How are the Kung Fu and Budism related?

Question

How are the Kung Fu and Budism related?

Answer 1

No there not related!

Answer 2

The term Kung Fu has nothing at all to do with martial arts, it is a way of saying proficient skill or skill acquired through work. It has just been used as a generic term and slapped on Chinese martial arts.

Buddhaism is related to martial arts historically through the Shaolin Temple and other Buddhist and Taoist temples throughout China and later Japan. Today they aren't really related unless the person in question is a martial artist and a buddhist.

Answer 3

The monks of the Shaolin Temple were made famous by their religious dedication (Buddhism), as well as their dedication to the martial arts (Kung Fu).

Answer 4

Kung fu entered both the Buddhist and Taoist monastaries as exercises to help the flabby monks and priests get back into shape.

In Buddhism, the type of Buddhism most receptive to the martial arts was known as Ch'an (a Chinese invention).  Ch'an Buddhism is action oriented and emphasizes self-reliance, self-control, and putting learned skills into practice.  Kung fu satisfied all the prerequisites of Ch'an Buddhism.

Since Buddhist monks were constantly travelling around in remote areas of China infested with bandits and robbers, being self-reliant was an important skill, and the Buddhist monks had to defend the precious religious artifacts being transferred from one isolated monastery to another.  So becoming self-reliant through the perfection of the martial arts was ideal for the precepts of Ch'an Buddhism.

So for over 500 years various Ch'an Buddhist monestaries practiced Kung fu for physical fitness; mental composure, self-reliance, self-control, and the perfection of the self.

Ch'an Buddhism was transported to Korea, and then from Korea to Japan.

Answer 5

wushu, chuan fa...etc are more correct terms for martial arts than kung fu.

kung fu is a way of expressing buddhism through the living body. rather than just through meditation and chanting. it is a physical expression of ch'an buddhism..aka zen buddhism.

Answer 6

Bohidharma, a Buddhist monk from India, came to China and taught breathing exercises to the monks to protect the monastary from being robbed by bandits.  After the years went by, the breathing techniques taught by Bohidharma or Da Mo were evolved into northern and southern Chinese fighting systems or Kung Fu.

Answer 7

Kung Fu has nothing to do with martial arts or budism or anything like that. It roughly means your good at something like, I Kung Fu cooking.

Answer 8

Martial arts as taught in the Buddhist Monasteries are (among other things) methods of:

Self-discipline

Obedience (in the monastic sense of "Obedience")

Internal exploration

Tradition (in the monastic sense of "Tradition")

Meditation

Comprehension of Unity (capital "U")

Self-awareness (capital "S")

Attaining insight.

Answer 9

Buddhist monks were well known for their fierce devotion to martial arts and of course buddhism.

Answer 10

Most Chinese Kung Fu systems are descended from Shaolin Temple Boxing. The Shaolin Monks were originally disciples of the Boddhidharma, a monk from India who introduced Chan Buddhism to China.  Chan Buddhism, later came to be called Zen Buddhism. So the creators of most early Kung Fu systems were Buddhist monks and that is how Buddhism and Kung Fu are related.  

Answer 11

Original Budddhism as taught by Siddartha Guatama in INDIA (not china) really has nothing to do with kicking ***. So nothing really. Chan or Zen Buddhism was developed in the Shaolin temple so this sect is relative to martial combat in many ways.

Answer 12

They both originated in China.