Shaolin Temple UK

[LFJ]

Originally Posted by shaolinexecutioner

To abandon your family name is very serious in China. While there are plenty of wannabe monks, Confucian ideals prohibit surname changes to be taken lightly. Shaolin can be ambigous on this point.

i dont think you understand the process of triple gem refuge and discipleship. no one actually changes their family name. they just receive a dharma-name. most laymen, whether shaolin or other, only use it in contexts associated with shaolin/buddhism. elsewhere it is irrelevant and in no way a legal name.

This is very ambiguous with the Wuseng since they are a class of monk at Shaolin, but only take laymen disciple vows. A Wuseng can call himself a monk and I've not know any who have not.

thats because the character seng僧 comes from the sanskrit word sangha, meaning the buddhist monastic community. they are by all means monastic although secular in precepts. that is why they are not called heshang和尚, the word for a fully ordained monk.

I will also concede the vegetarian and sexual abstinence comment. But Miss Redbean not being forthcoming about that even after she said that Yan Lei was a layman is very telling.

even if yanlei were a wuseng it wouldnt matter, since they take no vows of vegetarianism or celibacy. unless they choose to take the bodhisattva precepts (includes vegetarianism) or are on temple grounds and take the 10 precepts (includes celibacy).

anyhow, if i were yanlei being asked this kind of question, i would kindly ask you to mind your business. seriously, who asks another person about their sex life or lack thereof? especially since from your last post we can tell you knew warrior monks take only lay precepts, unless you are unfamiliar with what those are.

My initial argument against Yan Lei stands. I have never known a real Sanshou champion who was not be forthcoming about his fight record.

i will give you that, however. this is a legitimate an unassuming question. of course yanlei doesnt need to use records for advertisement, as previously stated. but i agree, if you're going to claim something at least provide the proof.

[shaolinexecutioner]

If Yan Lei doesn't need his records to advertise, why is he claiming to be a sanshou champion like his brother with his steel jacket? Why even mention it? He's using that claim to advertise. Don't even try to deny that.

Ask Yan Lei's master, Abbot Shi Yong Xin if anyone other than heshang or wuseng should be using the surname 'Shi'. On the record, he may be elusive because that's just the way he is. But off the record, especially within his close disciples, he'll be very clear on this point.

[LFJ]

Originally Posted by shaolinexecutioner

If Yan Lei doesn't need his records to advertise, why is he claiming to be a sanshou champion like his brother with his steel jacket? Why even mention it? He's using that claim to advertise. Don't even try to deny that.

i dont know. i'm just saying he's obviously tough enough to not need records for advertisement. maybe he doesnt have a confident self-image? i doubt that, but i've never met him. but i agree with you on this point.

Ask Yan Lei's master, Abbot Shi Yong Xin if anyone other than heshang or wuseng should be using the surname 'Shi'. On the record, he may be elusive because that's just the way he is. But off the record, especially within his close disciples, he'll be very clear on this point.

well for one, yongxin is influenced by buddhist monastics external to shaolin, mainly from the pureland tradition. he doesnt have the experience with the old shaolin chan masters. so his opinion, being that of others external to shaolin, hardly matters. after all, he was never voted into his position.

but regardless, he has several other secular disciples that use the "shi" surname. and if that were a problem, then secular disciples also shouldnt have a generational dharma-name from the zibei used for monastics. they would have secular dharma-names with their own secular generation characters, just like many chinese families do for their children. other chinese buddhist schools do it like this as well. they have separate generational dharma-names for monastics and laymen.

but... as i said before, shaolin tradition doesnt do it like that. and there are also many other unrelated buddhist monasteries in northern china that do the same "shi" + generation-name + given name for laity too!

[shaolinexecutioner]

Abbot Shi Yong Xin's opinion doesn't matter in this?

[LFJ]

Originally Posted by shaolinexecutioner

Abbot Shi Yong Xin's opinion doesn't matter in this?

seriously? how long have you been following shaolin? 2 years?

[richard sloan]

Originally Posted by shaolinexecutioner

Abbot Shi Yong Xin's opinion doesn't matter in this?

NO.

Shaolin tradition matters in this, something Shi Yongxin Abbot has flipped on it's head a few times.

Anyway, the guy is legit. I know plenty of fighters who train with him, a couple of my gongfu brothers are working with him while they are out there, and not only do I trust their word, just look at the freaking guy.

Your 'argument' is basically saying a mack truck on the lot isn't a 'real' mack truck because it hasn't hauled a load off the yard yet. At the very best your argument only stands on ignorance- you don't know if his fight record is legit, nor do you know if he has a record which is not officially kept lol, which is actually the record which would interest me most if that was what I was interested in.

And so who are you anyway? I mean, my friend, how do we know your claims aren't just made up hoopla and how do we any of us even know you would know a fighter if you saw one. Just saying mind the coin or the sword that cuts both ways.

Have you produced a body of literature? A body of students and loyal disciples? Vouched for by a brotherhood of insane martial artists? What do you look like?

[mawali]

In the present world of IMA/CMA and market segmentation, wearing the robe is akin to standing out and showing you have soemthing out of the ordinary!

On one hand we say the clothes does not make the man but in IMA/CMA, it is the clothes that makes the entrance, or a sheep in wolf's clothing or vice versa.
Whether you judge a book by its cover or not is a personal decision but if you have 2 people, one wearing a monks robe and the other a suit and they both know Shaolin methods and training, it is the one with the monk's clothing that wins out. IT WORKS!
Now all the Shaolin monks in USA or Europe (for the most part) realize that, to be taken seriously, leave the suit and the jogging uniform at home. That is just the marketing reality!

amitofu

[richard sloan]

Originally Posted by mawali

In the present world of IMA/CMA and market segmentation, wearing the robe is akin to standing out and showing you have soemthing out of the ordinary!

On one hand we say the clothes does not make the man but in IMA/CMA, it is the clothes that makes the entrance, or a sheep in wolf's clothing or vice versa.
Whether you judge a book by its cover or not is a personal decision but if you have 2 people, one wearing a monks robe and the other a suit and they both know Shaolin methods and training, it is the one with the monk's clothing that wins out. IT WORKS!
Now all the Shaolin monks in USA or Europe (for the most part) realize that, to be taken seriously, leave the suit and the jogging uniform at home. That is just the marketing reality!

amitofu

I'd say it's a little bit deeper than that. for more insight as to why the robes can be a big deal for some you have to go back through some of the history and persecution. At least for some, it's not exactly fair to say it's marketing.

He's a disciple. He has every right to wear what he does, and say what he is saying, as far as I know of him.

[LFJ]

check this out. these sticks are not breaking! he's just caraaazy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD75-zRluy0

i like how he says; "strong, boy! come on!" you cant hurt this guy.

i think if you have any doubts you can try to tell him yourself! bring sticks, bricks or whatever.

[richard sloan]

2 things.


1. If you don't break the stick on them, it tends to get them heated lmao.
2. Keep in mind a lot of the preliminary stuff is just to make things look good. You could walk up to him and smash a kick into him or crack a stickball bat on him sameway. It's not like he needs to do all those preliminary chi movements.

Okay, three things, is that a turntable set up there in the back....?

if so, major PROPS are in order lol.

[LFJ]

Originally Posted by richard sloan

Okay, three things, is that a turntable set up there in the back....?

if so, major PROPS are in order lol.

i think it might be.

the only thing i dont like about that video is how they almost killed the audience members. what the hell were they thinking? he could have been in some serious trouble for that one.

[richard sloan]

yeah they got lucky on that one.

I mean, not to get all monty python, but...those stick fragments have some hustle on them, and you know it's all fun and games until someone gets a stick in their eye. We usually have gym mats set up.

[LFJ]

well still, you usually stand facing the audience so the stick doesnt go flying directly at them.

thats what confused me. wasnt it obvious that if it broke it would fly straight into the crowd?

[GeneChing]

Interesting marketing. Did he really get an endorsement from Oprah and Tiger? That would be awesome.

Qigong Can Cut the Risk of Catching Flu

A ancient moving meditation from a Buddhist temple in China can boost the immune system, a study has shown.

(PRWEB) November 19, 2009 -- Qigong exercises that were originally practiced by Shaolin monks to boost their martial power can increase the immune system by up to 50% if practiced at least three times a week.

The Qigong Workout whose advocates include Oprah Winfrey and Tiger Woods increase the immune system by activating the lymphatic system, increasing the intake of oxygen and improving circulation.

Shifu Yan Lei, the author of Instant Health: The Shaolin Qigong Workout For Longevity says, "The only thing that can cure a cold or flu is our immune system and the best way to boost our immune system is with a regular Qigong Workout.”

The study conducted at Wonkwang University in the Republic of Korea showed that individuals practicing Qigong had a much higher type of white blood cell that plays an active role in immune function.

“At the Shaolin temple we were not allowed one day off from training and none of us ever got a cold,” says Yan Lei who went there as a boy to study these ancient Qigong movements.

In his book he personally guides the reader through a complete Qigong Workout that combines simple martial movements with stretches and breathing exercises.

“There is nothing esoteric or hippy about Qigong. They are practical exercises that can help us to beat the winter bugs.”

Instant Health: The Shaolin Qigong Workout For Longevity is distributed by Small Press United in North America. And it is available from: www.qigongworkout.com in Europe.