Dear Guests and Shaolin Wahnam Family,
It is my pleasure to open this thread on one of our most fundamental and cherished aspects of the Shaolin Teachings: the Ten Shaolin Laws. I would like to invite each and everyone of you to peruse the passage below and then to consider the following questions.
For Shaolin Wahnam Family Members:
How do these laws resonate for you, specifically in your shaolin training, and in your daily lives?
For our Guests:
Do you have a set of laws/code of conduct/set of ethics that you live by? If so, would you care to share them with us and how they have enhanced your quality of life?
Preamble to the Ten Shaolin Laws
The Ten Shaolin Laws are non-religious, and transcend all cultures and races, i.e. people of any culture and race would agree that they promote values that are worthy and desirable. Laws, in the Shaolin tradition, are not meant to be punitive or restrictive, but as practical means to help followers achieve set aims and objectives; in this case to help them attain the best possible results in practising Shaolin Kungfu for combat efficiency, joyful living, mind expansion, and spiriitual fulfilment.
There is no legal biding on the Ten Shaolin Laws; one cannot be prosecuted in a law court if he breaks these laws. The binding is moral. But they are not forced upon the follower; the follower accepts them because he chooses to, because he believes they are helpful to him in his physical, emotional, mental and spiritual cultivation. If he breaks the laws, despite sufficient warnings, he may be asked to leave the Shaolin training, not as a punishment, but because the training is not suitable for him.
THE TEN SHAOLIN LAWS
1. Required to respect the master, honour the Moral Way and love fellow disciples as brothers and sisters.
2. Required to train the Shaolin arts diligently, and as a pre-requisite, to be physically and mentally healthy.
3. Required to be filial to parents, be respectful to the elderly, and protective of the young.
4. Required to uphold righteousness, and to be both wise and courageous.
5. Forbidden to be ungrateful and unscrupulous, ignoring the Laws of man and heaven.
6. Forbidden to rape, molest, do evil, steal, rob, abduct or cheat.
7. Forbidden to associate with wicked people; forbidden to do any sorts of wickedness.
8. Forbidden to abuse power, be it official or physical; forbidden to oppress the good and bully the kind.
9. Obliged to be humane, compassionate and spread love, and to realize everlasting peace and happiness for all people.
10. Obliged to be chivalrous and generous, to nurture talents and pass on the Shaolin arts to deserving disciples.
Whether you are an instructor or a beginning student, whether you are a family member or a guest from another tradition, this invitation is extended out to all the members of this forum.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts and perspectives.
Best wishes,
Emiko Hsuen
It is my pleasure to open this thread on one of our most fundamental and cherished aspects of the Shaolin Teachings: the Ten Shaolin Laws. I would like to invite each and everyone of you to peruse the passage below and then to consider the following questions.
For Shaolin Wahnam Family Members:
How do these laws resonate for you, specifically in your shaolin training, and in your daily lives?
For our Guests:
Do you have a set of laws/code of conduct/set of ethics that you live by? If so, would you care to share them with us and how they have enhanced your quality of life?
Preamble to the Ten Shaolin Laws
The Ten Shaolin Laws are non-religious, and transcend all cultures and races, i.e. people of any culture and race would agree that they promote values that are worthy and desirable. Laws, in the Shaolin tradition, are not meant to be punitive or restrictive, but as practical means to help followers achieve set aims and objectives; in this case to help them attain the best possible results in practising Shaolin Kungfu for combat efficiency, joyful living, mind expansion, and spiriitual fulfilment.
There is no legal biding on the Ten Shaolin Laws; one cannot be prosecuted in a law court if he breaks these laws. The binding is moral. But they are not forced upon the follower; the follower accepts them because he chooses to, because he believes they are helpful to him in his physical, emotional, mental and spiritual cultivation. If he breaks the laws, despite sufficient warnings, he may be asked to leave the Shaolin training, not as a punishment, but because the training is not suitable for him.
THE TEN SHAOLIN LAWS
1. Required to respect the master, honour the Moral Way and love fellow disciples as brothers and sisters.
2. Required to train the Shaolin arts diligently, and as a pre-requisite, to be physically and mentally healthy.
3. Required to be filial to parents, be respectful to the elderly, and protective of the young.
4. Required to uphold righteousness, and to be both wise and courageous.
5. Forbidden to be ungrateful and unscrupulous, ignoring the Laws of man and heaven.
6. Forbidden to rape, molest, do evil, steal, rob, abduct or cheat.
7. Forbidden to associate with wicked people; forbidden to do any sorts of wickedness.
8. Forbidden to abuse power, be it official or physical; forbidden to oppress the good and bully the kind.
9. Obliged to be humane, compassionate and spread love, and to realize everlasting peace and happiness for all people.
10. Obliged to be chivalrous and generous, to nurture talents and pass on the Shaolin arts to deserving disciples.
Whether you are an instructor or a beginning student, whether you are a family member or a guest from another tradition, this invitation is extended out to all the members of this forum.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts and perspectives.
Best wishes,
Emiko Hsuen
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