There are many people who call themselves “Shaolin Warriors”, “Shaolin monks”, “Shaolin tradition followers”. Is it possible to verify these claims?
All monks of the Shaolin temple, as well as those of other zen-buddhist monasteries in China, undergo a two-level initiation. This tradition has been in place since the eighth century. Following the second level the monk receives a special diploma and his name is entered into the genealogical lists of the school into the united registry of monks held at the Chinese Buddhist Association. The monk’s diploma contains his civil name, the new monk name of the initiated and the name of his teacher who since then holds full responsibility for his pupil. For the most part, the chronicles of the Shaolin Temple which contain the lists of monks are published in the Encyclopedia оf Shaolin Kung Fu (Beijing, 1995, vol. 1). Therefore, a true Shaolin monk-warrior can be easily recognized from a “fake” one.
