Spirtuality and the Martial Arts

Many American Martial Artists will recognize a sense of spirituality that accompanies Traditional Asian Martial Arts.  The notion of the Enlightened Warrior is a central theme in Japanese, Chinese, Korean and other East Asian cultures.  However, it can seem that there is a contradiction of Philosophy in the concept.  Whereas the characteristics of non-violence, pacifism and compassion are held as highly regarded virtues in these systems, the virtues of bravery, fearlessness and steadfastness in battle are equally praised.  To truly understand the connection between spirituality and the Asian combat arts, one must first seek the origins of the Enlightened Warrior Concept.

The Martial Arts of China have a long standing, albeit somewhat paradoxical relationship with the compassion-centric philosophy of the Buddhist Religion. This relationship is most obvious in the traditions of the Buddhist Monks of the Shaolin Temple.  Within the temple walls, notions of compassion, non-violence and temperance are taught alongside devastating and often deadly hand to hand combat techniques.  Weapons techniques, the effects of which would surely kill an opponent, are performed by the Monks with amazing accuracy, speed and power.  However, they vow never to kill any living creature, eat a vegetarian diet and perform their combat maneuvers only on the empty space in front of them.  This does not mean that the monks have never felt the need to use these amazing combat skills.  One story tells of a small band of one hundred Shaolin Monks defeating an entire army of enemy invaders.  However, as a matter of principle, the Shaolin Monks hold fast to a doctrine of compassion, avoiding a fight by any means possible. So, where does the Shaolin tradition of the enlightened warrior come from?  To answer this question we must look to the Enlightened Warrior himself; the legendary Bodhidharma.

Little is known about the life of the Buddhist Patriarch Bodhidharma.  He is held throughout Asia as the founder of the Zen School of Buddhism and as the developer of the Martial Arts of Shaolin Temple.  Legend states that Bodhidharma was a Buddhist Yogi who traveled from India to China in order to spread the teachings of the Buddha.  When he came upon the Monks at the Shaolin Temple, he found them lazy, out of shape and unable to remain focused in meditation.  He began teaching them physical and mental training exercises designed to strengthen the body, mind and Prana – Qi or Bio Energy.  Not surprisingly, these exercises would bear a striking resemblance to the physical exercises of Indian Yoga.  Yoga, meaning to ‘yoke’ or unite, is central to the Hindu Religion and to the Warrior tradition of Ancient India.

Although there is not definitive agreement among scholars, many believe Bodhidharma was born into a Kshatriya Family.  The Kshatriya were the Royal Warrior class of Ancient India and anyone born into a Kshatriya Family would surely have inherited many Warrior Family traditions.  If it is true that Bodhidharma was a member of the Warrior Caste, it would not be inconceivable that he would have used his family’s knowledge of combat in combination with Buddhist Yoga to train the Monks of the Shaolin Temple.   However, the link between Yoga, Hinduism and Warriorship seems to go back even further than Bodhidharma’s teaching of the Chinese Monks.  In fact, war is at the very Heart of India’s Religious teaching as presented in such great works like the Ramayana and The Mahabharata.

The Mahabharata, one of the great epics of ancient India, is thought by some to be the cornerstone of Indian spirituality.  It is often considered the template for many of the later writings which describe the various religious systems of the Indian Subcontinent.  The story describes the details of the Kurushetar war.  It tells of two Warrior clans battling for the Throne of the capital city Hastinapura. The epic centers on the Warrior God Krishna, a brilliant and divine military General.  Krishna is the definition of an enlightened warrior.  He is wise, compassionate and calm.  However, he is also brave, powerful and protective.  This blending of seemingly opposing traits is, in the eyes of the Indian thinkers, that which makes one a whole human being: A perfect balance of positive and negative energies.  One cannot cling to one side or another if one wishes to be whole.  One must balance the powerful and the graceful tendencies within themselves in order to create harmony and balance around themselves.  This idea of balancing the various aspects of being is central to both Indian Yogic Philosophy, as well as the Taoist Natural Philosophy of China.  This theme also runs throughout all of the Asian Martial Arts.   

Whatever the historical reasons are for the intrinsic spirituality of the Martial Arts, its presence cannot be ignored.  I train very often with a Sensei whose ambition it is to become a Christian Minister.  My Sensei, who I admire greatly, is a devoted Christian himself.  I, myself, converted to Buddhism after being exposed to its philosophies via the Martial Arts.   The goal of the Warrior is to become the Sage.  It is the hope of the swordsman that his blade never need shed blood.  This is of course, not always the case.  When it is necessary for the warrior to fight, he strikes like lightening.  However, his mind is so that his storm easily quiets to a calm breeze.

One who studies combative arts should always keep in mind the way of the Enlightened Warriors.  Whether you are a Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Wiccan, Sikh or other religion, keeping a mind of compassion is very important.  In this way, we can be assured that we are training to be defenders, not offenders; protectors, not aggressors; and teachers instead of tyrants.