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  • becoming a monk...

    Hi, i'm new here and have been told by my housemate who saw a recent documentary on tv (in England) that you can go to the Shaolin temple and become a monk there, to learn the ways of buddhism and martial arts. is this true? after i finish my degree i was planning on going to the far east to train, if this is true then i wouldnt pass up such an opportunity for anything.

  • #2
    yup

    yup from what i here it,s true but hard work i mean realy hard so when you to go make sure you got the time and a good bit a money no im not to sure but that is what i hear some peoplemay have a differetn answer

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    • #3
      not exactly...

      ...you can certainly go and train in gong fu, and learn about Ch'an (if you speak Chinese) but to officially become a Shaolin monk, you have to first attend the Beijing Buddhist College...
      "Arhat, I am your father..."
      -the Dark Lord Cod

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      • #4
        Aha! So you need to study buddhism in a college in beijing first. That is interesting. But ofcourse it is best to have studied gongfu at least a few years, yes?

        Out of curiosity.. do you know whether any westerner has ever actually attained the title of a shaolin monk?

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        • #5
          i cant remember ever hearing of any westerners becoming full monks, thats why i was very surprised to hear of the possibility to train there. how good would it be to just leave everything behind tho, no job to worry about, no stress just lots of hard work

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          • #6
            I have heard of only one westerner becoming a full monk. I believe his name is Huang Carlos Aguilar (spanish nationality). So I guess it is possible to become a monk, it just requires a lot of dedication and persaverance.
            Don't trouble trouble until trouble troubles you.

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            • #7
              If my memory serves me correctly, he's a disciple of Shi De Yang. I think I saw him on the cover of Combat Magazine.

              But that seems to be pretty much an exception.

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              • #8
                I think you're right, I remember when he first declared that he was a monk, nobody believed him, until he was seen in the traditional student-teacher pose with Shi Deyang. He has also featured in blackbelt magazine once or twice.
                Don't trouble trouble until trouble troubles you.

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                • #9
                  Becoming a monk...

                  ...is not really the subject of wishful thinking except in movies and TV. You have to search out what the reason is for becoming a monk and if that is the most expedient means of achieving that goal.

                  It would be very very difficult to become a monk in China. There would be a host of issues that would render the process virtually insurmountable, especially at the present day Shaolin (ask yourself *why* would you need to go to a Buddhist College in Beijing in the first place) probably the first would be a major language/political issue- I mean can you read Chinese? Speak it? If this is something you really want to do, and to be honest, your post that reflected the sentiments "how good would it be to just leave everything behind tho, no job to worry about, no stress just lots of hard work" speaks to some red flag issues (and I know that only because I had the same ones in a way when I first thought I had a vocation and started to seriously investigate the necessary steps) and a lack of familiarity with what being a monk really is about- what I mean to say is it's not an escape. Whatever you are running from will simply be magnified by the monastic experience...

                  What is a monk and what is not a monk are some questions you should probably start asking yourself. Many of the ideals you have of what a monk is are obtainable by disciplining yourself wherever you are- you don't need four walls and a sign above them saying "So and So's Temple."

                  If you really do wish to seek ordination in a formal Buddhist lineage, then there are plenty of options open to you, I would wager, in your own country. There are tons you can visit so you can get a feel for the different schools and philosophies. Go to some lectures, learn, search within...

                  Most of the westerners that I know about who have gone to study in Asia do so in Thailand. I don't know why that is.

                  But Shaolin is a very complicated institution right now. Because the instruction has been formalized, it seems like the heart to heart mind to mind transmission would no longer help you. Formally.
                  "Arhat, I am your father..."
                  -the Dark Lord Cod

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                  • #10
                    I first met Juan Carlos, in Shaolin, in 1995. He was training with Shi Xing Hong for six months, after which, he returned home to Spain to continue with his school. Xing Hong still visits him in Spain to do seminars for his students, and from what Xing Hong tells me, it's "his" school system. As I see it, Xing Hong, ever since I've known him, has been trying to spread gong fu throughout the world (and has been doing an awesome job at it), much like McDonalds has been trying to take over the world wide hamburger business, lol. It will be interesting to see where the next ten years takes Xinghong.

                    Juan Carlos, in my opinion, is an awesome martial artist. But, in my opinion, he's not a Shaolin monk per se. He may have taken the vows for a disciple, as a few of us have, but, personally, I wouldn't put him in the same "Shaolin temple monk" category as Decheng, Xinghong, or Deyang, or any of the rest of them. Try to keep straight in your mind, the difference between "disciple" and "monk".

                    As I see it, there is a difference.
                    Experienced Community organizer. Yeah, let's choose him to run the free world. It will be historic. What could possibly go wrong...

                    "You're just a jaded cynical mother****er...." Jeffpeg

                    (more comments in my User Profile)
                    russbo.com


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