[Lifetime]

Just a note to you all, saying Monks come from China is as wrong as stereotypes get. Its not exactly a very novel idea, that monks are related to everything Chinese. And while Shao Lin is probably the most famous temple, it by far is not the only one. There are hundreds of temples within China's borders alone, and the Shao Lin are not the only ones to practice what is now known as Kung Fu. Japanese Shinto monks practiced much of the same principles as the Chinese and Mongolian ones, and Ninjas are also very rooted in spirituality and the supernatural. Essentially evil or neutral monks in Dnd very much resemble Ninjas (who were master spies and scouts rather than the stereotypical assassins). The path a monk took in a temple such as Shao Lin was not only that of martial arts, but more importantly that of meditation and contemplation to achieve perfection, as well as education in matters such as language and mathematics. It wasnt just a school for martial arts, and it wasnt common for families to send sons to various temples in China for them to acquire the skills of a monk. Monks were well trained not because of some fictionary copper adversary that would be more at home in a cheesy Hollywood B movie, but because of physical and mental determination, which was thought even before actual martial training began. The idea of Trials in mazes and such is pretty much a joke. Legend perhaps, but not exactly very firmly rooted in truth.
Samurais are still a distinct group in Japan, even though their role as bodyguards and elite warriors is now defunct. Japan still functions very heavily around Bushido, the Samurai, or rather military code of honor, very much like the code of chivalry, and there are still many many old families in Japan which still practice this code and maintain the skills of Archery and Kendo (Japanese fencing).

[ 10-30-2002, 10:43 PM: Message edited by: Lifetime ]