Shaolin Temple greetings

Wai Jia: The Kung Fu Forum Shaolin Kung Fu
21

Heming,

You wrote, “that modern shaolin is simply modern wushu (the gymnastic from, partially it is true…Chinese government published the rules of competetion in 1984, and after that, wushu followed the designed way but not the traditional way…right now the situation is changing back as well…but the traditional kung fu never disappeared, it is passing down by generations in the temple…”

It is my understanding that when the temple was destroyed around 1928. It wasn’t completely destroyed but most of the monks died or fled the area to other parts of China. A few remained and maintained the temple as best as they good given their limited means. Those monks that remained were NOT warrior monks. Also, those elderly monks currently reside at the temple were children at the time of the destruction of the destruction of the temple. They were not trained in traditional wushu. In order to bring back traditional wushu to the temple, traditional wushu masters from outside of the temple were brought back to the temple to teach.

What is your understanding of traditional wushu at the Shaolin Temple and how lineage remained intact if it did?

Thanks,
J

22

Heming,

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=“-1”>quote:</font><HR>
I am busying to organize a seminar of
Shaolin I Ching Chin (Yi Jing Jin) in Hong Kong University in July…for my master…
[/quote]

Will there be some photos available online?

23

Heming, what a joy it is to have you here! You make me laugh…but there again, I am a laughing tiger, you know! That’s what we do :slight_smile: <<<see! What is your opinion of the wu shu taught at the surounding schools, like Tagou? Is there more emphasis on modern wu shu than on the traditional type of arts taught at the temple? Is there any improvement in the difficulty in getting hot water for bathing in town? Now that finances have dramatically picked up for the temple, what changes, if any, do you see for the temple grounds or the staff? Keep laughing, my friend! :slight_smile:

24

sorry…one more question for you, if I may. Are any Mantis arts being taught within the temple, or just mostly in another provence? Many thanks! :slight_smile:

25

Heming thank you for taking the time to answer my question. You are the most helpful person i have met on this computer and everyone seems to like you. I think you should start your own site called “Ask Heming.” I think what i will do is when i am an active pro be a secular disciple such as yourself and then become a full time monk after i retire. I hope this would be okay. your friend,(and hopefully student one day)

          Nick-Wu
26

to Dena and Laughing tiger,
I will post photos of this seminar to you after the 2nd of July dear Dena, or I will put in a history section of our web site… http://www.topcities.com/Arts/heming/index.htm

Hey laughing tiger, here is a Zen story about laughing for you!Zen story: “Worse than a clown”

There was a young monk in China who was a very serious practitioner of the Dharma.

Once, this monk came across something he did not understand, so he went to ask the master. When the master heard the question, he kept laughing. The master then stood up and walked away, still laughing.

The young monk was very disturbed by the master’s reaction. For the next 3 days, he could not eat, sleep nor think properly. At the end of 3 days, he went back to the master and told the master how disturbed he had felt.

When the master heard this, he said, “Monk, do u know what your problem is? Your problem is that YOU ARE WORSE THAN A CLOWN!”

The monk was shocked to hear that, “Venerable Sir, how can you say such a thing?! How can I be worse than a clown?”

The master explained, “A clown enjoys seeing people laugh. You? You feel disturbed because another person laughed. Tell me, are u not worse than a clown?”

When the monk heard this, he began to laugh. He was enlightened.

27

Hi everybody,

Hey Heming, nice website. Right now looking at the Dragon Form II. A nice form to learn along with my other forms. I’m currently learning wushu.

I’ve been thinking of going to china and learn kungfu over there. But I’m not sure if the lesson is harder over there. I assume it would. I’m chinese and I know how chinese people are trained over there… hard..very hard… uh..scary…kinda. My sifu is from Taiwan. And his training is hard. But we got used to it after awhile.

Nice to know that people from Shaolin is using Internet. This is cool.

28

Tae Kwan Do in the Shaolin Temple?!?
Ughhh…

29

Tai Kwan Do at the Shaolin temple? Is that the same as Tae Kwon Do?
Hmmm, maybe kung fu was brought to the temple by Koreans in the 1950s.

30

(laughing, as usual) Very good story, Heming! I just love Zen stories and teachings! Of the writings of famous Zen masters, do you have a favorite? or a favorite Zen master? :slight_smile:

31

Hi all, welcome Heming.

May I ask what you will specialize in while training at Shaolin?
I mean, system wise, is there a particular offering that suits you best?

Also, do you study in the temple proper or are you in the outside schools?

I am also curious about the state of Kung Fu/Wu Shu at the temple and am curious of the modern curricullum and what is involved,
if it is not too much to ask could you give us a synopsis of the offerings at Shaolin.

I currently am an instructor of Shaolin Kung Fu.
I am under tutalage of a master and am allowed to instruct in his kwoon under his direction.
Our school offers Northern and Southern Shaolin styles as well as Original Five Animals (Hay Say Fu Hong Pai), Ching Lung Pa Kua Chang and Lion dance.

The Northen system is Tams style Bak Sil Lum and the Southern is Hak Fu Pai (very similar in flavour to fu jow Pai and Hung Ga).

I am looking for ward to hearing from you.
If you would like more information on our school and its offerings please check my profile and the schools online information site link is available there.

Peace

Kung Lek

32

Hello hemming its nice to know we have somebody who is in shaolin temple with us.
By the way there is no need to called me master wongsifu. I am just a student not even good at that. Wong sifu is just the name i use.
If i came to the temple and stayed there for a month or so would the monks teach me drunken style ? or the basics of it ??

33

i cant believe that we can actually talk to a shoalin monk no matter what anyone says we all just like to joke around but can you tell me how long you train each day

34

Dear Eight_Triagram_Boxer,
Xiao Hong Quan and Da Hong Quan of Shaolin Temple are not the same “Hong” of Hong Family System,
but means “Grand”, and Hong Jia means “A family surnamed HONG”, that’s not the same,
dear friend.

Xiao Hong Quan — Small Grand Form
Da Hong Quan — Great Grand Form
Hong Kong — Fragrant Port
hahahah!!!

Dear J,
Nothing can be completely destroyed…it was just a fire set by the warlord Shi You San in 1928,
at present there are still many antiques of Shaolin remained…the stone lions at the front gate
offered by emperor, the fresco in White robe hall painted 200 years ago…the “Shaolin Temple” board
written by the Emperor 300 more years ago…all the stone monuments in the Bamboo Court…
the same as Shaolin traditional kung fu and warrior monk masters, what the fire can burn is the books and
sutras and the buildings, but not the kung fu existed in Shaolin for thousands years…
of course the old generation masters in the temple are very young in 1928, but Shaolin Temple was not a
kindergarten that time, don’t you think the kung fu will be pass down by old masters that time?
many times in the history kung fu was been banned and claimed illegal to train in the temple,
but nothing can kill the martial spirit of Shaolin, and I wish all of us can do our best to prompt Shaolin
kung fu and make it exist and spread forever.

Laughing Tiger,
Yes, Praying Mantis is taught in Shaolin, two of the most famous ten Shaolin forms are Shaolin Praying Mantis and
Shaolin Seven Star Praying Mantis…I don’t know where in “another province” you can study Shaolin Mantis,
but if you know, I would like to check it for you…keep writing.

Dear Nick-Wu,
Thanks for your warm words, Master Shi De Yang said when we had lunch yesterday with Richard Russell and Fabien Sena,
he said there are many people thought Shaolin Temple doen’t accept students, that’s wrong, Shaolin Temple do
accept student, and if Shaolin Temple don’t accept student, he will accept students…hehehehe…you are welcome to visit
us or study with us and nothing can not be achieved, dear friend.

Dear KJoker,
I am so glad that you love our web site, we need develop it very soon…
Yes. the training here in Shaolin is very hard, but…if the 7 years kid can afford it, why can’t you?
if all of other Chinese students can do, I think just overcome your fear in the heart and the burden of the
body, you can release yourself throught the tough training and realize a new self…
wish you all the very best!

Dear MoQ and rogue,
Tae Kwan Do is training here not in the temple and in the schools around the Shaolin villige,
of course kung fu is not brought to the temple by Koreans…the purpose to train it here is for participate the
International Tae Kwan Do competetion. Master Shi De Yang said he wish to learn all styles kung fu in the world but
he never have time and chance…we should open our eyes and not only sitting in the bottom of a well and think we
are always the best, am I right my friends?

Heming from Shaolin Secular Disciple’s Union http://www.topcities.com/Arts/heming/index.htm

35

Dear friend Wongsifu (Master Wong, hahaha) and Benny,
We train here 7 to 8 hours a day in Shaolin, and if you wish to study drunken style here
or just the basic, of course you can, I would like to introduce you to the master and
let him to teach you. Master will be happy to have more students who love Shaolin Kung Fu
and willing to improve themselves.

Heming, Shaolin Temple

36

Dear Kung Lek,

I am a disciple of Master Shi Heng Jun and Shi De Yang, I am studying a lot from my masters and mainly I specialized in the traditional forms of Shaolin Temple and Qi Gong (Chi Kung).
Both masters have their own training schools near Shaolin Temple and at present I am training in Master Heng Jun’s school.
there are hundreds of students like me wish to study kung fu in the temple and then masters opened a school for us…

The synopsis is practising here in the school, for those kung fu students studying here normal for 3 years.
but we are disciples studying only with masters, so we don’t have a schedule since masters have too much to teach and
guess we should spend our life here to learn them all, hehehe…

I am sorry that I don’t understand what is Original Five Animals (Hay Say Fu Hong Pai), Ching Lung Pa Kua Chang and Lion dance.
do you mean that the original five animals is the one we called Wu Xin Ba Fa (Five animal styles eight movements) or it is the Wu Xing Quan, the Five animal form? (Dragon, Tiger, Crane, Snake and Lepord).We never have Lion Dance in the history of Shaolin temple,is your master from Hong Kong or Canton province?

Bak Sil Lum is definitely Cantonese pronoucitation of “North Shaolin” by the way…
sure I would like to learn more from you and your school, or may if one day we can meet it will be excellent, we can compare our styles and learn from each other face to face then.

Thanks for your message and I wish to hear from you more, dear friend!

Many greetings!
Heming, Shaolin Temple

37

Thanks for the response Heming…but you did not answer my question at all! All you did was reiterate what I had already said. I know that Hong Quan and Hong Jia are not the same…there was no reason to state that…if you go back and re-read my post you’ll see that I am asking if there are any other forms in the Hong Quan series other than Dah Hong Quan and Xiao Hong Quan…

38

Eight_Triagram_Boxer:
There is no “Hong Quan series” in Shaolin, since Da Hong Quan and Xiao Hong Quan are totally different two forms, and except these two “Hong” forms, in Shaolin there is no other forms called " something Hong something".

Heming
heming@shaolintemple.zzn.com

39

Why do Shaolin Buddhist monks stay inside the temple instead of going forth into the world?

I am not talking about going on forays to spread Shaolin knowledge; I’m talking about applying the Shaolin knowledge to mundane living on an everyday basis OUTSIDE the temple.

40

Dear HuangKaiVun,

As a secular disciple of my Shaolin master, I wish to do something for our master and Shaolin Temple as well…

As a temple, Shaolin is master’s home, and the place for them to practise Buddhism and training kung fu…they stay in the temple is just because that they don’t want to leave their home… but actually some of the masters from Shaolin already went out of the temple and became secular people again,but to me, they are still my respectful Shaolin masters.