I wish to share this one with all of you.
Pure Karma Vihara is planning to introduce some health improvement programmes & this might be one we are looking at to help all of us cultivating yogi stay healthy!
Amituofo
Lotuschef
TBS
Pure Karma Vihara
Shorinji Kempo is a Japanese martial art which practises the Kongo in philosophy. It traces its origins back to India about 1,500 years ago when its practise and form was spread through Buddhism.Bodhidharma, the 6th century founder of Zen Buddhism had introduced the art to the legendary Shaolin Temple in Henan Province in China as a form of spiritual training for Buddhist monks who over time became famous for their fighting martial art form. Although the temple was destroyed and the monks disbanded around the turn of the 17th century by the then Imperial Chinese govenment, the art form continued to survive in various secret societies.
Modern day Shorinji Kempo was founded by Doshin So (known to us as Kaiso or 'the Founder') in 1947 in a town in Tadotsu, Japan. From the age of 18 and over a period of 17 years, Kaiso had travelled extensively througout China studying the surviving art forms of Shaolin ('Sho¯rin-Ji' in Japanese) both before and during the Japanese war whilst working for the Japanese military. Then in 1936, Kaiso became the 21st generation leader of the Northern Shaolin Giwamon Fist ('Kita Shorin Giwamon Ken' in Japanese) at a ceremony held at the Shaolin Temple, succeeding his Chinese master Wen Taizong.
After the end of the 2nd World War, Kaiso witnessed the moral devastation and suffering of a defeated nation. Where power constituted righteousness, taking precedence over all religion, ideology or ethical considerations. It was at this very difficult moment that Kaiso came to the following conclusion: "The person, the person, the person. Everything depends on the quality of the person". It is ultimately the character and way of thinking of a person in a position of authority that made a great difference.
To rebuild what was lost, Kaiso was determined to dedicate the remainder of his life to the education of individuals with strong senses of compassion, courage and justice, who would be spiritually and physically fit to help make the world a better place.
He remembered the mural in the Shaolin Temple depicting Chinese and Indian monks practising martial arts together whilst smiling (see inset picture below)
MURAL DEPICTED IN SHAOLIN TEMPLE.
He would recreate that same harmony amongst all people. A world where everyone could live together in happiness. To this end, he set about combining the Chinese and Japanese martial arts he had studied and made them into a single and highly effective unique martial art form. Additionally, he employed both the spiritual philosopy of 'developing the self' and Bodhidharma's teachings (Zen) of indestructable and resolute spiritedness to develop the foundation of Kongo Zen upon which the art form would be based. This gave rise to the birth of Shorinji Kempo.
Eventually, the teachings and techniques thought in Shorinji Kempo was not bound by religion and evolved to a 'Way' that is open to all individuals who desire to improve their body and mind. Its popularity grew rapidly and today it is practised the world over by members of all nationalities and age groups with diverse religious, cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
The World Shorinji Kempo Organization today has more than 3,000 branches in 34 countries with greater than 1.7 million registered members. It is led by our current President Ms Yuuki So, daughter of Doshin So.
You may wish to visit our global WSKO website for more information on Shorinji Kempo which also include links to our other official branches located around the world.
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