Summary: This project chooses Shaolin Temple – the Temple of origin for Kung Fu – as a site for investigating Chinese monks’ views on science in contemporary society. The purpose of the research is to investigate the relationship between science and Buddhism in China today.

The research questions are three-fold. Firstly, we explore the bi-directional influence, between Buddhism and Science, in the lived experience of Shaolin monks. Secondly, we aim to examine the nature of the relationship between Buddhism and science in the thinking and philosophy of Shaolin monks. Thirdly, we will examine the practice of science in the monastic practices at play in Shaolin Temple.

Religions in different geographical and national contexts will form along their own paths of development which will reflect particular dynamics in the relationship between science and society. This project is necessary for providing insight into the science-religion relationship in the context of Chinese society – the largest, but often least understood national context in the world. This project focuses on Chan Buddhism, the largest strain of Buddhism in contemporary China, but the intention with this work is that it will seed future projects examining the relationship between science and religion in China as it pertains to other forms of religion as well.

This project will use a mixed research method, employing both a survey (n=500) and interviews (n=100) as a means of capturing both quantitative and qualitative data. We will collect data in Shaolin Temple (located in Henan province) and its branch monasteries throughout China.

The outputs of this project will be two journal articles and associated two conference presentations. This project is anticipated to depict the Buddhism-science interface among Shaolin monks and to offer new insights about the dialectical dynamics that exist between the pervasive materialistic epistemology and spiritual faith in Buddhism that characterizes contemporary China.