The relationship between Chinese Buddhist (Chan) philosophy and Shaolin martial arts
Studia Philosophiae Et Juris December 31, 2025 Dao Rina
Chan (Zen) Buddhist philosophy fundamentally shaped the technical systems, ethical orientation, and pedagogical practices of Shaolin martial arts. Tracing the historical emergence of Shaolin gongfu within Chinese Buddhism's evolution from Indian origins through Sinicization and Chan's ascendancy, the article shows how meditation, moral precepts, and doctrinal concepts such as emptiness, enlightenment, and the unity of movement and stillness were integrated into martial practice. The analysis explores convergences between Chan and Shaolin in pursuing enlightenment, regulating body–mind through stillness and motion, moral discipline, and internal qi cultivation. It interprets Shaolin pedagogy through the Six Paramitas, arguing that Shaolin martial arts constitute a pathway of ethical self-cultivation and spiritual realization, not merely a combative system.