120-Beginning part 3 - Buddhism in daily life

Beginning part 3


With due respect (and shaking knees) I waited for a reaction from
the monk Shi Yan Zi regarding my question whether I could learn
martial arts here (in the Shaolin Temple), the time just wouldn't
pass.


Then his hand reached for my arm, he felt the muscles, then the
shoulders, then the upper body, finally the leg muscles. The
procedure was quite "rough", but I could tell that he knew what
he was doing, the pain went through my limbs again and again. He
seemed to be hitting specific acupuncture points, probably
wanting to test my physique and stamina.


After what felt like an eternity, he straightened up and looked
deeply into my eyes. He didn't make a face, more minutes passed,
and the whole thing seemed to me like a scan of my thoughts.


After what seemed like an eternity, he nodded at me, a "heave"
came from his lips, he gestured for me to follow him. The path
went through courtyards, temple doors, buildings, cloisters,
rooms and side rooms, past statues and steles, up and down I
trotted behind him with my backpack.


When we finally arrived in front of a simple wooden door, the
monk opened the door and kindly waved me in. The room was simple
and spartan, there was no glass in the windows, the furniture was
made of nailed-together wood, the door actually consisted only of
two crossbars and boards nailed on top, the sun shone through
everywhere, you could lock it, but with a huge key.


The bed was also homemade, which immediately caught the eye. And
although it was already noticeably warmer in the mountains (in
April), there was clearly no heating, the room was freezing cold.


Everywhere there were weights carved out of stone, large and
smaller ones, pulleys attached to the ceiling, surely for
strength training, the monk looked like a walking wall unit after
all. The situation was somehow reminiscent of the US comics "The
Flintstones", looked at closely, the furnishings were very very
simple.


The only seats were two stools (also homemade) without backrests,
one of which my new friend pushed towards me, indicating that I
should sit down.


The monk made tea, woo long, an unforgettable delicacy that I
still can't get enough of. As there was only one bed in the large
room, Shi Yan Zi set out to organise another mattress, offering
the bed to me.


Everything looked old and scuffed, but it was evening, I was
tired, didn't understand much anyway, then better make
arrangements. The sheet was thin, the light was a lone bulb
without a lampshade.


The Shaolin Temple is high up in the sacred Song Shan mountains,
here it gets really cold at night, which is why the monks only
take off their clothes to wash, otherwise they stay fully dressed
day and night, in their rooms, in the religious buildings, just
everywhere.


When I dreamt of the Shaolin Temple, I had imagined it all quite
differently, more glamorous, more sublime, also more well-kept.
Certainly not accommodation that we would use for animals,
without glass in the windows, without heating, without any
comfort.


You can read about how things went on in one of my next posts in
the next few days.


The way is the goal!


He who gathers his thinking seriously, free of all desire for
pleasure, who dwells beyond good and evil, also dwells beyond all
anxiety.


- Buddha - honorary name of Siddharta Gautama - 560 to 480 before
the year zero



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