December 20th, 2009
The shaolin temple
statues hold classic kung fu stances out side a shaolin temple
Perhaps the most famous single Buddhists school in the world is the Shaolin temple of china, for not only its major historical role but its sizable inclusion in pop culture, from Television, to kung-fu movies, to chart topping DnB tracks its unique mix of marital arts school and Buddhists monastery have made it world famous not least among my friends. So when i found out that it was a simple 6 hour bus ride from where i was staying i just had to see it for my self!
Well the buses ended up taking longer than first thought, but i did plan on that, and daunted not i arrived upon a entrance that bare a closer resemblance to Disneyland than a 1000 year old temple, this coupled with the 100 RMB entrance fee and i only had 2 hours till having to catch a return buss put me off going into the main complex so wondering around the parking lot taking photos i find some stairs heading down so naturally i follow them and after passing a very nice shrine i come onto a little farm road going in the direction of the main complex… a little wile later after passing the main training grounds full of students i am in the temple, but they have additional checks at the door of each temple, so i am only able to see the grounds but they where amazing enough with centuries old statues and integrate panted walls its defiantly worth the trip ! After Shaolin it was to Nanchang to visit a friend and see university life in china, large and all the whites in one part as one would expect, then on to shanghai where it rained for 2 days and i ate pizza and watched movies then back to work in Shaanxi rested and infused with the Shaolin Buddhist spirit, something my students enjoyed and since then i have become more a fan of Chinese kOOng foo then Japanese.