My first book reading
For the celebration of Chinese New Year, I was, together with my brother Taema Jun, in Shaolin Temple Europe, "asked" in advance by the abbot Shi Heng Zong to read from the book "Shaolin Rainer".
I was aware of his desire to read from my book. However, I struggled with myself in advance about whether I should participate in the Chinese New Year at all. The idea of talking about my life, of making personal things public, was very uncomfortable for me.
The abbot called several times and asked when we would come, and whether we (including my brother) would contribute something to the Chinese New Year, he was not put off even by my multiple refusals.
I have been close friends with the abbot of Shaolin Temple Europe Shi Heng Zong for over 20 years, so I did not feel comfortable after my cancellations. I couldn't stop thinking about him and our time together. My temple brother Taema (he is visiting from Korea for 3 months) felt my inner turmoil, so he called the abbot again. Previously, we had agreed that if our room was not yet assigned further, we would go, and the room was still reserved for us.
In short, we drove, and on the way, I was very thoughtful. We arrived late at the temple and checked into our room.
On New Year's Day, we sat in the abbot's office, planning for the celebrations had been completed. Taema was to give a Dharma talk (and promote his Dharma seminar on 2/21-23, see below) and I was to read from my book after all.
The uncomfortable feeling continued to spread through me.
In this context, I must mention that I had very mixed feelings about my book from the beginning. Certainly, I am proud of the fact to have been the first foreigner in Shaolin Temple in China more than 30 years ago, to have received the order from the abbot to open Shaolin, to have also opened the temple (which still exists today), to have founded other temples all over Europe. However, there were also very difficult times in the course of my history with Shaolin, very painful events, which I also do not want to remember.
Precisely because I do not want to remember, I did not want to do this book "actually". For many years the author Karl Kronmüller asked me to write this book. I always refused, I didn't want to have "much to do with Shaolin anymore. I had broken off all contact with the temple, with the monks. Only with my master Shi Yan Zi, the founder of Shaolin Temple England, I was always in contact. With Taema, my brother, I had intense conversations, almost daily, in Korea. Even from my friend Shi Heng Zong I had almost withdrawn.
Whenever Karl asked me again whether he could not tackle "the book", I refused, saying that surely the subject was of no interest to anyone and that I did not want to be reminded of those times.
One day I said "yes" when Karl asked again, hoping that the book would never be finished anyway. 6 months later it lay finished on the table in front of me.
I must have been mistaken.
Now my book is in Shaolin Temple Europe in the office of the abbot, he "insisted" on a reading. And I did not want to disappoint him, to contribute to the celebration of the Chinese New Year.
The celebration was wonderful, the abbot created a dreamlike atmosphere, people love the temple, and the ceremony was entertaining yet dignified, just like him, he is a great person.
Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de
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