Here's an odd one for the Shaolin rumor mill.

Does anyone remember the Masters of Shaolin Tour that came to the MGM Grand in 2000? The promoter was a man named Gerhard Perner, and now he's in a bit of controversy with his new SF show, The Universe Within. This is a display human cadavers, artfully positioned and preserved using a plasticizing method. Well, the bodies are leaking, and it's brought a lot of attention to Mr. Perner, who can't seem to come up with good answers about where and how he got the bodies in the first place. Obvously, they came from China. He claimed that he got them through some Chinese medical university, but that university is denying any knowledge of the fact. Check out the story here. Perner is Austrian, and anyone who follows Shaolin in Europe knows that Austria led the world with its Shaolin Monk tours. Those were from a different promoter team of Fecther, Hartmann and Jian. Perner's tour was a copycat tour, in essence, the same as what he is being accused off with his current cadaver tour. I reported on the original Austrian tour in an ezine article. I didn't report on Masters of Shaolin because that tour was short lived. I met with Perner when he was in Las Vegas. One of the monks who came on tour to the MGM was a student of my master. I have some Masters of Shaolin gear - samples of products that Perner was trying to market. He was an odd character - but we did have a nice chat.

It always amazes me how some people will look upon Shaolin shows and not pay attention to the promoters. It's that kind of attitude that has allowed Clear Channel to ruin the American music scene....ah but I digress. I've met with the other Austrian promoters - they took very good care of my master when he stayed with them. I believe that Abbot Shi Yongxin is trying to shut their shows down legally, but I always thought that Fecther, Hartmann and Jian did some of the best shows ever.

Sometimes I think that San Francisco is the best place to observe Shaolin outside of Shaolin itself. Remember this story two months ago?