Bodhidarma

[yusen]

I am wondering if anyone could help me with a bit of personal research. I would like to know what kind of martial art Da Mo would have been practicing in India before he went to China? I beleive there is some evidence of him being connected to a lineage in southern India, though I am not so sure which one. If we look at some of the classics in oriental medicine then some 2,000 years before Da Mo was in China, there is reference, from a oriental medical viewpoint, of the importantce of the tendons and change (enlightenment ). Therefore I could speculate that the Chinese would have interepereted the tendon and muscle change according to daoist beleifs already established in China at the time and that Da Mo simply fitted his martial art into what was known or culturally established. Though this is open to interperetation, I would be interested to know if it was a martial art, or yoga that he practiced before coming to China? There has historically been a great deviation in Yoga, for example over the ages, some styles may not emphasise the tendons. Anyway, if anyone has any information, that would be great or perhaps you can put me on a clearer trail regarding anything I have said above.

Many thanks

[darth_freak]

he practiced no martial arts and no martial arts were practiced in the Shaolin Temple at this time.
what he knew was the available knowledge of India at that time some it must have been some kind of yoga. BUT when he came to Shaolin, he saw the monks were weak SO he went off to meditate and it was i his meditation that found that qigong known as Mucles/tendons changing & brain/marrow washing...

[Dvivid]

Sorry Darth, but I have to disagree. I have researched this subject a lot, and have posted several times about Bodhidharma(Da Mo) and his teaching.

Da Mo, who is the 28th patriarch, or 28th recognized master, of Buddhism, arrived at Shaolin Temple from India to teach Buddhism in about 500 AD. The monks at Shaolin Temple did already have martial arts techniques, for self defense; however, Da Mo emphasized the internal aspects of training. He brought with him knowlegde of prana yoga, ancient Buddhist techniques of internal cultivation (ie - embryonic breathing), and he WAS a martial artist, as was Siddhartha Gautama (the "1st" buddha of our time*), in the style of Kalarippayat. "Kalari" is an arena for combat, "payat" stands for a system of combat in Sanskrit. Similar to both Taijiquan and Shaolin Kung Fu, with elements of traditional herbal medicine, the style is based upon achieving spiritual transcendence. Kalarippayat stretches the body to its limits, and then repairs the damage with massage and medication. Very few schools exist now keeping this martial tradition alive.

You have to remember that times were very different then, and everyone needed self-defense techniques to survive, unless they were royalty/government and had guards, or if they were part of a larger group under a warlord. Bandits and warriors roamed freely everywhere, and martial arts training was a matter of life and death.

(*In fact, Siddhartha Gautama is considered to be the 4th Buddha on Earth. Since he was alive, in 600 BC, understanding of his teaching has faded, and mankind is now considered to be spiritually "dull". Tradition says that the 5th Buddha, Maitreya, will arrive on Earth 5,000 years after Buddha's enlightenment, which will again raise the awareness of all sentient beings.)

(Don't be confused: anyone practicing Buddhism can potentially be a Buddha, which means "miraculously aware" - though it is very difficult, and very unlikely in modern times. However, commonly when someone refers to the Buddha, they are referring to Siddhartha Gautama, the man who attained enlightenment first during this most recent era, and who passed down the teaching through the Buddhist lineage.)

This is our YMAA lineage!

[yusen]

Dear Dvivid, Thanks for your very informative reply re the above. I would like to have a bit more info about the martial art he was doing if its ok with you?. This is very interesting, would you know of any schools in India that are keeping this tradition alive? Is the herbal therapy related to the ayavedic system?
Thanks again for your reply. I will have a look at some of your previous posts.

[darth_freak]

woops my bad. I should read Master Yang's books again

[yusen]

Hi, I have had a look at some more info about keralippayat. Thats great. If poss, would you know if I can get a full copy in chinese the original muscle and tendon changing classic? Having read master yangs book, I understand this is more of a compliation taken from various papers. I would like to know if I can get a complete copy , does such a thing exist?
Best wishes.

[Yatish Parmar]

Kalaripayattum is only one Indian martial art from a specific part of India (Kerala). The name itself means "gym fighting" or something along those lines. In fact, as far as I know Kalaripayatt comes in several flavours from different families/lineages. (However, take everything that I say with a pinch of salt.)

He must have been a trained martial artist though, as he was reputedly royal. This to me means not that he was literally a prince but he was at least Kshatriya meaning he would have had martial training.

I personally doubt that we can concretely say that Da Mo did or did not practice Kalaripayyat.