Peter - Thanks for the kind words about our forum here. We do the best we can.
As for the address of the Abbot, here you go
Venerable Shi Yongxin
Songshan Shaolin Temple, Henan, China Postcode 452491
I posted Shaolin’s official website on the Shaolin forum, but here it is again www.shaolin.org.cn . It’s all in Chinese now, but they are working on English.
Braden: There was talk of having regular classes in the Temple, but I’ve yet to see them. Most people don’t get to train there. I managed to train there since my master Shi Decheng (a warrior monk who now runs a private school in Dengfeng) could get me in there to do some lessons, just for fun really. It was cool, but kind of wacky - once we were interupted by tourists trying to take pictures. The last time I was there, he got me into the nunnery to train - that was really special. Totally like the movies, incense burning, nuns chanting, I’ll never forget it.
Spirit Writer: If you’ve jsut seen the demos, you’ve just seen the wushu, but traditional forms are still taught there. And at least half of the students there don’t even work forms really, they work sparring - sanda & qinna.
Thanks Gene. The websites no good to me until it’s in English. I can speak enough Mandarin to get by, but reading it, that’s something i’ve yet to learn. lol.
My friend is going to translate a letter for me so even if I can’t join the Temple itself, i’m hoping to still be able to live and train there for a while. Maybe even reside there. Thanks again everyone. You’ve all been very helpful. (Except for maybe that guy who thinks Americans are better teachers of Kung Fu).
Peter, if you do get to train and live there, I really envy you, bro’. To be able to eat, sleep, and breathe Kung Fu all day everyday is just a fantasy for me. I have a son so that could never be a reality for me. However, I would love to be able to live that life just because of all the things you get to leave behind. Work, taxes, bills, bills, bills, and uh…oh yeah, bills. Seriously, though, I wish you all the success in the world and as we say at our kwoon, “enjoy the journey”. (o:
Nevermind- Thankyou so much for your kind and supportive words. When your son is older (i’m assuming he’s still very young) you should think about training there for a while with him. When I get there, and I will, I think i’ll finally feel at home. I’ve never wanted anything from life other to live it the way the Shaolin monks do. They have the right attitude towards every aspect of life.
I truly feel I belong there.
I hope you find that one thing that makes you believe you are meant for something far greater than you could imagine.
I just watched a movie Called Shaolin Temple. It’s really old, contains the devouring of dog flesh, and has terrible acting, but the fighting is awesome and it stars a very young Jet Li
Legend of a fighter is my favourite kung fu film. That and Drunken Master. Jackie Chan’s older films are his best but i’m glad he brings a great sense of humour to his newer films.
It doesn’t matter what the truth is, as long as you’re doing something which feels right to you. No one should be discouraged by others opinions.
I disagree entirely, that’s the kind of attitude that keeps people in cults like Chung Mo Doe but of course I doubt you have to worry about that kind of stuff with Shaolin
I’ve never wanted anything from life other to live it the way the Shaolin monks do. They have the right attitude towards every aspect of life.
I truly feel I belong there.
All I can say to this is if you take vows, try your best to stick to them no matter what! It’s a bad idea to idolize the monks, just live how you believe they should be and don’t be discouraged by how some may actually live their lives. Just my advice.
How is idolizing the Shaolin monks a bad thing? I don’t have idols myself but I have a lot of respect for the monks. They have dedicated their lives to a purpose greater than themselves. They are heroes to every serious kung fu student.
And why do you disagree with doing what you think is right. The truth doesn’t matter as long as you believe you were doing what was right.
I’m not going to give my personal view on the monks, as they’re pretty… mixed and would probably just start an arguement But I will leave you with this quote from Jet Li about idolization which explains how I feel about the subject perfectly(from http://www.jetli.com) :
[B]
"I’ve never had an idol, and I don’t really encourage that kind of behavior. When you idolize somebody, you only see the successful face and fail to see the bad side. It’s an imbalanced perspective. There’s nothing wrong with looking to successful people to see what it takes, and then using that knowledge to plan your own path. But I don’t believe in encouraging people to model their lives after somebody else’s, as in: “I want to become him.” No matter how faithfully you imitate somebody else, you will never be able to duplicate their life. It’s impossible. Out of the billions of people living on the planet, no two lives are exactly the same.
You can, however, become yourself. You can always grow into yourself. As long as you follow somebody else, you will never be able to transcend their achievements. To reach your personal peak, you must have your own style. That’s the most basic element of success."
Hmmm, idolizing something or someone, the mind wishes to be like something, an idea, even though what the mind wishes to become seems real, it is not.It is the idea of something seen through the likes, dislikes, wants, prejudices, expectations, colorings, etc. of someone.Therefore it is really just the ideal of oneself, a desire of what one wants to become.The mind sees it as seperate and real, but its really just the ideal of what one wishes to be.The word monk or whatever it is you “idolize” is just a shell, a name to give to what you want to be.The name or shell one thinks he wants to become is not really that at all.Your definition and opinion of what a shaolin monk is, is different from mine, is different from his, etc. All you are striving to become is what you perceive a shaolin monk to be not what a shaolin monk really is (feel free to replace shaolin monk with whatever you want,im just using it as an example) so you see how it is just an embodiment of what you want to be, which you relate to being a shaolin monk.If you are gonna be a monk be a monk to dedicate your time to enlightenment and kung fu, not to just call yourself a monk. by the way I am not saying that you idolize shaolin monks I am just using them as an example to show the problem with idolization.i hope I have come across clearly
I said I DON’T idolize the monks. I said that I respect them greatly and that I think they are heroes to every serious Kung Fu student. So why the hell have I got about 6 posts saying why it’s wrong for me to idolize them?
I believe they have the right attitude towards life. I want to live my life the way they do. So please, don’t post anymore arguementative words about idolization.
I was just answearing your **** question whcih was:
How is idolizing the Shaolin monks a bad thing?
No need to get all defensive. I didn’t argue one bit about your studying there. My only point is that not all monks live how you think they do, so it’s a bad idea to model your life after them. Live how you think they should and not how they might actually behave. Or something like that.
Fair enough. It didn’t sound like that in the last post. I understand what you’re getting at.
I apologise for getting so defensive. It’s just some people, like my mother, are really trying to discourage me from going. She thinks I haven’t thought things through enough.She had no idea that i’ve been thinking of this all my life. I’ve never really told anyone about it until recently. I think it’s too much of a shock for her to see her “little boy” growing up and taking responsibility for my own actions.
Sorry again.
They live in a world with no distractions from their training or beliefs.
I don’t like using the word discipline. I prefer motivation. They are motivated to get up everyday (except sunday) to train with all of their heart and they never quit. I know not all monks are like this, but in general.
To me, Shaolin is the only place where I think i’ll feel at home and at peace. That’s the way I want to live my life. If I have to give up things like television and sex, then so be it. I’ll do whatever it takes to not only become a better martial artist but to become a better person.
I know i’m strong in my beliefs, but if you aren’t are they really beliefs?
But I will leave you with this quote from Jet Li about idolization which explains how I feel about the subject perfectly(from