The Legend of Shaolin Monk Warriors

The Shaolin Monastery is the most famous temple in China, renown for its kung fu fighting Shaolin monks. With amazing feats of strength, flexibility, and pain-endurance, the Shaolin have created a worldwide reputation as the ultimate Buddhist warriors. Yet Buddhism is generally considered to be a peaceful religion with an emphasis on principles such as non-violence, vegetarianism, and even self-sacrifice to avoid harming others — how, then, did the monks of Shaolin Temple become fighters? The history of Shaolin begins about 1500 years ago, when a stranger arrived in China from lands to the west, bringing with him a new interpretation religion and spans all the way to modern-day China where tourists from around the world come to experience displays of their ancient martial arts and teachings. Origin of the Shaolin Temple Legend says that around 480 CE a wandering Buddhist teacher came to China from ​India, known as Buddhabhadra, Batuo or Fotuo in Chinese.  According to later, Chan — or in Japanese, Zen — Buddhist tradition, Batuo taught that Buddhism could best be transmitted from master to student, rather than through the study of Buddhist texts. In 496, the Northern Wei Emperor Xiaowen gave  Batuo  funds to establish a monastery at holy Mt. Shaoshi in the Song mountain range, 30 miles from the imperial capital of Luoyang. This temple was named Shaolin, with Shao taken from Mount Shaoshi and   lin meaning grove — however, when Luoyang and the Wi Dynasty fell in 534, temples in the area were destroyed, possibly including Shaolin. Another Buddhist teacher was Bodhidharma, who came from either India or Persia. He famously refused to teach Huike, a Chinese disciple, and Huike cut off his own arm to prove his sincerity, becoming the Bodhidharmas first student as a result. The Bodhidharma also reportedly spent 9 years in silent meditation in a cave above Shaolin, and one legend says that he fell asleep after seven years, and cut off his own eyelids so that it could not happen again — the eyelids turned into the first tea bushes when they hit the soil. Shaolin in the Sui and Early Tang Eras Around 600, Emperor Wendi of the new Sui Dynasty,  who was a committed Buddhist himself despite his Confucianism court,  awarded Shaolin a 1,400-acre estate plus the right to grind grain with a water mill. During that time,  the Sui reunified China but his reign lasted only 37 years. Soon, the country once more dissolved into the fiefs of competing warlords. Shaolin Temples fortunes rose with the ascension of the Tang Dynasty in 618, formed by a rebel official from the Sui court. Shaolin monks famously fought for Li Shimin against the warlord Wang Shichong. Li would go on to be the second Tang emperor. Despite their earlier assistance, Shaolin and Chinas other Buddhist temples faced numerous purges and in 622 Shaolin was shut down and the monks forcibly returned to lay life. Just two years later, the temple was allowed to reopen due to the military service its monks had rendered to the throne, but in 625, Li Shimin returned 560 acres to the monasterys estate. Relations with the emperors were uneasy throughout the 8th century, but Chan Buddhism blossomed across China and in 728, the monks erected a stele engraved with stories of their military aid to the throne as a reminder to future emperors. The Tang to Ming Transition and Golden Age In 841, the Tang Emperor Wuzong feared the power of the Buddhists so he razed almost all of the temples in his empire and had the monks defrocked or even killed. Wuzong idolized his ancestor Li Shimin, however, so he spared Shaolin. In 907, the Tang Dynasty fell and the chaotic 5 Dynasties and 10 Kingdom periods ensued with the Song family eventually prevailing and taking rulership of the region until 1279. Few records of Shaolins fate during this period survive, but it is known that in  1125, a shrine was built to the Bodhidharma, a half mile from Shaolin. After the Song fell to invaders, the Mongol Yuan Dynasty  ruled until 1368, destroying the Shaolin once more as its empire crumbled during the 1351 Hongjin (Red Turban) rebellion. Legend states that a Bodhisattva, disguised as a kitchen worker, saved the temple, but it was in fact burned to the ground. Still, by the 1500s, the monks of Shaolin were famous for their staff-fighting skills. In 1511, 70 monks died fighting bandit armies and between 1553 and 1555, the monks were mobilized to fight in at least four battles against Japanese pirates. The next century saw the development of Shaolins empty-hand fighting methods. However, the monks fought on the Ming side in the 1630s and lost. Shaolin in the Early Modern and Qing Era In 1641, rebel leader Li Zicheng destroyed the monastic army, sacked Shaolin and killed or drove away from the monks before going on to take Beijing in 1644, ending the Ming Dynasty. Unfortunately, he was driven out in turn by the Manchus who founded the Qing Dynasty. Shaolin Temple lay mostly deserted for decades and the last abbot, Yongyu, left without naming a successor in 1664. Legend says that a group of Shaolin monks rescued the Kangxi Emperor from nomads in 1674. According to the story, envious officials then burned down the temple, killing most of the monks and Gu Yanwu traveled to the remains of Shaolin in 1679 to record its history. Shaolin slowly recovered from being sacked, and in 1704, the Kangxi Emperor made a gift of his own calligraphy to signal the temples return to imperial favor.  The monks had learned caution, however, and empty-hand fighting began to displace weapons training — it was best not to seem too threatening to the throne. In 1735 to 1736, the emperor Yongzheng and his son Qianlong decided to renovate Shaolin and cleanse its grounds of fake monks — martial artists who affected monks robes without being ordained. The Qianlong Emperor even visited Shaolin in 1750  and wrote poetry about its beauty, but later banned monastic martial arts. Shaolin in the Modern Era During the nineteenth century, the monks of Shaolin were accused of violating their monastic vows by eating meat, drinking alcohol and even hiring prostitutes. Many saw vegetarianism as impractical for warriors, which is probably why government officials sought to impose it upon Shaolins fighting monks. The temples reputation received a serious blow during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 when Shaolin monks were implicated — probably incorrectly — in teaching the Boxers martial arts. Again in 1912, when Chinas last imperial dynasty fell due to its weak position compared with intrusive European powers, the country fell into chaos, which ended only with the victory of the Communists under Mao Zedong in 1949. Meanwhile, in 1928, the warlord Shi Yousan burned down 90% of the Shaolin Temple, and much of it would not be rebuilt for 60 to 80 years. The country eventually came under Chairman Maos rule, and monastic Shaolin monks fell from cultural relevance.   Shaolin Under Communist Rule At first, Maos government did not bother with what was left of Shaolin. However, in accordance with Marxist doctrine, the new government was officially atheist. In 1966, the Cultural Revolution broke out and Buddhist temples were one of the Red Guards primary targets. The few remaining Shaolin monks were flogged through the streets and then jailed, and Shaolins texts, paintings, and other treasures were stolen or destroyed. This might have finally been the end of Shaolin, if not for the 1982 film Shaolin Shi  or Shaolin Temple, featuring the debut of Jet Li (Li Lianjie). The movie was based very loosely on the story of the monks aid to Li Shimin and became a huge smash hit in China. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, tourism exploded at Shaolin, reaching more than 1 million people per year by the end of the 1990s. Shaolins monks are now among the best known on Earth, and they put on martial arts displays in world capitals with  literally thousands of films having been made about their exploits. Batuos Legacy Its hard to imagine what the first abbot of Shaolin would think if he could see the temple now. He might be surprised and even dismayed by the amount of bloodshed in the temples history and its use in modern culture as a tourist destination. However, to survive the tumult that has characterized so many periods of Chinese history, the monks of Shaolin had to learn the skills of warriors, most of important of which was survival. Despite a number of attempts to erase the temple, it survives and even thrives today at the base of the Songshan Range.

The Americans with Disability Act Essay - 1002 Words

Usability is a critical portion of web design that one must be ever mindful of when constructing websites. Whether creating a personal web space or building multiple pages for a large corporation, it is the burden of the designer to guarantee people can access that content. According to the United Nations, disabled people compose roughly 10 percent of the world’s population (United Nations, 2010). Many regulations and standards have been set forth to provide disabled people with the same opportunities to access content available on the World Wide Web, as it is most of the World’s population. The presence of medical conditions, classified as disabilities by the Americans with Disabilities Act as, â€Å"†¦a physical or mental impairment that†¦show more content†¦In order to comply, there are particular methods for ensuring that web sites are ADA compliant. When considering visually impaired person one must use text colors that are easy to read with the right combinations of colors as well as the right contrast adjustments. Additionally, color blindness must be considered. There must be an alternative to images for individuals who cannot view them in their browsers as well (for example, alt=†text†). In addition, the use of screen reading capabilities must be taken into account due to users that are visually impaired. For persons with hearing impairments, audio content must have a text alternative provided, besides this, for users who use alternative speech inputs, there should be a text equivalent. Web designers should also direct their attention to other disabling conditions such as the need for alternative navigation elements for people with learning disabilities or lower motor skills. There are also many tools available to web designers to ensure that their sites are compliant with current ADA laws. 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Phaedo ( Plato ) and The Wall ( Jean-Paul Sartre ) free essay sample

Compares their attitudes toward imminent death (serenity vs. terror) of Socrates and the protagonist in the short story. In Platos dialogue Phaedo, Socrates expresses a spiritual and accepting view of death in general and of his own imminent, personal death in particular. In contrast, Pablo, in Jean-Paul Sartres story The Wall, faces what he believes to be his own death with abject terror, although he tries to hide his fear behind a mask of toughness: I wanted to stay hard (Sartre 9). The differences between the two men in their attitudes toward death are the results of the ways they have lived their lives. Socrates is a man who has diligently sought the truth about life, death, virtue, wisdom, and himself, while Pablo seems to have lived his life with little self-examination or seeking after deeper truths. The results are two men facing their deaths, one with serenity, one with terror. We will write a custom essay sample on Phaedo ( Plato ) and The Wall ( Jean-Paul Sartre ) or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Socrates would say that Pablo has not lived a life of philosophy, has not lived a pious, wise or

Jews In Argentina Essays - Immigration To Israel, Aliyah

Jews In Argentina The Jewish Community of Argentina Argentina is the second largest nation in Lain America and boasts the largest Jewish community in the region (200,000 of its 35 million people). From an open door policy of immigration to the harboring of Nazi war criminals, Argentinas Jews have faced period of peaceful coexistence and periods of intense anti-Semitism. Argentinas Jews have numerous Jewish community organizations. The DIAI (Delegacion de Asociaciones Israelitas Argentinas) was founded in 1939 as the political arm of the Jewish community. The DIAI protects Jewish rights and represents the community in the government. Another organization, the AMIA, an Ashkenazic mutual-aid society, provides health and human services to Argentinas Ashkenazi population. History After the expulsion from Spain in 1492, conversos (or secret Jews) settled in Argentina. Most of these immigrants assimilated into the general population and, by the mid 1800's, few Jews were left in Argentina. Argentina gained its independence from Spain in 1810. Bernardino Rivadavia, Argentinas first president, gave support to policies that promoted freedom of immigration and respect for human rights. In this atmosphere of tolerance, a second wave of Jewish immigration began in the mid-19th century with Jewish immigrants arriving from Western Europe, especially from France. In 1860, the first Jewish wedding was recorded in Buenos Aires. A couple of years later, a minyan met for the High Holiday services and, eventually, the minyan became the Congregacion Israelita de la Republica. In the late 19th century, a third wave of immigration fleeing poverty and pogroms in Russia, and other Eastern Europe countries, moved to Argentina because of its open door policy of immigration. These Jews became known as Rusos and became active in Argentine society. In 1889, 824 Russian Jews arrived in Argentina on the SS Weser and became gauchos (Argentine cowboys). The gauchos bought land and established a colony, which they named Moiseville. Due to lack of funding, the gauchos appealed to Baron Maurice de Hirsch for funds and the Baron subsequently founded the Jewish Colonization Association. During its heyday, the Association owned more than 600,000 hectares of land, populated by more than 200,000 Jews. While non-Jews now own many of these cooperative ranches, Jews continue to run some of the properties. Between 1906 and 1912, Jewish immigration increased at a rate of 13,000 immigrants per year. Most of the immigrants were Ashkenazi Jews from Europe, but a number of Sephardic Jews from Morocco and the Ottoman Empire also settled in Argentina. By 1920, more than 150,000 Jews were living in Argentina. Anti-Semitic attacks against Jews were infrequent in Argentina before World War I. Following the Russian Revolution, between 1918 and 1930, anti-revolutionary feelings developed into full-blown anti-Semitism against the Rusos. From January 7-13, 1919, a general strike in Buenos Aires led to a pogrom against the Jews. Many were beaten and had their property burned and looted.i Despite anti-Semitic actions against the Jews and increasing xenophobia, Jews became involved in most sectors of Argentine society. Still they were unable to be work in the government or military and so many became farmers, peddlers, artisans and shopkeepers. Cultural and religious organizations flourished and a Yiddish press and theater opened in Buenos Aires, as well as a Jewish hospital and a number of Zionist organizations. Post World War II Juan Perons rise to power in 1946 worried many Jews because he was thought to be a Nazi sympathizer with fascist leanings. Peron halted Jewish immigration to Argentina, introduced Catholic religious instruction in public schools and allowed Argentina to become a haven for fleeing Nazis. According to Argentine journalist and historian Jorge Camarasa, author of two books on Nazi refugees in South America, There are indications that Peron received Nazi Funds and access to secret Swiss accounts in payment for allowing people like Eichmann a new start. Many former Nazi officers served as military trainers and advisers under Peron. On the other hand, Peron also expressed sympathy for Jewish rights and established diplomatic relations with Israel in 1949. Since then, more than 45,000 Jews have immigrated to Israel from Argentina.i Peron was overthrown in 1955, which was followed by another wave of anti-Semitism. In 1960, Israeli agents abducted Adolf Eichmann who was deeply involved with the formulation and operation of the final solution to the Jewish question.