Training with Monks why does it matter?
All this B.S. about who trained with Monks. Do you think because you train with a so called Monk your any better off than training with someone else. Sounds to me like you guys are trying to validate what it is you study and elevate yourselves beyond the rest of the Kungfu community. Ya know I saw Yan Ming and his students and it reminded me of some of the Ninja schools around town. The expression on my face was that of "man I hope these guys never get into any cuz they will get dusted". So again what is the relevance of whether or not you train with a monk?
the nature of communism and religion
reemul: Well, that's cool you have a life and I truly mean that in all earnesty. You'll have to let us know about the progress of those films, your music and the Ironman. I'm always genuinely fascinated with how CMa affects other media such as those.
And while you're in Houston for that Sanshou, you should really stop by and visit Deshan and Xinghao. Meet these monks face-to-face and see their traditional stuff. Dieter is there too. Then let us know what you think.
willow sword & r: Communism doesn't work like most westerners imagine, especially in China. China is too big to be ruled by any government. It's a problem that has plagued it for thousands of years. So it's not like Orwell at all - it's more like High Noon. Posse mentality. Local sheriffs and small fiefdoms. Away from the congested cities, the fastest draw wins, and in China, we aren't talking about guns, we are talking kungfu. Seriously, I have witnessed more street fights in China than any other place. Challenges go down at Shaolin a lot. They are tried and tested by fighters of all caliber, all the time. So it's very hard for me to believe that PRC kungfu is some charade after witnessing kungfu street fights, at Shaolin and all across China.
As for Shaolin's tourist attraction status, tourism was a direct result of Deng reformations and revitalized some of the damage done from the CR. While the CR was certianly one of the the most horrible events in human history, one has to understand the context - why and how it happened - and understand that it was not successful - Chinese communism never achieved Mao's ultimate goal of true democracy (but then given our last election, neither did we.) But of the 2,000,000+ tourists, less than 1% is non-PRC, so it's really not for Westerners at all. In fact, I think that's what offends most non-chinese, shaolin is not really westerner-friendly. But then, every religious site is tourist. In fact, the most tourist plagued place I have ever been was Bodh Gaya. And yet I still found some meaning there, validifying my pilgrimage. Tourism and holy sites are not mutually exclusive at all, in fact they are usually hand-in-hand and have been so for centuries.
It's funny that you mention Thai monks. My experience at Wat Po found Thai monks to be some of the most eclectic, drinking beers and bbqing in the temple. Especially after that horrible embezzlement scandal that happened in Thailand recently, I'm surprised you used them as an example. Most all Thai males enter monastic life for a short period during their lives, so that changes their attitude towards being a monk. They are often average people, full of vice and delusion, but on the path. And despite their digressions, they are real monks too.
Chan buddism is really unique. Just as Tamo answered to the Emperor, there is no doctrine. So to paraphrase Herrigal, we enter the path of chan (zen) through different means. Kungfu is just another means. It is a Decartian view separates the wen and wu. While wenseng and wuseng exist, it is like taiji, there is a little yin in the yang and vice versa, not black and white, but a spectrum between polarities with all the dynamism existing along the transition.
Gene Ching
Asst. Publisher
Kungfu Qigong Magazine & www.KUNGFUmagazine.com