home

 **Bushido & Shaoli﻿n: Is it Relgion?**

First Blog  ﻿ Shaolin History The first Shaolin Temple was built in 495 A.D. A Buddhist monk from India, named Ba Tuo, travelled to China after receiving an order from the Emperor Xiao Wen of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534 A.D). The Emperor liked Ba Tuo and offered him the opportunity to support him in his teachings of Buddhism. Ba Tuo declined his offer, but was given land on Songshan Mountain in the province of Henan. There he built the Shaolin Temple, which translates into small forest. The monks who inhabited the Shoalin Temple followed a simple life that consisted of farming, philosophy, literature and meditation. Non-violence, honor, and humility were their ethical foundations. After the construction of the temple, the Shaolin order had begun around 540 A.D. The Shaolin order was started by an Indian Buddhist priest named [|Bodhidarma]. He had travelled to China with the goals of spreading the Buddhist philosophy and paying a visit to the Emperor of China. During the time of his visit, the Emperor had prepared a book, The Buddhist Text, to translate the language Sanskrit to Chinese. The purpose of this was to allow the people of China to practice Buddhism. It was a project that Bodhidarma did not like because his views on Buddhism were different from those of the Emperor. At this point, the Emperor and Bodhidarma parted ways. Bodhidarma visited the Shaolin Temple where the monks were translating these Buddhist texts. Later on, Bodhidarma was accepted by the group of monks and became one of them. One thing that Bodhidarma noticed about the Shaolin monks was that they were not in good physical condition. The Buddhist monks spent hours each day hunched over tables where they copied out handwritten texts. As a result, the Shaolin monks lacked the physical and mental stamina needed to perform even the most basic of Buddhist meditation practices. He solved this problem by teaching them moving exercises designed to improve the chi flow and build strength. These exercises were modified Indian yoga's based on China's main animals such as the Tiger, Snake, and Dragon. These exercises eventually became martial arts known as Shaolin Kung Fu.


 * Works Cited **

"History." Shaolin Temple. Web. 16 Dec. 2010. []. "History of Shaolin." ChinaOrbit.com. Web. 16 Dec. 2010. []. "History @ Shaolin.com." Shaolin Gung Fu Institute. Web. 16 Dec. 2010. [].

Second Blog  Bushido History In Japan, Bushido was a warrior class, and was also known as Samurai. This group surfaced from the provinces of Japan to become a ruling class. The Samurai were fighting men and were very skilled in martial arts. They were experts in the use of the bow and arrow and were masters with the sword. Even though they were very talented when using these weapons, they could kill their enemies with their bare hands. After the amalgamation of Japan in 1590 and the founding of the [|Tokugawa Shogunate] in 1600, the Samurai warriors remained at the top of the social scale but had fewer chances to prove their boldness in battle. As the opportunity to battle decreased, the Samurai engaged in peacetime. There was an enjoyable period of peace under the rule of the Shogun Tokugawa. Throughout this period, the members of the Samurai warrior class began to assign their Bushido code to paper and reorganize their function in civil society. At this time, the term Bushido came into frequent use. The basic meaning of Bushido is a model and a discipline in Samurai society. Bushido had been urbanized in the Samurai society which began from the Kamakura period (1192-1333). There are two views of Bushido, Hagakure Bushido and Tokugawa Bushido. Hagakure Bushido is the Bushido of the Age of Civil Wars and values heart and reality. The Tokugawa Bushido views warriors as being intelligent and understanding, with morals and values of order and peace. The people who lived by Bushido were trustworthy and honest. They lived practical lives with no interest in becoming rich and no interest in owning valuable goods, but rather cared about honor and pride. They were men of true spirit. Samurai's who lived and followed Bushido had no fear of death. These warriors would enter any battle even if the odds were against them. If a Samurai died in battle, it would only bring honor to their family, house, ancestors, and their Lord.

** Works Cited **

"The Samurai And Their Use of Bushido." Web. 4 Jan. 2011 [|h//ttp://victorian.fortunecity.com/duchamp/410/bsamurai.html//] "Traditional History: Bushido." Asia for Educators | Columbia University. Web. 4 Jan. 2011. []. "Bushido History: Understanding The Way." Bushido History. 2007-2009. Web. 4 Jan. 2011. []

Third Blog  Is Bushido a Religion? The definition of religion is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs. According to this definition, Bushido should meet the criteria stated previously in order to qualify as a religion. The first criterion requires a religion to have a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the Universe. Bushido meets this criterion because Bushido, which means way of the warrior, believes in relationships with the human world, their environment, and family. Bushido was taken from four different religions, Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, Chinese Confucian Philosophy, and Shintoism. Buddhism has influenced the beliefs of Bushido through their belief in world peace and justice. Zen Buddhism influenced Bushido's beliefs by stressing physical and mental discipline. However, Bushido's beliefs differ slightly from Confucianism as they do not believe in intellectuality, but instead believe humans and the universe were created to be similar in both spirit and ethics. Lastly, Shintoism stressed loyalty and influenced Bushido's patriotic nature. The second criterion requires a religion to have devotional and ritual observances. Bushido meets this criterion because they have a suicide ritual, also known as [|Seppuku]. Samurais would perform this suicidal act if they felt they disgraced their house. Sometimes on the battlefield, rather than dying at the hands of an unworthy opponent, the Samurai would give his own life to avoid disgrace or shame. The third and last criterion requires a religion to have a moral code. Bushido meets this criterion because they follow the Samurai Code. The Samurai Code was a strict code that demanded loyalty, devotion, obedience, duty, respect, self sacrifice, and honor to the death. The Samurai Code is an ethical code that must be followed and lived by. If the Samurais disobeyed this ethical code, they would have to perform the suicide ritual to regain their honor. Bushido has many values and is still a popular way of living today. It has values containing loyalty, respect to parents, hard work, and others, along with other beliefs taken from different religions, and as a result, it classifies as a religion.


 * Works Cited **

[|en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion] Saka, Seroni. "The Code of Bushido." Seroni Saka. Web. 06 Jan. 2011. []. "Bushido."Web. 6 Jan 2011. []. Peterson, S. "Bushido: The Life of The Warrior." Japanese Bushido. Web. 06 Jan. 2011. []. "Bushido Code of the Samurai Warrior." Martial Art Warrior Training Hall. Web. 06 Jan. 2011. [].

Fourth Blog

Is Shaolin a Religion The definition of religion is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs. The same definition was used to determine whether Bushido should be considered a religion. According to this definition, Shaolin meets the criteria stated previously and qualifies as a religion. The first criterion requires a religion to have a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the Universe. Shaolin Buddhism meets this criterion because it is a creed created by a group of Buddhist monks; therefore, most Shaolin beliefs resemble Buddhist beliefs. Shaolin Buddhism believes in reincarnation and afterlife. They believe that life is a journey and that humans suffer because they struggle after things that do not give lasting happiness. They believe that the purpose to life is to end suffering or to obtain [|Nirvana]. To achieve Nirvana or end suffering, Shaolin monks follow the eightfold path. The eightfold path contains eight steps that results in a guide to ethics and mental healing. The eight steps include Right Understanding, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Meditation. The second criterion requires a religion to have devotional and ritual observances. A key ritual in all Buddhist groups is meditation. Calming the mind, and probing the mind’s nature and its beliefs, one can reach enlightenment. This sitting down is called meditation, and doing this while they live their everyday activities is called mindfulness. Martial training commences with spiritual goals, yet the training itself results in benefits such as self defense and improving physical condition. Meditation for all segments of Buddhism is meant to calm the mind and strengthen the body. The last criterion requires a religion to have a moral code. Shaolin meets this criterion because Shaolin monks have a code against killing animals, which is why they are vegetarians. They believe monks should not receive or consume meat and killing is prohibited. Furthermore, in Shaolin beliefs, it is important to control your diet which is another reason why they do not eat meat. Based on all the criteria on the definition religion, we can conclude that Shaoilin is a religion.

 "SF Season : Shaolin : Shaolin Philosophy and Chan Buddhism." Lines Ballet. Web. 11 Jan. 2011. []. "Noble Eightfold Path." Fundamental Buddhism | Buddhist Teachings. 2006. Web. 11 Jan. 2011. []. "Shaolin Buddhism." Shaolin Temple. 2004. Web. 11 Jan. 2011. []. "Buddhist Beliefs - ReligionFacts." Religion, World Religions, Comparative Religion - Just the Facts on the World's Religions. Web. 11 Jan. 2011. []﻿. "Philosophy @ Shaolin.com." Shaolin Gung Fu Institute. 1997-2008. Web. 11 Jan. 2011. <http://www.shaolin.com/PhilosophyContent.aspx>.
 * Works Cited **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">Fifth Blog

<span style="border-bottom: #4f81bd 1pt solid; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: #17365d; display: block; font-family: Cambria; font-size: 14pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 15pt; padding-bottom: 4pt; padding-left: 0cm; padding-right: 0cm; padding-top: 0cm;">Why Some People Think Shaolin and Bushido are not Religions __**<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Shaolin **__ <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Shaolin Buddhism is an ancient Chinese Religion that has been under a shroud of secrecy for more than a thousand years. People were only aware of Shaolin through the media like movies. Most movies about Shaolin focus mainly on kung fu and martial arts. This is the reason why some people might believe Shaolin is not a religion, but is merely a form of practice or training for battle. Many believe Shaolin is an art of fighting not realizing it is a religious practice and a form of meditation for monks. The Shaolin monks eventually used martial arts to protect themselves from invasions even though the Buddhist religion ignores violence. Shaolin kung fu is the style of martial arts that was originally developed in the Shaolin Monastery in China. It has a history of about 1500 years and has since derived into various styles such as Lohan, Praying Mantis, Chaquan, Tiger, Crane, Hoong Ka, Wing Chun and more.





__**<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Bushido **__ <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Bushido is an ancient Japanese Religion followed by the Samurais. Not everyone believes that Bushido is a religion but just a code or a set of rules for the Samurais. Some people believe that the Samurai code demanded too much loyalty and discipline. Bushido is also one of the least known religions in the world. Some people are unfamiliar with the term Bushido making them question whether it is religion. Samurais in this generation are very uncommon, and as a result, the religion Bushido is very uncommon. During the peace time from 1603 to 1868, Samurai fighting skills were no longer required. The Samurai grew increasingly poor and discouraged. Some found alternative ways to earn a living, while others were encouraged to study and work hard to find new careers to earn money. At the same time the government formally put an end to the Samurai system, and only allowed members of the new imperial army to own swords.

** Works Cited ** "Trademarking Shaolin - Kung Fu - Celibacy & Vegetarianism." Shaolin Temple. 2004. Web. 14 Jan. 2011. []. "Kungfu Magazine: Magazine Feature Article." Kungfu Magazine: Feature Index. Web. 14 Jan. 2011. []. "Styles @ Shaolin.com." Shaolin Gung Fu Institute. 1997-2008. Web. 14 Jan. 2011. []. "Chinese Kung Fu - Kung Fu Styles." Chinavoc.com. Web. 14 Jan. 2011. []. "Samurai." Japan-guide.com - Japan Travel and Living Guide. Web. 14 Jan. 2011. []. "Bushido Virtues - The Code of the Samurai." Buy Japanese Kanji & Chinese Calligraphy Wall Scrolls - Discount Asian Art Gallery - Oriental Watercolor Paintings. Web. 14 Jan. 2011. [].

**__Shaolin__** <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> media type="youtube" key="eZwmluSn_T0?fs=1" height="325" width="447" align="center"

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> **__Bushido__** media type="youtube" key="v9HR7TTOReE?fs=1" height="354" width="452" align="center"