Sad yet true, I couldn’t even make it an entire two months back in my home town. And no, it’s definitely not because I hate it there; quite the contraire. I actually had one of the best times ever reuniting with my friends and family and went to two of my best friends’ weddings. One of them was even in Mexico which turned into a ten day party on the beach! So why did I leave if things were so great? The reason- my grave travel addiction.
If it wasn’t confirmed before, let it be now. I’m a travel addict. It’s all I think about and it encompasses everything I do. Even when I’m traveling I’m thinking of past trips and/or cool trips I can do in the future. While the vacation to Mexico indeed gave me a quick fix, it only intensified my craving to go and get more. Now, less than two weeks after my return from Mexico, I find myself in Hong Kong.
Screech! Hong Kong??? You hate Hong Kong, Trey! Don’t you remember writing a blog called “Hating Hong Kong” several months ago? Haven’t you placed this city at 3rd on the all time worst places list? Right behind Hell and the Battle of Stalingrad?
Yes, all this is true. But I found myself here merely as a stepping stone into Mainland China. Here, in HK, I can get my Chinese visa quickly and hassle free; a factor that keeps bringing me back year after year.
That brings me to my next point- Why am I going to Mainland China? The usual response to this is to start work and follow the same ole path of writing and teaching. However, there’s a twist to this trip. And while I’ll still be writing (as I always will) another job will occupy my schedule.
This summer, I’ll be living at a hostel in the small town of Dengfeng. This village located deep in the impoverished interior of China also just so happens to be 5km away from the world famous Shaolin Monastery, home to the kung fu fighting Shaolin Monks.
In the 5th century CE, Batuo, a Buddhist teacher from India, left his motherland and headed east. He eventually arrived in Shaolin and started the first Buddhist Mahayana monastery in the Middle Kingdom. The disciples of Batuo, despite being isolated in the woods, were constant targets of bandits and raids. Buddhist monks always practiced a strong doctrine of nonviolence and nonaggression, but something had to be done in the name of self defense to protect their livelihood. Thus, kung fu was born.
The monks invented and incorporated fighting into their every day routine. Hours a day were dedicated to mastering hand to hand combat, weapons and meditation. The monks progressed and eventually became masters in the art. The next time looters arrived, they were fatally defeated. The reputation on the monks spread and the bandits laid off. However, the crooks weren’t the only ones who got the memo.
Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, perhaps the greatest, richest and most powerful dynasty in Chinese history, heard about this new Buddhist doctrine and converted. Not only did the emperor use his power to protect his favorite monks at Shaolin, Buddhism spread throughout the empire from the shores of Shanghai to the Hindu Kush.
Martial arts and Shaolin Kung Fu also flooded the land like the Yangtze in June. China, from that moment on, was changed forever. It became a mixed land of Buddhism and martial arts, a notion that’s still associated with China today and portrayed in books, Hollywood films and media throughout the entire planet. It’s amazing how this small temple in the middle Nowhere, China altered the universe.
Pretty cool, huh? If you keep up with my blogs like the good reader you are, you’ll remember that I visited the temple in October during my Silk Road adventure. I met the owner of the only hostel in town and, the next thing I knew, she offered me a job. Basically, I’m the middle man between the guests and monks, which is great because I get to work directly with the legends themselves. That also gives me free kunf fu, tai chi and meditation classes! Since I’m presented with this wonderful opportunity, I’m going to approach it right and try to live a pure, Buddhist lifestyle to the best of my ability.
And that brings me to the challenge: For the next three months, out of respect for the religion, I will not drink, smoke, eat crap food, have a girlfriend or be concerned with anything occurring in the rest of the world. My time, rather, will be spent meditating, working and writing. The reason? As mentioned, I myself practice a very light form of Buddhism, but I respect the religion and those following it… like the monks I’m working with. Furthermore, I want a challenge; and putting so many limits on life is indeed a major hurdle (could you do it?). But perhaps the main reason is because I want to find the question. After my South East Asian trip, before going home, I moved to Bangkok and practiced Muay Thai (Thai Kickboxing) eight hours per day for a month straight. When I wasn’t at the gym, I’d be at the temple meditating. Sure enough, after three weeks into the spiritual/physical journey, I found the answer I was looking for. The only problem was I didn’t have the question (that’s some deep shit, right?). This trip, I seek to find the grand question to the answer.
And what’s the answer, you may ask? I’d love to tell ya, but you’re going to have to have your own spiritual journey to find out yourself!
Continuing, respecting the religion is only half of my summer challenge. I’m a Buddhist just as much as I am a martial artists, therefore I must respect the martial arts as well. So, on top of the strict limitations I’ve placed over my soul, a rigorous routine of kung fu training will also be undertaken. I’ll be up before sunrise for tai chi, the afternoons will be dedicated for training/working out, and the evening for meditation- a mental work out. And just to make sure I don’t slack off, I’ve decided to step in the ring (or should I say octagon) in August after the ordeal is over to have my first MMA fight.
MMA (or cage fighting) is the world’s most physically and mentally demanding sport hands down. It brings every style of martial arts from around the globe into one arena. The main goal is to knock out your opponent. My opponent’s goal is to knock me out. It’s hand to hand combat. It’s war. It’s meditation. It’s martial arts at its best! Now there’s really a heavy weight anchoring me down while I train this summer. If I don’t put my heart, soul, sweat and mind into it, I’ll be left unconscious on the floor with thousands to bare witness.
As you can see, this ain’t the summer of 1969. It’s probably actually the polar opposite of it! As different as Jesus and Satan, Ghandi and Hitler, and Rio de Janeiro and, you guessed it, Hong Kong!
Tomorrow, I leave Hong Kong and head for the country side. I’m leaving the lights, buildings and traffic behind. The injustice of the city will be hundreds of miles away. The bums, addicts, prostitutes, along with the CEOs, mistresses and models, will roam the streets as they do every day in Hong Kong, but not me. I’ll be out of here soon enough. I’ll be in a better place. I’ll be at the Shaolin Temple in Henan Province, away from this “wonderful” society we live in to undertake one of the greatest challenges of my life.




































































































































































































