This poem was written in the Song dynasty by the then Shaolin Abbott Xueting Fuyu (雪庭福裕) of the Caodong Chan (曹洞禅) school of Buddhism. It was popular at the time within Buddhist monasteries to use poems as a generational naming system. So one could easily trace their lineage back to the founding masters. The 35th character is 恒 (Heng) which is used for 35th generations. My master's is 延 (Yan) 34th generation. Even though we can trace back to Abbott Fuyu, Shaolin history is much more ancient. With the original temple built in 495AD. Abbott Fuyu was a prominent figure of the Shaolin Temple and Chinese history. Not just for creating the naming system. He organised intensive training camps with various martial arts masters from China to study, exchange and develop their skills and knowledge in creating highly sophisticated fighting (and health) systems. These training camps happened a total of 3 times with each camp lasting a period of 3 years. Upon completion, the masters would return to their hometowns with their new Shaolin techniques. This is the reason why so many styles claim their heritage to Shaolin Temple. And why many claim that all martial arts come from Shaolin. #shaolinculture #buddhism #zen #heritage #history #roots #zenbuddhism #kungfu #shaolindisciples #曹洞宗 #禅 #少林寺 #少林文化 #少林弟子 #禅拳归一 #功夫禅 #禅宗 #仏教 (at Shaolin Temple, Dengfeng, China) https://www.instagram.com/p/CDTyOUZpG0a/?igshid=9yho9d11hlqm
