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Thread: Shi Yan Ming & Shaolin Temple USA

  1. #31
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    As soon as you say 'party at Gene's,' the cops show up...

    ...Funny that, because one of my old friends who's a cop just made the papers today because he was hit for the third time by a hit-&-run on duty. He's ok, but it just struck me as a funny coincidence.

    Currently, within Shaolin Temple, the monks are split between wuseng and wenseng. There are about 200 monks there now, split 50/50 between scholar (religious) and warrior monks - and this data is very fresh because I just got an update. See, we didn't do a Shaolin Special for 2006. But we're already working on our 2007 issues and so I got to make up for lost time. People have been pestering me about it. I just tell them it's coming, so subscribe now. But between all of us here on the Shaolin forum - our next Shaolin Special is coming very, very soon.
    Gene Ching
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  2. #32
    Quote Originally Posted by Songshan View Post
    I really can't believe how many people still sit and ponder how real "monks" are these days. After numerous articles and a few conversations with some of the monks would obviously tell you that the "martial" monks are not religious monks. 100% of the "monks" at Shaolin are there to learn gong fu and not to become a religious monk in a religious temple. These guys have spent half of their lives training day in and day out at shaolin and yet some are going to say they cant be associated with shaolin because they eat meat? drink alcohol? decide to marry? Ridiculous. Some of you need to re-read some of the previous shaolin issues (especially the ones with the Li Peng interview).
    well the confusing thing is that some cross boundaries. some come to buddhism later, some sooner, some never, all to different degrees and even different schools of Buddhism. You can see a heavy Pureland influence these days. you may find some martial monks, as they are called, who know more about Ch'an than some of the monks who are supposed to be buddhisty. There is no real set criteria and if there was I would find that odd. I always say it's our problem, not theirs, because if we were not looking at Shaolin or getting involved in it, and by that I mean outsiders, there would be no need for them to deal with these definitions. They would just be what they always were and are.

  3. #33

    any of you ever go on a retreat with the USA Shaolin Temple?

    http://www.usashaolintemple.org/news...ber-9-11-2009/

    seems interesting. what do you guys think?

  4. #34
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    I didn't really go on a retreat...

    ...but I did travel with Shi Yanming and his students. Check out Wu-Tang Enters Wudang.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  5. #35
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    Made CNN

    Congrats to Shi Yanming!
    Musician and Filmmaker The RZA Brings Blessings and Beats to New USA Shaolin Temple Opening Ceremony
    By ByHandMedia | Posted 22 hours ago | Fleischmanns, New York

    CNN PRODUCER NOTE ByHandMedia says the Shaolin Temple Opening Ceremony in New York was a joyous occasion with a familial atmosphere. 'There was a sense of pride in everyone's accomplishments, yet there was also excitement for what is to come,' he says. He says the New U.S. Shaolin Temple mirrors the famous Shaolin Monastery that has long been associated with Chinese martial arts. During his coverage of the opening ceremony, ByHandMedia says artist and musician The RZA, member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, performed for audiences by improvising beats. 'It had the feeling of what we used to call "park jams,"' he says. He also adds that The RZA was a student and is a close friend of Shi Yan Ming's, the head of the U.S. Shaolin Temple.
    - Jareen, CNN iReport producer

    Yesterday, I had the honor of attending the opening ceremony for Shifu Shi Yan-Ming's brand new USA Shaolin Temple location in the Catskill Mountains of New York.

    The five year journey that brought students, instructors and their families & friends to this event, actually began in 1992, when Shifu - founder and Chief Abbot of the Temple - defected while on the first-ever Shaolin Temple Monks tour of the United States. A unique and sometimes dangerous journey from San Francisco to a basement in New York City, somehow helped to forged a desire to share the ways of Shaolin with anyone who wanted to learn. Over the years, that list of eager disciples has grown to include a number of notable celebrities, such as Rosie Perez, Bokeem Woodbine, John Leguizamo and countless others. Also on that list is Wu-Tang Clan co-founder The RZA, who was able to attend yesterday's celebration, bringing with him positive words, and even an impromptu jam session.

    Other than the fact that this was "The RZA" walking around the grounds of the 88 acre campus, what intrigued me most was that, this was not the RZA from Ghostdog - cool, camouflage-wearing urban samurai. Nor was this the musician who has scored more than 35 movies and produced hundreds of records. Nor was it the director who just wrapped a major Hollywood martial arts film, where he shares the screen with Russell Crowe, Lucy Lui and Pam Grier. The person I shook hands with - who gave my friend Alvin a pound after graciously posing for a shot - was Robert Diggs, a student who came to show his support for an instructor he obviously respects tremendously.

    It's clear that what's stressed at USA Shaolin Temple, along with many other martial arts schools I've visited for this ongoing project, is that what's taught is much more than the physical aspects of fighting. In fact, one student from Brooklyn mentioned to me that the most difficult aspect of his training is the "inner" rather than the "outer." I also sensed after seeing the near-pristine condition of the 7 buildings that make up the newly-opened Temple, that discipline is key to successful training at USA Shaolin Temple. Much of the work on the previously dilapidated structures was completed by volunteer students and "Shihans," who made the 2 hour journey on weekends, where they cleaned, cleared, built and painted.

    The cultural practices of Chan Buddhist philosophy has successfully adapted itself to Western traditions and ways of life, through the school's cultural diversity and Shifu's approachable persona. Through all of the lion dancing, gymnastic flips and kung fu, it seems that Shi Yan-Ming is creating a new type of American dream, but one based on thousands of years of tradition.

    Future plans for the location include a summer camp for kids as well as an extended stay training program.

    Amituofo!
    New Shaolin temple in Fleischmanns opens its doors this Saturday
    By J.N. Urbanski
    5/4/12 - 4:31 pm

    Above: A recent photo from the ongoing construction of the new USA Shaolin Temple, on Breezy Hill Road in Fleischmanns. Photo from USA Shaolin Temple's Facebook page.

    The Catskill Mountains are famously a magnet for people who want to create their own reality. But of all the quixotic dreams that have taken root in our craggy slopes and stony soil, none may be as ambitious as the plans of the USA Shaolin Temple, an international group of kung-fu-fighting Buddhists under the tutelage of the charismatic Shi Yan Ming. (The Shifu, or "master," is known for shouting cheery affirmations like "Merry Christmas! More Chi!" while delivering a punch that could crumple the hood of a Volkswagen.)

    In September of 2010, the USA Shaolin Temple closed on a property in Fleischmanns, a moldering, 80-acre former summer camp. Since then, they've been busily renovating the property, restoring old buildings and dotting the landscape with gorgeous Chinese pagoda roofs that are beginning to make the view from Highmount look like a scroll from the Tang Dynasty.

    The Shaolin warriors are still a long way from their ultimate goal: A temple with 72 chambers, reflecting the levels of Shaolin training, where students of the ancient martial art from all over the world can come to train "whether it is for a day, weekend, month, or years." But on Saturday, May 5, the world at large will get its first look at the new temple, in an opening ceremony that the community is invited to attend.

    Recently, the Watershed Post's J.N. Urbanski spoke with USA Shaolin Temple trustee Shi Heng Zhi -- né Peter Traub -- about the origins of the fighting Shaolin, the group's grand plans for the temple, and how a bunch of kung fu Buddhists ended up in teeny-tiny Fleischmanns. --Lissa Harris

    Watershed Post: Tell us about the history of Chan Buddhism and when it was founded.

    Shi Heng Zhi: Bodhidharma was an Indian monk who left India in 524 AD to go to China to teach "Chan Buddhism", which is the precursor to Zen Buddhism. Bodhidharma, or "Damo" as he was called in Chinese is considered the father of Chan Buddhism. "Zen Buddhism" was started when a Japanese Monk went to China to study Chan Buddhism at the Shaolin Temple during the first millennium. When he returned to Japan, he introduced "Chan Buddhism" to his people. "Chan" translates to "Zen" from Chinese to Japanese.

    WP: What is Buddhism?

    SHZ: It's more philosophy than religion. Buddha means "awareness." Chan means everything and nothing. Buddhism doesn't contradict any other religious core principles, and you can belong to another religion and Buddhism simultaneously. Buddhism is an awareness and an understanding of oneself. It's also respecting others, but you cannot understand or respect others without first doing so with yourself.

    WP: Tell us the story of your Shifu, or Master.

    SHZ: Our Shifu, Shi Yan Ming, is a 34th-generation Shaolin monk, the last monk truly trained and raised at the Shaolin Temple in China. He is the last of a dying breed, who possesses all the knowledge and training the Shaolin Temple had to offer. Now that temple has ceased to function because of its conversion to a tourist destination. Shifu Shi Yan Ming defected to the USA in 1992 in order to re-start the Shaolin Temple and its traditions here in the USA.

    The Shaolin Temple lasted for 1,500 years before being slowly converted to a tourist destination in August 2010, when it officially became a World Heritage site.

    WP: What made you choose Fleischmanns?

    SHZ: Well, we looked as far afield as Pennsylvania, but this property came up and we liked it. But it was unaffordable, so we waited and the price came down. It's 80.88 acres on Breezy Hill Road.

    WP: What are your plans for the Temple?

    SHZ: The temple will teach Chan Philosophy through the core Shaolin disciplines of martial arts or action meditation: Gongfu (Kung Fu), Taiji Quan (Tai Chi), and Qigong (Chi Kung). Members of the whole community, regardless of religion, are welcome. It's possible to be Buddhist and still belong to another religion. You can be Jewish and Buddhist, for example. We are also looking forward to hosting summer camps and day camps in the future when the site is completely finished. We have monks coming to teach from China who are just getting their visas approved.

    USA Shaolin Temple, 383 Breezy Hill Road, Fleischmanns, NY. Opening ceremony: 3pm, Saturday, May 5.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  6. #36
    Is it an official Shaolin Temple sanctioned by the Abbot?

  7. #37
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    "The true meaning of a given movement in a form is not its application, but rather the unlimited potential of the mind to provide muscular and skeletal support for that movement." Gregory Fong

  8. #38
    Quote Originally Posted by webcastGreg View Post
    Is it an official Shaolin Temple sanctioned by the Abbot?
    No he isn't and Guolin is more so..... He does not use any of the "Shaolin Temple" copyrighted logos and he has his own "wheel of life" logo that he uses. He and others pretty much run themselves separately without the support of the Abbot. Like a franchise vs non franchise business..... He is probably the most successful of them all.

    But nonetheless, he is still spreading the Shaolin kung fu name... he has a temple and still continues to spread Chán Buddhism . He seems like a nice guy so more power to him. I am not sure if he donates any money back to help rebuild Shaolin and I think he should since his roots are there... It would be like an alumni donating back to the University he graduated from....

  9. #39
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    Quote Originally Posted by Songshan View Post
    Shi Yan Ming has been quite successful in setting up his schools, books, etc. Whats wrong with that?
    he drinks vodka and bangs korean lesbian.

    Honorary African American
    grandmaster instructor of Wombat Combat The Lost Art of Anal Destruction™®LLC .
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  10. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by bawang View Post
    he drinks vodka and bangs korean lesbian.
    again...whats wrong with that?
    For whoso comes amongst many shall one day find that no one man is by so far the mightiest of all.

  11. #41
    Quote Originally Posted by Lucas View Post
    again...whats wrong with that?
    hahaha ROFL
    SUPER LIKE UR COMMENT

  12. #42
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    Shi Yanming in new documentary NEW YORKERS

    There's a vid if you follow the link
    Meet New York City's Shaolin Warrior Monk
    By Kasia Cieplak-Mayr von Baldegg
    Jan 22 2013, 11:34 AM ET

    Shi Yan-Ming's life story is more astonishing than the action movies he occasionally appears in: At age five, he began training in the 1,500-year-old Shaolin Temple in China's Henan province. On tour in the United States in 1992, he made a daring midnight escape and found his way to New York City. There, he founded USA Shaolin Temple, where he teaches philosophy and martial arts to kids and celebrities alike. As you'll discover in the short documentary below, he still has a sense of humor too. His studio's claim to fame? It's run by the "most handsome Shaolin Temple monk on the planet," he says, grinning. "Can't help it! Know'm'sayin'? Represent." When three filmmakers, Erik Hartman, David Rowe, and Douglas Spitzer, interviewed him for their documentary series New Yorkers, they discovered a "huge" Wu Tang symbol in the studio -- the monk counts RZA among his students. Hartman, Rowe, and Spitzer, who work together as Moonshot Productions, describe their ongoing quest to document interesting New Yorkers from all walks of life in a brief interview below.

    The Atlantic: What inspired you to do this series?

    Moonshot Productions: The New Yorkers series comes from our passion for the city of New York. We get a kick out of all of the wild characters that we see here on a daily basis and wanted to capture that same feel in this series of videos.

    Are you native New Yorkers yourselves?

    We are native New Yorkers and if we weren't, we would move here ASAP.

    How do you select people to profile? Any favorites so far?

    The selection process has no rules. We've gone up to interesting characters on the street and asked them if we could shoot them. We've pulled people from our network of friends and family. We've gone on scouting missions to find characters. We also have a button on the Nyorkers.com website where people can send in suggestions.

    If we had to pick a favorite, the ice sculptor Mark Mckenzie may be it. He is such an awesome guy and works such a unique and visual job. Guess' video has become a fan favorite as well.

    What do you want people to take away from the videos?

    We just hope that people watch and enjoy them. This is a passion project for us so we hope that people can enjoy the videos as both individual characters and as a collection. It's a project that, with funding, we hope to continue for a long time.

    What's next for you?

    Moonshot is a versatile company doing digital, commercial and television work. We have a bunch of projects that we are currently developing for TV.
    Gene Ching
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  13. #43
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    ttt 4 2016!

    USA Shaolin Temple Moving to 102 Allen Street
    Posted on: May 26th, 2016 at 5:17 am by Elie



    Photographer Alex Cao departed the second-floor loft at 102 Allen Street not too long ago. The studio had been a mainstay for over a decade, with images of pop-art framed in each of the windows.

    It’s all gone now, replaced with brown paper.

    The replacement is from left field. Here comes the twenty-two-year-old USA Shaolin Temple, which is moving from its longtime SoHo stomping grounds. It’s apparently the second move for the temple since the congregation formed in 1994.

    More info on the temple:

    The USA Shaolin Temple teaches Chan Philosophy through the core Shaolin disciplines of martial arts or action meditation: Gongfu (Kung Fu) Taiji Quan (Tai Chi) and Qigong (Chi Kung). Students of all backgrounds, religions, ages, and athletic ability can train at Temple. Students come to the USA Shaolin Temple from all around the world to learn and grow from traditional Shaolin training. “Heart to Heart” and “Mind to Mind” is the essence of Shaolin Chan Philosophy — and this system of training spans the differences between language and culture as a direct form of growth and understanding. Students find many paths to get to the Temple; while some students seek to build better health and create a feeling of well-being, others may train for self-defense or flexibility, but there is a singular concept behind Shaolin training: martial arts and Chan Philosophy are one and the same.
    The USA Shaolin Temple should open sometime next month.
    “Shaolin” is also slang for Staten Island. Just ask the Wu-Tang Clan.

    I'm posting this mostly to repost this video.
    Gene Ching
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  14. #44
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    The Warrior Monk Who Brought Kung Fu to America

    Gene Ching
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  15. #45
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    Jian Hong Shi

    When Your Mom Is the Longtime Manager of Wu-Tang Members and Your Dad Is a Shaolin Monk
    Featuring Jian Hong Shi, age 15, grade 10.
    By LAURA BENNETT
    FEB 08, 20189:04 AM


    Jian Hong Shi and her mom, Sophia.
    Photo illustration by Slate. Photo courtesy of Sophia Chang.

    In this series, kids (and not-exactly-kids-anymore) review how well their parents balance life and work. To nominate a potential subject ideally between the ages of 5 and 17, email humaninterest@slate.com.

    Laura Bennett: Can you tell me a little bit about your relationship with your parents?

    Jian Hong Shi: Well, my mom and I are very close. I feel super comfortable telling her if anything happens with my friends. She gives me very good advice.

    What kind of advice?

    She always gives me the grown-up answer, like, when I am having a problem at school: You should pull them aside and talk to them. I tell her, Mom, we’re not as mature as you think we are. They are gonna think that is weird.

    My parents haven’t been together since I was around 5 or something like that, so they don’t live in the same house. My dad and I are not as close because he’s not at home as much as my mom is. But when I do see him, he is super goofy and silly. So I’m always laughing when I’m around him.

    What does your mom do for work?

    Well right now, she’s writing a book and doing public speaking. She also briefly worked at a cannabis company. That was kind of a wild thing because she’s never smoked a day in her life. But while I was growing up, she managed hip-hop artists.

    Do you remember how she became a manager of hip-hop artists?

    She had been close with the Wu-Tang Clan for a long time. So I think it happened organically. She worked with a lot of different artists in Wu-Tang, like RZA, GZA, ODB while he was alive, but that was before I was alive. [She also managed D’Angelo and A Tribe Called Quest.]

    Does she manage anyone now?

    Nope, she’s completely out of that now. She says that she doesn’t want to manage other people now. She wants to focus on herself. I think she’s come to a place in her life where—she told me, for example, that her friend said, “Sophia, I want to stop seeing you work with egotistical men.”

    Your mom mentioned to me that she was very aware of raising a daughter who was a hip-hop fan, because hip-hop is not always kind to women. Was that something she talked about with you?

    She always made it very clear to me when certain lyrics were misogynistic. She would ask me if that was how I thought I should be treated. And I was like, “No mom. I just enjoy the music.” If we are in the car and the radio is on, and we hear some really misogynistic lyrics, she always goes: “Oh that’s nice.” “Oh, haven’t heard that one before.”

    She always wanted me to know my worth. Through her job, I always saw her as a powerful female figure, not someone who was easily swayed by male opinion. Also, the artists she worked with, she knew them on a deep personal level—she knew their heart and their intent.

    Do you like Wu-Tang’s music?

    I do. I went through a phase when I listened to just Wu-Tang, when I was like 12. It was super eye-opening for me. I loved how all the different Clan members had their different flows and styles and voices, even though they were one Clan.

    “I had this moment last year where I was super tired and I started thinking about a bunch of stuff and I sat back and realized what my parents did and got super happy.”
    — Jian Hong Shi
    What do you think your mom loves about Wu-Tang’s music?

    I think the production and sampling as well. But also the wordplay and the metaphors and how they all blended together as one but people who were fans really felt like they knew each of them, their strengths and their weaknesses. I think she really respected that whatever deal they had, the RZA made sure it was inclusive. No one was ever left behind.

    What was it like to know these guys personally and also be such a big fan?

    I felt super grateful. The RZA is actually my godfather. I’ve known him and his kids since I was really young. So when I listened to his music, it was learning about the RZA instead of him as a father and a friend. So that was really cool.

    It is pretty wild to have a mom whose job means you get to have the RZA as your godfather.

    Yeah. It’s crazy. I don’t think I realized how influential and huge these artists were until later. At the time I just thought, this is just mom doing her job.

    What does your dad do?

    He’s a 34th-generation Shaolin monk from the original Shaolin temple in China.

    Whoa.

    Yeah. I used to be kind of embarrassed about telling my friends because they’d be like, “Oh yeah, my dad is an accountant or something.” But now I’m super proud of it. Anyway, he’s a monk. And he created his own temple, the USA Shaolin Temple. His English wasn’t that great and he didn’t really know about America, so my mom really helped him with the business side. Now it has branches in Austria and South Africa and Mexico. It makes me really proud of him. He helps a lot of people both physically and mentally.

    Here’s a ridiculous question: Do you think your parents have interesting jobs?

    Yes. Over time I became kinda used to it. But I had this moment last year where I was super tired and I started thinking about a bunch of stuff and I sat back and realized what my parents did and got super happy. Then I fell asleep.

    But it was a fascinating moment where I was like, “Wow, I should really talk to my dad more about his experience coming from China to here and creating his own business. I should talk to my mom more about how she built herself and became successful on her own.”

    Who generally works crazier hours, your mom or your dad?

    My mom would get calls during dinner and would never pick up. She would call them back afterwards and that could go pretty late. Or she’d only pick up calls that came directly from the artist or from her mentor, Michael Ostin. With my dad, once he was home, he was home.

    What stresses your parents out the most about their jobs?

    For my mom, it’s working with people who aren’t as dedicated to their job as she is. People who aren’t passionate and are just doing it for the money. For my dad, I don’t really see him stressed.

    Well, he is a monk.

    Yeah, you’re right, he’s very calm. He never really loses his temper. He’s super in touch with the monk he was in China, when he was under all of those rules. He didn’t have enough food to eat. He had no heat. Having that all inside him helps keep him grounded.

    When you were growing up, did your parents have rules for you around screen time?

    My dad really hates it when my brother and I are on our phone. Because he’s like, “It will ruin your eyes.” Not because he is worried about what we’ll see. I don’t think he’s too aware of exactly how much is out there on the internet. With my mom, it’s more that she doesn’t like the idea that strangers can talk to me.

    How did your mom inform your music taste when you were growing up?

    She was obviously very deeply involved in hip-hop. But also on Sundays, when we would clean the house, she would always have old-school R&B on. Like Maxwell, Tony! Toni! Toné! Uh, I guess Robin Thicke doesn’t count as old-school R&B.

    Do you have a sense of what you want to do for work one day?

    I’m super interested in architecture. My school offers classes on it. I’m going to take them and if I do end up enjoying them, great.

    Would you ever want to manage hip-hop artists?

    Probably not. Just because that doesn’t really interest me, not because I’ve seen a negative impact on my mom. She used to always tell me, you’d be so good at this. But it’s not really my interest, so I’d feel like I wasn’t really doing what I wanted to do.

    Would you ever want to be a monk?

    No. No no no no no. Yeah, no. There are way too many rules.


    Laura Bennett
    Laura Bennett is Slate’s features director.
    When I was in Wudangshan with Yanming and Sophia, she was pregnant with his first child. I should've realized that because of some of Sophia's actions, but at the time, I was too swept up with with the trip. I've never met either of their children.

    Thread: Shi Yan Ming & Shaolin Temple USA
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