My lunch break in the temple
After four hours of training in the morning, there was always a long lunch break, which I usually "longed for", because my muscles were constantly tired, the exercises were extremely strenuous, the master was relentless, up and down, the same movements over and over again, even in my sleep I went through the steps. That's when the lunch break was a wonderful stopover. Generally, we trained for three days, then there was a completely free day where we did joint activities, but more of that elsewhere.
After training I dried my sweat, there was a watering hole only in the public toilets, and they were crammed with tourists who mostly looked at me in disbelief, a tall white man in training clothes, sweaty and out of breath, what was he doing here? So then just dry off, put on another shirt and pants, then went off to eat with my master.
Sometimes we sat down in the temple canteen, which was hidden in a side yard, sometimes we went to the stalls in front of the temple door, which prepared all kinds of delicacies directly on the spot (at this point I would like to refer to my article "The One is the Base", which is about exactly such a stall (and its owner)). My master always chose a different food for us, the choice was inexhaustible, he was known everywhere. Soon I realized that there were not many monks in the temple, most people were visitors or martial arts students of the many surrounding schools, but monks, that were only a few hundred pieces, and in the fitness state of my new friend I had seen very few at all, which is why my master was just known "like a colorful dog".
After the meal, we sat down on beautiful days in the sun, if it rained then evenly into its hermitage. After only a few days, I suggested that I learn English for him and he learns Chinese for me. It quickly became a concentrated effort and we made good progress. So the lunch break was well used, and we also had time for a little nap.
After exactly three and a half hours there was the second part of the training, again up and down, on good days at the training place in a side yard, on rainy days in the Mönchsklause. Punctual and without excuses, discipline was the central word in my new life as a "Shaolin monk".
The way is the goal!
(the pictures are my original pictures from the time in the temple)
An enlightened one speaks about the teachings and discipline
- Buddha - honorary name of Siddharta Gautama - 560 to 480 before the year zero
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