CompleteMartialArts.com - The Bodhisattva Warriors: The Origin, Inner Philosophy, History and Symbolism of the Buddhist Martial Art Within India and China
List Price: $27.95
Our Price: $27.95
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Weiser Books
Average Customer Rating:
Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 294.34446 EAN: 9780877287858 ISBN: 0877287856 Label: Weiser Books Manufacturer: Weiser Books Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 560 Publication Date: 1994-06 Publisher: Weiser Books Studio: Weiser Books
Customer Rating: Summary: I can't believe i payed money for this Comment: I don't know how anyone can possibly state that this book is any good. As a historical book, it doesn't have any historical authenticity to anything that the author has written in it. I bought this book because I thought I was going to learn something new - boy was I wrong. His take on history is not related to what is written by current historians and a lot of his conclusions about the origins of martial arts are just opinions that when one thinks about it makes no logical sense. Newsflash.... all major historians believe that organized martial arts were created by the military or by people involved in military/police affairs. They were not created by pacifistic monks or religious people who believe in pacifism. That is just illogical. His other attempts such as tying the birth of martial arts to buddhism is wrong in the face of the fact that there is defined martial arts in china, korea, and japan before the creation of buddhism or even the transport of buddhism to those countries. The Shaolin temple is the only Chan/Zen temple that has a martial arts tradition in all of china. Most historians believe that it harbored retired soldiers who possessed martial arts traditions from their military days and brought it into the temple. Further, most historians believe that the martial arts in china and japan took religion into it after the creation of the martial arts to try to lend a moral character to the immoral process of learning how to hurt and kill others (so that people wouldn't do it a totally immoral fashion). He also discounts the major contributions that Taoism/Confucianism/ and Sun Tzu's theories on warfare on the martial arts. His take on this seems to revolve around the Shaolin temple and the Bodhidharma legend (which is just a legend! - Historians aren't even sure that he existed as a real individual in connection with the Shaolin temple!) It's the same with European or Middle Eastern martial arts and warfare. Most soldiers of Europe and the Middle east were greatly influenced by priests and religious men for moral or religious fortitude in the face of the study of the art of self defense. That does not mean that Christianity or Islam created european/middle eastern swordplay. His illogic is similar to the illogic of stating that the Knights Templar of Europe invented fencing and sword play because they were religious people and many soldiers and swordsmen in Europe during the middle ages were religious and attended church... A totally illogical statement. All in all a horrible book. I'm peeved because I unfortunately actually spent my hard earned money on it at full price. Customer Rating: Summary: Martial arts Buddhist past Comment: I don't know what some of these reviewists talk about when they say that Shifu Nagaboshi Tomio's work is fabricated. Bodhisattva warriors has much quantifiable evidence in its 500 plus pages (I can only think that they have an ulterior motive to try suppress the writers' work).
Bodhisattva Warriors to my mind goes beneath the surface of current historical facts but the key facts are still there with many more I had not read before pointing me in directions for further reading.
With regards this subject the most popular records are those of of Bodhidharma the 28th Patriarch of Buddhism in India, and the first Patriarch in China. Bodhidharma is traditionally held to be the founder of the Chaan school of Buddhism (known in Japan and the West as Zen), and the Shaolin school of Chinese martial arts. Bodhidharma is well known for teaching the ailing monks of Shaolin the moving arts, though Shifu Nagaboshi points out that having been an Indian Prince like the Buddha, Bodhidharma had been taught the warrior arts of the Kshatrya caste in his home country of India.
There is no question about the earliest reliable evidence of Buddhist monks engaging in military action, and therefore possibly using martial arts skills, from the celebrated attack on Wang Shih-ch'ung's forces, in support of the Tang forces of Li Shill-min, in 621 CE. Memorial tablets recording this and other military exploits of Shaolin monks are still preserved today. (DEMIEVILLE 1973, pp. 275-79)
Terry Dukes' sensible observation that many martial arts movements in China, Korea and Japan are derived from Buddhist 'mudra' (signs of the hand) are clearly not just his own fanciful ideas (as some like to suggest) as these mudras can be seen all over China in surviving Buddhist paintings and statues of Buddhas. Evidence is even greater in Buddhist temple guardians who are traditionally depicted in warrior like poses performing mudras which are easily recognised as martial arts movements. Just to give a couple of examples: the well known Buddhist mudra 'abhaya mudra', the 'mudra of fearlessness' which the Buddha is recorded as using to subdue a charging elephant, can be seen in many martial arts as it is a type of inner circling knife hand. 'Bhumisparsa mudra' the mudra of calling the earth to witness is depicted in images of temple guardians as a gesture of surpressing enemies of Buddhism. However these examples are just two of many that can be uncovered by any discerning martial arts enquirer.
I have myself checked that many of these images and statues date back to the early insurgence of Buddhist culture into China through the silk Road which opened in the Second Century BC so there is absolutely no historical dispute that Indian Buddhism had a massive impact on Chinese Culture from this date onwards and Terry Dukes helps make the cross connections between martial arts and Buddhism from this time onwards.
Again there are more sustainable facts with Zhang Qian (Hsuang Tsang) a Chinese explorer and imperial envoy of the 2nd century BCE, is recorded as the first official diplomat to bring back reliable information about Central Asia to the Chinese imperial court, then under Emperor Wu of Han. Zhang Qian is also credited with the translation of many important Buddhist texts (sutras) which layed down the foundations for Buddhism which was to rival and often dominate Taoism in the Chinese imperial court.
There is no disputing that Indian Buddhism was so widespread that it managed to reach the shores of Japan, and as we know very well was whole heartedly adopted by the Japanese, dramatically influencing Japanese culture and arts from the 7th Century to the present day.
There is of course a fundemental difference between Japan and China in that Japan had no forign intervention or civil wars which resulted in the suppression of Buddhism. In China however as Terry Dukes points out in Bodhisattva Warriors that Taoism and Buddhism vied for acceptance as the imperial courts religion and so inevitably Buddhism at different periods in Chinese history was outlawed and inevitably had to be taught secretly. It is only a small step to infer that to escape detection by the authorities Buddhism was easily codified into hand movements and dances (form, kata or hsing) where it has been passed down through Buddhist martial practices to the present day.
Shifu Nagaboshi's assertians of this are are easily verified by evidence of the codification of mudras (hand signs) in Buddhist practice because we can see the practices of Chen Yen monks of China, Shingon Monks of Japan and Vajryana lamas of Tibet who still ritually perform complicated hand movements to accompany verbal and meditational practices.
This is what is interesting about this book as just as in Buddhist Chuan Fa the mudra these monks use are not just simply mundane 'hand signs' but a 'phsyco-physical' gesture which (as this term suggests) involves not just the body but also the mind of the practitoner.
The practice of unifying mind and body within physical training is well established within martial arts systems and this Buddhist (yogacara) tradition as Shifu Nagaboshi (along with others)* correctly identifies is most certainly one of the roots of this practice. (See Keenan: Spontaneity in Western Martial Arts, A Yogacara Critique of Mushin [No-Mind]- a google search will find this)
Terry Dukes (who quite openly displays both his English and Budddhist name on the front cover) has obviously hit some raw nerves with people who would keep to their blinkered history of martial arts rather than engage with the facts that there are some aspects of the esoteric doctrines that just do not fit into martial arts based on commercial an egotistical gain.
As a Buddhist this book explained a lot about the art I am practicing. Customer Rating: Summary: For the serious martial arts student Comment: The Bodhisattva Warriors is a highly intellectual, thought-provoking book and is not for the casual reader. Despite its length and the depth of information given, it is obvious that the book is meant as an introduction only for it deals with a vast amount of complex subject matters, most of which would take volumes to cover fully. Where applicable, the sources of photographs and illustrations are given, and the 124 pages of the notes and bibliography at the back indicate where information contained in the book came from.
For the serious student who is interested in gaining a wider knowledge and understanding of the martial arts, The Bodhisattva Warriors by Shifu Nagaboshi Tomio provides a solid base from which to carry out further research and study.
This book is highly recommended.
Customer Rating: Summary: A dedicated life long search for why a Martial art is Buddhist? Comment: There are two sides to every coin and some martial arts practitioners dismiss this book out of hand and they are entitled to their views however in my humble opinion and that of many others in the martial arts world this book is a milestone in Martial Arts research. Nagaboshi/Dukes has oviously taken a lot of time in these 500 or so pages to investigate questions that many martial arts students would like to have answers to.
Although certainly not an easy read it is obvious after a while that Nagaboshi/Dukes is uncovering ideas that are rarely if ever mentioned in the local Shoalin/Zen/Budo martial arts dojo. Some of these questions are really quite simple like:
Why 'clobbering' each other is Buddhist?
What could be Buddhist about kata or forms?
Why does the Japanese term for the martial arts training hall 'dojo' have the same name as the meditation hall in a Zen monastery'?
What is the spiritual connection with the Shaolin Monastry or to Buddhism in general?
What did the patron of Buddhist Martial arts 'Bodhidhama' actually say and teach?
This book is certainly not going to be to everyone's taste but if you are seriously interested in what a Buddhist Martial art is and why, then this book cannot be overlooked. There are very few if any books to my knowledge that take this subject so seriously and if those who write it off were to write any books on the subject I would be happy to read them.
Bodhisattva Warriors has had an obvious impact, sending all the Shaolin/Zen perporting martial arts teachers diving to swat up on their Buddhism so that their students can't ask them awkward questions or on the other hand taking the easiest option in just dismissing Nagaboshi/Dukes as having made it all up! Which is obviously not the case if you read the book.
I've taken the time to read this book and come to my own conclusions. This is a very important book possibly a milestone in martial arts literature. Nagaboshi/Dukes has focused on the spiritual Buddhism in the Buddhist martial art rather than just paying lipservice to it with a few quipped Zen sayings. If your teacher doesn't know much about why his martial art is Buddhist, then this is the book to get and if he dimisses it you will know why. He hasn't read it!
Bodhisattva Warriors has obviously taken years of research to compile and probably the best part of a lifetime to write. It is a must even if like me you just use it as part of your research into martial arts history. I give it five stars. Customer Rating: Summary: Bogus Budo-Buyer Beware Comment: As a Martial Artist and a Buddhist, I found this "book" by "Shifu" Nagaboshi (aka. Terry Dukes) to be both misleading and offensive. The information it contains regarding Buddhism and the Martial arts is completely false. The book is written in a poor, rambling and confusing style, profusely illustrated with ripped-off photos from other books. "Shifu" Nagaboshi is a well-known fraud in the Martial Arts world. His "Mushindo" is nothing more than a cult and has nothing to do either with either the real Martial Arts or Buddhism. Anyone seriously beginning studies in the path of either Budo or the Buddha would to well to steer clear of works by "Shifu" Nagaboshi-Dukes. There are dozens of wonderful books available at GREAT PRICES from Amazon.com. that will help your studies of Budo. Try reading, "Karate-do Kyohan" by Gichin Funakoshi (the title is Japanese, but the book is in english!) Or try Master Funakoshi's autobiography, "Karate-do, My Way of Life." For wonderful stories and legends about Chinese Kung Fu, nothing beats Robert Smith's classic "Chinese Boxing, Masters and Methods." Before you think of buying this "book" by Nagaboshi, consider something...in Japan you do not call your teacher "Shifu." "Sifu" is the Mandarin Chinese term for teacher. ("Shifu" is probably a Hong Kong/Cantonese corruption Dukes picked up somewhere.) In Japan, you always call your teacher "Sensei." Nagaboshi didn't even get his title right, so how can you trust his bogus book? If I can stop one serious young martial artist from getting into Nagaboshi's cult, my review will have served its purpose. In Gassho to all true students of the path.
