Martial Arts Of The World - Webs

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Religion and Spiritual Development: China
Chinese historical records and other writings over the centuries reveal that
the martial arts were practiced among all elements of society, including religious
groups. However, there is little evidence that there was any significant
religious influence over the martial arts or that they were a product of
religious experience. On the contrary, they were the product of a clan society
intent on protecting group interests and of the existence of widespread
warfare among contending states during China’s formative period.
Nevertheless, there seems to be a strong current in modern martial
arts circles, especially outside China, to associate the martial arts with religion,
mainly Zen (in Japanese; Chan in Chinese) Buddhism, religious as opposed
to philosophical Daoism (Taoism), and various heterodox groups
such as the White Lotus and Eight Trigrams sects. That individuals from all
these groups practiced the martial arts is undeniable. That some individuals
in all these groups may have tried to integrate these arts into their belief
systems is almost certain.
However, that these arts are inseparable from a religious or spiritual
context is simply unfounded. On the other hand, martial arts concepts are
clearly based on a Daoist philosophical worldview, and this includes psychological
as well as physical aspects. This worldview predated the establishment
of popular religious Daoism and strongly influenced later Confucian
and Buddhist, especially Chan (Zen), thought. It appears that many
individuals have mistaken this worldview as necessarily being religious or
spiritual. Because of the omnipresence of Daoist thought in Chinese culture
and society, the psychophysiological nature of martial arts practices, and
the dearth of serious, factual writing on the subject, it is perhaps understandable
that misunderstandings have arisen in modern times concerning
the nature and origins of the martial arts and their place in society. Added
to these factors is the disproportionate amount of attention paid to the role
of Shaolin Monastery and, by association, the perceived connection between
Chan (or Zen) Buddhism and the martial arts.
Religion and Spiritual Development: China 455