Batuo

Because of the Indian Buddhist monk, Batuo, or "Buddhabhadra," the Shaolin monastery has been in existence for over 1,500 years. He traveled to China in 464 CE. to preach Nikaya Buddhism before the establishment of the Shaolin temple. He then had the Shaolin temple built for him in 496 AD, thirty-one years after his arrival. The person who built the temple for him was Emperor Wen Di of the Northern Wei Dynasty. The temple was built on Mt. Song (Song Shan in Chinese), one of the five Sacred Mountains. This is in the Henan province in China. The original temple was initially a dome shaped structure that was used as a shrine for Buddhism.

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"Batuo." Wikipedia. 27 Jul 2007 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batuo>.