[Buddha-l] Chinese Zen connections with the martial arts

[James A. Stroble]

On Fri, 2005-08-26 at 10:16 -0700, Bob Zeuschner wrote:
> The connection between Chinese Zen or Ch'an and the empty-hand martial 
> arts seems to be mostly myth (i.e., the 6th century Bodhidharma connection).
> 

> d f tweney wrote:
> > At the risk of veering off-topic, I am wondering whether anyone has 
> > considered older, Chinese connections between Buddhism and military / 
> > state power. It seems clear that the kinds of militarization of Zen that 
> > happened in Japan also happened in China, perhaps at a very early stage. 

I think that the real difference between Chinese and Japanese Zen stems
from historical/cultural differences. Japan was under military
government (bakufu) for a large portion of its history, and it was
natural to seek patronage of the ruling class.  China has always had a
negative attitude towards the military, with the possible exception of
the T'ang dynasty, so there was not as strong a connection between
Buddhists and warriors.  And it is important to point out that many of
the so called "martial arts" were not military at all, but developed by
peasants and outlaws who were prohibited from possessing weapons,  as
with Karate in Okinawa.  
-- 
James A. Stroble <stroble at hawaii.edu>