[Buddha-l] Zen/Ch'an & Shaolin

[Steve Hopkins]

Denizens -

A while back Joanna posted an email drawing the lists attention to an  
exhibition and book about the Shaolin temple.  The book - 'Shaolin  
Temple of Zen' -  by Justin Guariglia, which I now have, is almost  
entirely - and very beautifully - a photographic portrait of current  
practice at Shaolin.  Although it has a brief forward by Shi Yong  
Xin, the current abbot, and an essay by Matthew Polly, it says (for  
me) frustratingly little about the earliest historical development  
and relationship between Ch'an and the martial forms.  Polly suggests  
that 'the best guess is that what became kung fu was a merger between  
the guards' martial techniques and the Buddhist monks' moving  
meditation',   Whilst other authors of whom I am aware -  Trevor  
Leggett and DT Suzuki, for example - have explored some of this  
territory in the Japanese context,  I know of none who do so for Damo  
(Bodhidharma) and Yi Jin Jing.  "Given Damo's Indian heritage",  
writes Polly, "it is very likely that these exercises were a form of  
yoga...a kind of moving meditation.  This point is absolutely  
crucial; it introduced the idea that action could also be  
spiritual.''   Can anyone on the list point me in the direction of  
books, articles or websites that deal with this?

Thanks in advance,

Steve Hopkins