-Te and the Marti

[JONAS]

Dharma Desi (the "Second Buddha," Bodhidharma in Sanskrit, Daruma Daishi in Japanese, Hindu Duty in English, and Ta Mo in Chinese) was an Enlightened Hindu prince from India who engaged in the re-teaching, reaffirmation, and revival of Ancient Hindu philosophy in China, which was originally spread to China by another Indian Hindu Spiritual Leader, Siddhartha, otherwise known as the “First Buddha,” who is recorded as living from 553 B.C. - 483 B.C., and who, like Bodhidharma, began his life as a prince in ancient India.

 

The First Buddha's teachings had an enormous effect on the Second Buddha. Those teachings included the Way, which is a method to end suffering through the Four Noble Truths. The Four Noble Truths are: (1) life is full of pain and suffering; (2) suffering is caused by greed; (3) suffering can be ended if greed is ended; and (4) To end greed, people must follow eight basic principles, called the Eightfold Path.

 

The Eightfold Path is a set of instructions on the proper way to live. Suffering would cease entirely if all people: (1) try to know truth; (2) resist evil; (3) refrain from hurting others; (4) respect life, property, and morality; (5) work without hurting others; (6) free the mind from evil thoughts; (7) stay in control of one's feelings and thoughts; and ( focus and sharpen the mind through meditation, i.e., practicing appropriate forms of concentration. It was this last instruction that Bodhidharma, the Second Buddha, discovered that people had the most difficulty with.

 

The "First Buddha," Siddhartha, spread spiritual and meditative Buddhism from India to China to form the first Shaolin Temples.

 

The "Second Buddha," Bodhidharma, also known as "Prince Sardilli," "Dharma Desi" in Sanskrit, or "Daruma Daishi" in Japanese, reaffirmed the First Buddha's teachings, but who also reinforced those teachings with Martial Arts and regimented physical conditioning to strengthen the mental stamina required for spiritual release, from the earthly and material world.

 

The Second Buddha, Bodhidharma, began his life in Southern India in the Sardilli royal family in 482 A.D., almost 1,000 years after the First Buddha. In the midst of his education and training to continue in his father's footsteps as King, Bodhidharma encountered the Buddha's original teachings. He immediately saw the truth in Lord Buddha's words and decided to give up his esteemed position as a prince and inheritance to study with the famous Hindu teacher Prajnatara. Young Prince Sardilli rapidly progressed in his Hindu studies, and in time, Prajnatara sent him to China, in order to better teach the inhabitants of China the lessons and rigorous discipline required for a perfect meditative state leading to spiritual release from the earthly and materialistic world.

 

Upon arrival in a different part of China, the Emperor Wu Ti, a devout Buddhist himself, requested an audience with Bodhidharma. During their initial meeting, Wu Ti asked Bodhidharma what merit he had achieved for all of his good deeds. Bodhidharma was unable to convince Wu Ti of the value of the teachings he had brought from India. Bodhidharma then set out for Loyang, crossed the Tse River, and climbed Bear's Ear Mountain in the Sung Mountain range wherein another Shaolin Temple, originally founded by the First Buddha, was located. He meditated there in a small cave for nine years.

 

Bodhidharma, in true Maha or "great" spirit, was moved to pity when he saw the terrible physical condition of the monks of the Shaolin Temple. It seemed to him that they were unable to fully grasp the enormous mental and abstract discipline necessary to achieve Nirvana, or the ultimate release destination derived from meditation. The monks had practiced long-term meditation retreats, which made them spiritually stronger, but physically weak and unable to finish their meditative journeys. He also noted that this meditation method caused sleepiness among the monks. Therefore Dharma informed the monks that he would teach their bodies and subsequently their minds the Buddha's dharma, or “duty" through a two-part program of meditation accompanied by excruciatingly difficult physical training. Hence, his appellation of “Bodhidharma.”

 

Unfortunately, the Chinese Buddhists could not maintain the abstract discipline that this difficult meditation required, and so Prince Sardilli taught them incredibly rigorous physical training, in order to teach them the necessary discipline required for the true Hindu meditative journey leading to "Moksha," or release from earthly bondage, otherwise known as "Nirvana." It was Bodhidharma's theory that, after the physical body was pushed beyond its limits, the mind would begin to take over, and help the body carry through with the physical exertions required for the training. Bodhidharma further postulated that, once this level of mental strength was achieved, the mind would forever be altered, and its capacity for focus and concentration would be fortified. He was correct in his theory, and the Shaolin monks became incredibly strong mentally, and their focus in meditation became unparalleled.

 

Their minds became harder and more disciplined after these regimented actions.

 

Bodhidharma had arrived in China after a brutal trek over Tibet's Himalayan Mountains, surviving both extreme elements and treacherous bandits, and he believed that his tutelage was being rewarded with results.

 

There are statues of the Guardians at the Shaolin Monastery who were trained by Bodhidharma to deflect the negative advances by bandits and hostile Chinese warlords, who sought to disrupt the monks achievement of Moksha, or Release.

 

Bodhidharma created an exercise program for the monks which involved physical techniques that were efficient, strengthened the body, and eventually, could be used practically in self-defense. When Bodhidharma instituted these practices, his primary concern was to make the monks physically strong enough to withstand both their isolated lifestyle and the demanding training that meditation required. It turned out that the techniques served a dual purpose as a very efficient fighting system, which evolved into a martial arts style given the Chinese name, "Kung Fu." Martial arts training helped the monks defend themselves against invading warlords and bandits. Bodhidharma taught that martial arts should be used for self-defense, and never to hurt or injure needlessly. In fact, it is one of the oldest Bodhidharma axioms that "one who engages in combat has already lost the battle."

 

Thereafter, Bodhidharma, who was himself a member of the Indian Kshatriya warrior class and a master of staff fighting, developed a system of 18 dynamic tension exercises. These movements found their way into print in 550 A.D. as the Yi Gin Ching, or Changing Muscle/Tendon Classic. We know this system today as the Lohan (Priest-Scholar) 18 Hand Movements, the basis of Chinese Temple Boxing and the Shaolin Arts.

 

Ancient Sanskrit text located in India and China record that Bodhidharma settled in the Shaolin Temple of Songshan in Hunan Province in 526 A.D. The first Shaolin Temple of Songshan was built in 377 A.D. for Pan Jaco, "The First Buddha", almost 1,000 years after the First Buddha's death, by the order of Emperor Wei on the Shao Shik Peak of Sonn Mountain in Teng Fon Hsien, Hunan Province. The Temple was for religious training and meditation only. Martial arts training did not begin until the arrival of Bodhidharma in 526 A.D. Sadly, Bodhidharma, died in 539 A.D. at the Shaolin Temple at age 57.

 

Bodhidharma was an extraordinary spiritual being who remains an example and an inspiration to meditative and martial arts practitioners today. He is the source of many miraculous stories of ferocity and dedication to the Way. One such legend states that Bodhidharma became frustrated once while meditating because he had fallen asleep. He was so upset that he cut off his eyelids to prevent this interruption in meditation from ever happening again. This is a reminder of the true dedication and devotion necessary in meditation practice. Today, the "Bodhidharma doll" is used as a symbol of this type of dedication in Japan and other parts of the world. When someone has a task they wish to complete, they purchase a red Bodhidharma doll that comes without pupils painted on the eyes. At the outset of the task one pupil is colored in, and upon completion, the other pupil is painted. The dolls and the evolution of martial arts and meditation, are a continuous reminder of Bodhidharma's impact on Buddhism and subsequent regimentation of the martial arts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ This Message was edited by: Patrick on 2001-12-01 12:37 ]

[Patrick]

Not sure about this post, but I moved it to the right forum and edited it for the CAPS.

 

 

Thanks.

 

 

[Karateka]

Well done! An enjoyable read.

 

 

[Angus]

Damn, and here i was thinking that Kara-te literally translated from Japanese as Empty-Hand and was created from two different chinese martial arts by Okinawan peasants due to the law at the time which dictated that they weren't allowed to carry weapons of war.

 

And i was also thinking that the first ever martial art was the Greek art of Pankraytion, which was carried by Alexander the Great's armies thru Asia, well before the emergence of Wushu. Pankration was indeed a mix of boxing and greco-roman wrestling with limitted and unrefined kicks.

 

Meh.

 

Angus

 

 

[Karateka]

The Creation of Kung Fu was given by Bodhidharma. Which lead to all other Eastern Martial Arts.

 

 

[SaiFightsMS]

Hi Jonas and welcome. I see you are a deep thinker and a historian. Welcome. I hope to see more of your postings.

[Angus]

Hmmm... I tend to believe the other story. I've heard that kungfu/wushu whatever u want to call it was developed by watching animals fighting and then deveoping moves or tactics from that. i tend to believe the more credible origin of there being a basic martial art to start with (ie Pankraytion).

 

Angus

 

 

[SaiFightsMS]

Again there are many forms of martail arts. As many as there are it is bound to be that they all came about from roots in different areas.

 

This can be a hotly contested area of discussion because we are the first generation to have instantaineous communication and transmission of information.

 

In a way I think it would be sad to totally pin down all of the history of the martial arts. I think that would take away from its mystery. And to many the mystery is part of the allure.

[Jiggy9]

Hello Jonas....

 

It's not the first time i'm hearing this - infact i've read something like this in several different places. However it all fits it together perfectly; I like indulge in the studies of the history and the religion, especially the eastern ones. Anyways tt does all make sense together. So personally I believe it ; as for what Angus said about Kung Fu arising from the study of Animals, why could both theorys not be true at the same time?

 

Maybe the study of Animals could have been a latter part of the Martial art evolution?

 

But I guess we'll never really know...

[Aikidoka]

Before Buddhism and Bodhidharma (the last Patriarch of Dyana/Ch'an/Zen) came to China, bringing the eighteen basic movements that formed Shaolin Kung Fu, the ancient Taoists had developed their own martial arts from the study of nature and animals. They influenced the study of Kung Fu at the Shaolin temple, which resulted in the creation of such styles as Praying Mantis, White Crane and Black Tiger.