A Short History of Shao Lin Monks and their Martial Arts The original Shao Lin temple was built in 495 A.D. by the ruling Bei Wei emperor for an Indian monk who came to China to preach Buddhism. The name Shao Lin derived from the fact that its original temple was located within a small forest on Shao Shi mountain. Shao came from the name of the mountain and Lin comes from the Chinese character that stands for forest. The origin of Shao Lin being its own sect of Buddhism dates back to 540 A.D. when and Indian Buddhist named Bodhidharma, Tamo in Chinese, traveled to China to see the ruling Bei Wei Emperor. At that time, the Emperor had started local Buddhist