The construction of the Shaolin Temple was commissioned by Emperor Xiao Wen around A.D. 495.  The emperor ordered the temple built for the benefit of an Indian Buddhist monk named Buddhabhadra, known as Ba Tuo in Chinese.  An early missionary, Ba had arrived from India to spread Buddhism and had found favor with Xiao, who was a supporter of the new faith.  The temple, lying to the northwest of the Dengfeng County seat, was built at the foot of Shaoshi Mountain along the Song Shan Mountain range.  Named in part for the mountain that bordered it to the north, the temple was called Shaolin, meaning the "forest of Shao Mountain."  Ba was established as the first abbot, and for the rest of his life, he translated sutras (Buddhist writings) and taught Buddhism at the temple.  It is also said that Ba was enamored with the Chinese martial arts, and actually recruited individuals skilled in them.
    The man generally credited with creating the martial art now called shaolin chuan was an Indian monk named Boddhidharma (or Da Mo in Chinese).  Boddhidharma came to China from India in about A.D. 470, arriving by boat and staying in southern China for a time.
    Emperor Wu of Liang, a devout Buddhist, heard of the new missionary's arrival and invited him to the palace.  Upon meeting Boddhidharma, the emperor said "I have built many temples and pagodas, and restored even more.  I have given much of my treasury to the Sangha (brotherhood of Buddhist monks) and made offerings in all the major temples of the land.  What merit have I gained by all my efforts?"
    Boddhidharma looked the emperor in the eye and answered "Your majesty, through all your efforts, you have gained no merit at all."
    Enraged, Wu had Boddhidharma banished.
    Unwelcome in the south, Boddhidharma journeyed to northern China.  After some wandering, Boddhidharma came upon the Shaolin Temple.  Captivated by the charm and isolation of the small monastery nestled at the foot of wooded mountains, the monk decided to settle there.  Since Dhyana meditation is best conducted in solitude, the monk searched about for a quiet place to practice and soon discovered a small cave three-quarters of the way up the steep mountain behind the temple.  Once settled into his cozy new quarters, Boddhidharma began practicing long hours of meditation.  He sat, unmoving, facing the cave wall, day after day, summer and winter, year after year.
    One summer, Boddhidharma discovered that he was drifting off to sleep soon after sitting down to meditate.  Angered by his laziness, and realizing he would never reach enlightenment by sleeping, the monk cut off his eyelids with a knife.  He tossed the eyelids from the cave and, soon thereafter, a tea plant sprouted at the very spot where Boddhidharma's eyelids had landed.  The monk's disciples later found that, when brewed, the tea from this plant helped keep them awake during long meditations sessions.  Tea has been an integral part of Dhyana meditation halls ever since.
    Boddhidharma remained in the cave for nine years, until he reached enlightenment.  When Boddhidharma left the cave to begin teaching, disciples discovered that the sun had burned the monk's shadow into one of the cave's rocks.  The disciples removed the rock and put it on display in the temple, where it remains to this day as a testament Boddhidharma's religious zeal.
    After he emerged from the cave, Boddhidharma imparted his knowledge of meditation to the monks who had make the long climb each day to his cave to bring him food.  Boddhidharma noticed, however, that the monks were having very little success with he new technique.  Their bodies were not up to the rigors of prolonged meditation.  Their muscles were soft, and many of the monks had developed circulation problems from sitting cross-legged for so many hours each day.  Some had so little energy that they fell asleep the minute they sat down to meditate.  Boddhidharma realized they needed some sort of exercise to counteract the effects of prolonged sitting.  Boddhidharma developed a series of exercises designed to increase the circulation of internal energy, strengthen and loosen the tendons, and tone the muscles.  The exercises were later listed in a book called the Ekkin Kyo (Ekkin "Sutra") or The Muscle Change Classic
    Exactly when martial arts training became a major part of the temple's curriculum is unclear, but history shows that, at times, the monastery's martial arts program became more important to the monks than Buddhist teachings.