Pope Francis received a delegation of monks from the Shaolin Temple, a sacred site in the history of Chinese Buddhism, in the Vatican. Some photos published by Vatican News show the pope in his study with religious figures from China’s Henan Province.
The meeting came a few days after the Shaolin Temple Future World Zen Forum, which brought together spiritual leaders and thinkers from around the world to reflect on how to promote meditation for personal well-being and the harmonious development of relations between people around the world.
The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed el-Tayeb, attended the event in China and spoke about the contribution of the Declaration of Human Fraternity signed by him and Pope Francis in 2019. Shaolin Temple is the inheritor of the Chinese Zen tradition and is famous in the West for the invention of kung fu (still practiced by monks today).
The temple is located on the slopes of Songshan, one of the Five Sacred Mountains of China. Its history dates back to the 5th century AD, when the Indian monk Bada – the 28th descendant of the Buddha’s lineage – came to China and began to spread Buddhist teachings. The Shaolin Temple was built in 495 AD by the order of Emperor Xiaowen of Wei. At Shaolin, Indian classics were translated into Chinese, forming what is now known as Zen precepts.
Shaolin Temple has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2010, but in recent years it has been criticized for its popularity in tourism and its association with kung fu. In the face of criticism, the monks insist that martial arts is only one aspect of the temple’s culture and spirituality.
They also point out that they have more than 200 centers related to their experience around the world, receiving more than 100 million visitors. A new three-story museum is being built at Shaolin Temple, which is expected to open this year.
The first floor will tell the story of Bada Monk and Zen; the second floor will fully display the history and culture of Shaolin Temple through historical documents, physical objects and digital installations. The top floor will display a rich treasure of Shaolin art and culture, including inscriptions, sculptures, murals, paintings and calligraphy works.
