News from Berlin
Germany’s Only Shaolin Temple in Berlin
August 08th, 2014
News from Berlin – It takes only a ten minutes walk from the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy at Kurfürstendamm for one to find Germany’s one and only Shaolin Temple. Despite the non-spiritual atmosphere of the area, the temple offers a peaceful location for meditation and the practice of martial arts.
The temple serves as a meeting point for students of Kung Fu, San Da, Qi Gong, Tai Chi and meditation from all over the world. The number of members (children, teenagers as well as adults) who frequently attends courses in the Temple is now more than a thousand. Although students are different in terms of nationality, religion and age, they all share a common eagerness to learn more about Buddhist culture. Abbot Shi Yong Chuan, founder of the Temple, built it in a way as to resemble the original ‘Mother Temple’ in China as much as possible.
In Europe, it is Kung Fu action films that made the Shaolin order well-known. Originally though, the Shaolin order is a Buddhist monastic order, founded approximately 1500 years ago in the province of Henan in the heart of China. It is famous for its diverse martial art styles. Shaolin defines itself as a school of Chan Buddhism, and martial art is considered to be part of Buddhist practice. Kung Fu is thus a means to help gain discipline, composure, courage and self-confidence. According to experts, the highest level one can achieve in Kung Fu is physical and spiritual enlightenment.
In Shaolin Temple Wilmersdorf, everybody is welcome to attend classes, or just to come over and see with their own eyes what a real Shaolin Temple in Germany looks like.
News from Berlin – Berlin Global