[SIZE=“3”]A interesting read, with some sad notes.
I think the soul of kung fu must live in the students who are meant for it and the soul and way of a monk as well, but they are not necessarily the same. (it is strange to me not to have them hand in hand, but to MOST it is strange to have them hand in hand today.)
I was not so convinced with the justification that commercialising the temple was “we are spreading buhddism” - I don’t think the author of the article was either.
It’s a whole bag of feelings for anyone who has invested in kung fu - so I think we must strive to keep the soul of kung fu in ourselves, and teach what we are able to the best of our ability. I think it’s devotees and students may be what kung fu has left…untainted…
“Today, however, temple officials seem more interested in building the Shaolin brand than in restoring its soul.”[/SIZE]
[SIZE=“3”]“The perfect way to do, is to be” Lao Tzu
“Kung Fu is everything, yet it is nothing” Master Don Miller[/SIZE]
It was “National Geographic show – genuine Shaolin?” It will now be “National Geographic on Shaolin” as I cannibalized this thread for the new update. I just merged RAF’s post here, to reduce redundancy.
Just got my NatGeo and opened it up to the Shaolin piece. Haven’t read it yet, but will do so over tea on a weekend morning I think. Nice photos too! (of course, that’s natgeo for you)
[QUOTE=richard sloan;1081055]you would think by now these guys would know about batuo’s first disciples.
then again it seems like a lot of shaolin don’t.[/QUOTE]
I think many that follow Shaolin pay attention to Ta Mo and forward and tend to focus on the Martial arts aspect. This seems to be how it is here anyway.
I think that some even believe that Bodhidharma is the starting point of Shaolin.
It is what it is I guess. Deeper interest will spark deeper digging and different knowing eventually.
You always introduce it to the uninitiated with the basic levels and the popular myths. If you try to give them the whole story, they’ll lose interest. I wouldn’t fault NG for that.
I liked the angle from Yang Guiwu’s deathbed. It was a little morbid, but it brought to light the notion of dying tradition. What the article misses is that there are hundreds of folk masters like Yang Guiwu. In fact, Yang Guiwu wasn’t even listed amongst any of the great folks master rosters we listed in our 2003 Shaolin Special. In my article So You Want to Train at Shaolin?
Your Guide to Dengfeng and New Shaolin Village, we published the Top Ten Master of Shaolin, the 18 Diamonds of Shaolin and the 18 Lohan of Shaolin. Which isn’t to say that Yang wasn’t up to snuff - quite the opposite. It’s to say that there are a lot of traditional folk masters. Yang was far from the last.
I also liked NG’s treatment of conundrum of Shi Dejian. I was extremely fortunate to have been able to interview him before he became so famous (I like to think that was my Shaolin yuanfen). The more Dejian tries to retreat into the forbidding mountains of Songshan, the more the media seeks him out.
Mostly, I liked it because of the timing. We can use the Shaolin buzz. You see, we have a Shaolin Special in the queue. I just hope the newsstands have a long enough attention spans to pick us up too.
It was a good article, it had some some silliness in it, like the part about “some MMA fighter that came to test the monk and went away bruised” ( why do they bother with crap like that?), but over all it was interesting.
[QUOTE=sanjuro_ronin;1086422]It was a good article, it had some some silliness in it, like the part about “some MMA fighter that came to test the monk and went away bruised” ( why do they bother with crap like that?), but over all it was interesting.[/QUOTE]
I think they bother with it, because that’s what presents itself at the gate.
We posted news of this article on our National Geographic on Shaolin thread. At some point, when I’m tidying up this forum, I may merge this thread into that one.
[QUOTE=David Jamieson;1086255]Shi DeJian and the retreat behind him.
This appears to be an hd shot. Nice eh?[/QUOTE]
Yep been there back in 2007 - it was just being finished off at that stage. Maybe heading for a trip back this year to stay a night or 2 and do some training - it really is out of this world up on that mountain:D
