The Shaolin Temples begin their history as early as 540 A.D. Hinayana Buddhism, the prevalent form practiced in India at the time, was present in China as early as the 1st century, but China has already built a foundation of spiritual/philosophical doctrines, and the Small Circle path of Hinayana Buddhism didn’t fit well into the Chinese psyche. The temple was visited by a monk from India named Bodidharma . He had come to visit China because or the Emperors drive to have many of the Buddhist texts, available at the time only in Sanskrit, translated into Chinese.

When Bodidharma, which became Ta Mo in Chinese, first arrived at the temple, he was initially refused admittance! But undeterred, Ta Mo instead made a nearby cave his retreat for a period of 9 years, where he meditated until his efforts eventually won him entrance into the first Shaolin temple.

It is reported that the monks within the newly-built temple in Honan were already practicing the 18 Hands of Luohan Boxing, techniques for revitalizing their bodies & in turn, their minds. Chinese Kung Fu had been a codified system of methods & techniques for 2000 years prior to Ta Mo’s visit, & a connection was made between the postures of Ta Mo’s Indian Yoga & the old Luohan Boxing. The Yellow Emperor’s Treatise on Medicine had already used animal-frolicking exercise to unite the mind/body condition by developing the state of ch’i and strength in the human body, & the physical posturing was clearly the same from both the Indian & Chinese perspective. The need to enhance one’s physical/mental being for the purpose of spiritual development & augmentation of those abilities is identical both in Chinese martial arts & philosophy. The two ancient physical yoga's of India & China united to become one. United through the spiritual pursuit of Dharma & personal enlightenment. As time went on, this Buddhist sect became more and more distinct because of the martial arts being studied. Chan Buddhism was born.