Customer Reviews

The Spiritual Legacy of Shaolin Temple: Buddhism, Daoism, and the Energetic Arts

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Three stars does not mean I disliked the book. I thought it was okay. Let me start with the GOOD, as I believe the good is more important than the bad. I would recommend this book to a few people I know, but not to most of them, much less "everyone".

James' book comes straight from the heart. He bares aspects of his character, as well as his views, to the reader in a very direct and honest way. His synthesis of Vipassana, Chi Kung, and Wu Tang Shan martial arts is interesting and valuable. He also gives a nice summary of major ideas in Buddhism and Taoism, helping give the reader some context in approaching these spiritual paths. I especially liked his section on the three "internal" arts, his section on Chi Kung, and the penultimate part of the book which discusses the social relevance of blending a martial practice with a spiritual one. For those who are interested, James also provides a final chapter on various exercises one can perform.

Yet for all these things, I do not "like", much less "love", the book. For starters, the title is essentially misleading. The word "Shaolin" doesn't really belong in the title, and seemed to be just a marketing gimmick. James' discussion revolves around the fusion of Zen, Yoga, aspects of Theravadin Buddhism, and Chi Kung - he is essentially working in the very syncretic tradition of Chinese philosophy. The only sense in which James is talking about Shaolin is a very general one: the idea that a physical, martial art can be a valuable aspect of a spiritual path. In spirit, James is working in the Shaolin tradition of blending these elements together, having developed his own unique synthesis of spiritual practices. But you can't take the title of the book literally - the book isn't really about Shaolin. It's about James' personal insights and spiritual/martial journey.

The primary problem I encountered was that, at times, the book just seems like a book report, albeit a well-written one. In places, 50% to 60% of the text consists of large quotes from other authors and thinkers. Much of the book is this way, unfortunately, and might lead one to believe that James has little of his own to say. But I don't believe it! Chapter 6 is scant yet pithy, and contains relatively few quotes. By the way, Chapter 6 is where James discusses his OWN ideas and conclusions - and it's one of the best parts of the book. Couldn't there have more of Chapter 6?

If you are interested in how Andy James has found his own spiritual path by combining different martial and religious practices, buy this book. It is interesting, and the misleading title and book reportish-ness are lamentable.

To me, better books on Shaolin are out there, such as Wong's books (general approach), Chow and Spangler, and the OSC's Shaolin Grandmasters' Text.

I bought this book because I thought it was going to present the effect the Shaolin Temples had on the development of Asian martial arts. Much to my chagrin, the book did nothing of the kind.

Essentially, the book is a long tribute by Andy James to Andy James - Buddhist master, martial arts expert, and fount of wisdom. He details his training under Theravada (Southeast Asian Hinayana Buddhist) masters. He talks in a general way about different types of martial arts. He takes some time out to denigrate other forms of Buddhism.

What he doesn't do is talk about the Shaolin temples, the connection between the temples and martial arts, or explain what their legacy might be.

As a practicing Buddhist and martial artist, I found this book to be disappointing. Don't bother buying it.

Andy James' book on the spiritual basis of the martial arts is well wrtitten and much needed. Most books give little information about these topics before going on to the technical information.

However, this is one of those which moves in an always interesting manner between the author's own personal journey and the historical and philosophical traditions he practices. There are interestings sections on the history of Shaolin, Bodhidharma's legacy, the influence of Daoism, Chan Buddhism, and other yogic influences from Tantra and Vipassana and more.

Thereis a fasinating section on the internal martial arts of taijiquan, baguazhang, and xingiquan, and a final section which gives practical skills for self-cultivation and meditation.

This book is well worth reading for the serious student of martial arts and the internal tradition.

Andy James sets out to explain that he is going to write a book on why the martial arts are a spiritual path, and tells the very interesting story of his personal training. Then he gets to chapter two.

Chapters 2 and 3 are lot of 101s - buddhism 101, vipassana 101, Generalizations about Japan 101 ['zen is the religion of the samurai'], Taoism 101, and "let's confuse qigong with esoteric taoism". As one of the other reviewers rightly points out, the middle of the book is largely quotes, summaries, and precis from other books - I hope you like Cleary's translations. And fwiw, many people don't believe that Zen was "THE religion of the samurai."

If all this is news to you, you might enjoy these chapters. I have to deduct points for his superficial understanding of bujutsu and esoteric taoism.

The chapter where he gives an overview of taichi, xingyi and bagua were of interest to me.

The author believes a lot of this happened in, near, or as a result of the Shaolin Temple, although he points out that historically we can't be sure. But yes, there were warrior monks there, some of them were heroic. Great archetype.

If you are looking for a book on Shaolin, there are several pages of material here. The author uses Shaolin as a focal point to tie the book together, but doesn't succeed.

I bought the book at 40% off the $6.99 remainder price, so I felt I got my money's worth ($2.79) for chapters 1 (25 pages)and chapter 4 (33 pages).

I won't be adding the book to my library, its going to the second hand book store.

Mr. James has written a well crafted book. I found the autobiographical section extremely interesting, for those of us who shared those historical times we are reminded of its challenges and hopes. It is obvious that he took not only those he quotes later in the book, but his own unique perspective of those times as the lessons to build upon and arrive to become the spiritual master that he is today.

I have to agree with one of the other reviewers (but not his assessment of the book), that James leaves us hungry for more of his work......I for one am looking forward to his next book.

As an aside, a quick google of his name indicates that he is a diversified individual beyond the martial arts and has spearheaded the building of his own off grid eco retreat! And it appears he now has a blog up and running......

While not an easy or fast read, the material was researched and appeared thorough. The "Spiritual Legacy" presents an amalgam of centuries of philosophical thought and is well worth the time to read and digest. Concise summarization with the filter of experience makes this short book a window to a wider world.