Bodhidharman, the Buddhist saint who is believed to have taken Buddhism and with it the martial arts of Kerala to China and Japan was a Malayali. Considered to be the 28th Paramacharya in the Kashyapa parampara of the Buddhist order Bodhidharma went all the way from Kerala to north India and then onward to China. It was Prajnathara the Guru who entrusted the job to Bodhidharman. The Shao-lin Temple that became famous as the seat of martial arts in the world was where Bodhidharma taught his martial arts. Chinese martial arts like Karate and Judo, two minor components of the ancient science of Kalari in Kerala became famous from here. Samurais of Japan are another group that got enriched by the rare knowledge and the philosophy that went with it.
It is believed to be in the 6th century, a century of great spiritual change all over the world that Bodhidharma went from Kerala. Soon after this the Buddhist faith can be seen to be on the wane in India and the modern Hinduism emerges. Assimilating most of the Buddhist practices. For it is believed that the Brahmacharya, celibacy concept, the orders and ashrams for ascetics, long flowing saffron dress and many others that Sankaracharya promoted in Hinduism were originally from Buddhism. After which there are historic versions of the Buddhist and Jain faiths in India undergoing challenges. Perhaps bloody wars were fought as well and many of the Buddhist texts were possibly destroyed. Thus some of the original texts of Buddhism are no more available in India whereas the Chinese have their own versions of these.
What happened to the Buddhists in India, in Kerala, is worth probing. Did they come totally to the new Hindu fold or did they take up other religions is an interesting question. That the Nayars were in the front line of the Kalari culture is irrefutable and the Buddhist Bhikshu could have been one from among them. That if the Nayars as a distinct people had taken shape by then. It raises another question, whose ancestors the Kerala Buddhists were, Nairs, Ezhavas, or the Dalits. Even some of the Muslims and Christians, it could be anyone. For there was adoption and oppression and the followers must have flocked to the new faiths available. Did the Dalits belong to the Buddhist cult; by refusing to follow the predominant faith were they pushed down the status scale through a period of time. Or, as some believe the Ezhavas who were also pushed down in the caste hierarchy. The Nayars, a nobility once later reduced to 'sudrahood', who faced near decimation though they withstood it. Questions which seek answers but difficult to get answers as of now.
It is believed to be in the 6th century, a century of great spiritual change all over the world that Bodhidharma went from Kerala. Soon after this the Buddhist faith can be seen to be on the wane in India and the modern Hinduism emerges. Assimilating most of the Buddhist practices. For it is believed that the Brahmacharya, celibacy concept, the orders and ashrams for ascetics, long flowing saffron dress and many others that Sankaracharya promoted in Hinduism were originally from Buddhism. After which there are historic versions of the Buddhist and Jain faiths in India undergoing challenges. Perhaps bloody wars were fought as well and many of the Buddhist texts were possibly destroyed. Thus some of the original texts of Buddhism are no more available in India whereas the Chinese have their own versions of these.
What happened to the Buddhists in India, in Kerala, is worth probing. Did they come totally to the new Hindu fold or did they take up other religions is an interesting question. That the Nayars were in the front line of the Kalari culture is irrefutable and the Buddhist Bhikshu could have been one from among them. That if the Nayars as a distinct people had taken shape by then. It raises another question, whose ancestors the Kerala Buddhists were, Nairs, Ezhavas, or the Dalits. Even some of the Muslims and Christians, it could be anyone. For there was adoption and oppression and the followers must have flocked to the new faiths available. Did the Dalits belong to the Buddhist cult; by refusing to follow the predominant faith were they pushed down the status scale through a period of time. Or, as some believe the Ezhavas who were also pushed down in the caste hierarchy. The Nayars, a nobility once later reduced to 'sudrahood', who faced near decimation though they withstood it. Questions which seek answers but difficult to get answers as of now.
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