Needing and wanting Shaolin scholars! We all know about the Abbot scandals . Chinese Buddhist mostly now have discredited Shaolin and its valuable history in Chan Buddhism. There aren't really any primary resources beside Shahar's book on Shaolin to cite . Primary resources are actual publications that have been properly referenced and published and all others (magazines, books) fall under secondary resources . Therefore when writing a scholarly paper, its very limited with perhaps a few references. It is a shame considering Shaolin's enriched history.
But the Daoists have so much that has been written and referenced. We know these two have had shared histories but Shaolin is not taken seriously in the Buddhist scholarly world. Shaolin isn't seen as a "religion" but Daoism is.
Is there anybody out there that is willing to write scholarly material on Shaolin to present at conferences for published journals and articles? So much material to present , obviously you don't present kungfu and the thousand of ways to do your form.
But rather what Shaolin in its impact on Chan Buddhism. Who are the Shaolin Buddhist monks that contributed to sutras within the Chinese Buddhist Canon? Is Shaolin a representative of Chan Buddhism? How is Chan Buddhism expressed in Shaolin Kungfu within the forms? Where are the origins? 1500 years of stuff to write and no true scholar besides Shahar that I find that has credible information. Gene's Book is great but can't be used for proper citation.
My enduring question is: What is Shaolin Dharma? or is just a smoke screen?
You don't need a Phd but a master's degree , groups are ok to present.
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