Being a Shaolin Monk is usually considered as the journey of improving the body health and martial arts level. Shaolin Monks lead a unique life by means of following strict commandments, self recognition and reiki practicing. They come to the Shaolin Temple for discovering themselves other than improving their combat skills. However, why they firmly stick to those strict lifestyles?
Get Enlightened
Shaolin Monks are eager to achieve the enlightenment status as their primary goal. Day by day, they take the Kung Fu training and handle the meditation going with firmly following the rules of buddism. All they have been doing is to seek the pure zen spirit with their hearts and soul. In the Shaolin Temple, the “enlightenment” is equivalent to obtaining the inner peace, which can help them to realize the self-recognition, find the humanity and make an acknowledgement of connections with life.
By means of meditation and mindfulness, the monks do their best to discard the rapacity and reach a higher awareness status. This has penetrated into every aspect of their life, which can create peaceful, benevolent and tenacious atomsphere.
Physical and Spiritual Upgrade
The lifestyle of Shaolin Temple focuses on physical exercises and consider this as an effective way of spiritual growth. Kung Fu Training is not only for improving their self-guarding and martial arts ability, but also making a balance between bodies and souls by means of meditation. In addition, the physical training is a useful method for keeping a smooth emotion and getting spiritual power. For example, you can see lots of amazing behaviors that those Shaolin monks can do, including cutting bricks with a single hand or several fingers, withstanding the hurt of rocks hitting by hammers on their backs, etc. These instances have effectively reflected their toughness and self-controlling ability during the life circles year after year.
The dual pursuit of physical and mental power can do Shaolin monks a favor to find inner peace, form into a clear mindset and keep focused when doing things. What’s more, tthese practicing can bring patience, modesty and tenacity to monks, which may make them great with the growth of Zen spirit.
Stay Harmonious With the Nature
As what we mentioned above, Shaolin Temple Monks also lead a simple life for now and ever, which indirectly help them to stay harmonious with the nature. Their lifestyle is natural, simple, healthy and sustainable in the temple, which makes them have a simplifying attitude to the nature without demanding too much wealth and personal ambition. In this way, their life has been connected with the natural world more deeply.
The fact you may not know is the surrounding environment and atomsphere are under continuous careful maintenance so that their faith of respecting the life and eco-systems in all forms have been enormously strengthened. Their simplified lifestyle has proved that the material wealth has never determined their sastisfaction. Moreover, their genuine satisfaction has something to do with the harmony living with the nature.
A Sense of Serving and Inspiring Other People
An important part of being a Shaolin Temple monk is to serve the community and inspire others to stand. Monks are used to unselfishly sharing their knowlege and martial arts with meditation to other buddists, Shaolin culture lovers and fans. In this way, they help others to conquer any difficulties, improve both the buddists’ mental and physical health to find their inner peace. In a word, peace and love!
These monks have devoted themselves to inspiring people all over the world without be restricted by culture and boundary difference, which completely reflects the buddism’s principle of forgiving and sacrificing.
The Protection and Heritage of Culture
At the same time, Shaolin monks has played a significant role in preserving Chinese culture going with its heritage. With a long history of more than 1500 years, the Shaolin Temple itself is a living museum filled with historical wisdom and deep tradition. Monks have been working on protecting the precious cultural treasures for younger generations by means of martial arts and concentrated meditation.
Conclusion: Shaolin Monks-A Path of Inner Peace and Self Fulfillment
To conclude, the ultimate meaning of becoming a Shaolin monk is to enlighten and find the inner peace. This is related to a lifestyle of self-discipline, balancing and forgiving, which helps others to grow and improve in their life. In this circumstance, you can tell from this article that Shaolin monks never intend to escape, but to keep a distance from the outer world via self-recognition, forgiving and intentional movement(i.e. martial arts).
Let’s keep to the point. The lifestyle of Shaolin Temple and its monks just gives a meaningful feedback to human beings with the philosophy of digging the essence of life, happiness and love. The very Shaolin monks combine the mental practice, physical exercises and forgiving attitude together. Finally, ordinary people like you and me will lead a much happier life through the enlightenment of these monks, this temple and Buddha.
