2017 Blog Posts

Shaolin Abbot Xueting Fuyu (12/12/2017)

Fuyu (1203-1275; Traditional Chinese Kan-chih Calendar 3899 to 3900 - 3971 to 3972), also named Xueting (Chin.: Xuětíng Fúyù 雪庭福裕), was a renowned Ch’an master of the Caodong Sect during the early years of the Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty (1206-1368; Traditional Chinese Kan-chih Calendar 3902 to 3903 – 4064 to 4065). The Caodong Sect was one of the five schools of Ch’an (Chinese Zen) that developed after the end of Bodhidharma’s lineage. Fuyu was the first abbot of a new lineage of monks and nuns that emerged at the Shaolin Temple (Shàolín Sì 少林寺; lit. "Young/New Forest Temple"). Read More

Ch'an Masters of Ancient China  (11/12/2017)

Bodhidharma (circa 5^th or 6^th century AD) is credited with transmitting Gautama Buddha's (circa 5^th to 4^th century BC) principles on sudden illumination from India to China about 530 AD. Huineng, the sixth and last "official" patriarch of Ch'an Buddhism, identified Bodhidharma as the twenty-eighth Indian patriarch to the transmission of the dharma (the teachings of Buddha) and the Chánshī (禅师; lit. "Dhyana Master" or "Zen Master"), the first patriarch of China. Daizu Huike (487–593; Ta-tsu Hui-k'o) succeeded Bodhidharma. He in turn was followed by Jianzhi Sengcan (496?–606; Chien-chih Seng-Ts'an), Dayi Daoxin (580–651; Ta-i Tao-hsin), Daman Hongren (601–674; Ta-man Hung-jen), and then Dajian Huineng (Ta-chien Hui-neng). These six men are regarded as the Grand Masters or Patriarchs of Ch'an. Read More

Meditation For Peace  (10/9/2017)

The meditation, or dhyāna, methods taught by Bodhidharma, the founder of the Shaolin Tradition, are universal to all spiritual disciplines. The mechanics of the human mind and the attainment of spiritual realization is the same for all people, so the methods are the same. Read More