shaolin monk corps-金沙1005

the chan sect of mahayana buddhism was firstly established at shaolin temple on songshan mountain more than fifteen hundred years ago. besides, the basic dharma-gate of the buddhist chan order can be epitomized in the following four sentences:

,

<2>“a separate tradition outside the scriptural teachings be established”,

<3>“self-cultivation should focus outright on informing a practitioner’s psyche”, and

<4>“to gain buddhahood by way of suddenly acquired enlightenment is definitely feasible”.

and it is consistent with buddha’s starting point and buddhist teachings with its core content and spirit connotation from the angle of purifying and developing human mind, emphasizing the training and cultivation of mind.

knowing your heart is essential for buddhism, so that the patriarchs in buddhist chan order are always used to encouraging personal reflection by answering a question with a question to let them find the answer inside. so the practice and verification of dharma based on self-recognition, without relying on any external conditions.

the buddhist transcendence in various areas is developed within, including from human to buddha, from samsara to nirvana, form coast to coast, and from the present life to the supramundane life. so that all the buddhist scriptures can be abbreviated as “dharma gates of cultivating heart”. however, the difference between buddhism and modern science and philosophy lies in exploring and verifying the inner world. and which enable the individual to look for the truth in self-enlightenment, as the buddha told us:“you have to find out the truth yourself.”

the internal transcendency of buddhism is directly reflected in the above mentioned  and <3>. the reason why that the chan school could be handed down from one generation to another is that it not only adopted the spiritual essence and systems of local culture, but also paid attention to the following items:

,

<2> practice, and

<3> self-recognition.

and which is totally in line with buddha’s teachings.

the founding of chan sect has enriched the chinese stock house of thoughts greatly, with its far-reaching impact on oriental cultures and modern civilization.