Wu Wei Su - Part I

So this is the Wu Wei Su Monastery near Dali, China. It is run by a Shaolin monk and you can stay there, live as they do, train as they do and get really sore, unlike they do.

One thing before I get into this, they don't allow photos of either the training nor the monks, you can get around the second part but not the first.

The day starts at 7am with the morning run to a river where you find a stone and carry it back on your head. The stones are used to line a long series of stairs and you take some pride in looking for one with an aesthetic appeal. The monks start their day chanting, the beginning of which is announced with a large bell, about a meter in diameter, so you are generally awake at the same time which is around 5am.

After the run you practice the taolu, which are forms or a series of preset moves some of which are named after various animals, ie. Mantis... yes you heard right, I studied Mantis. It sounds more awesome than it looks when I do it but when the monks do it, well, it looks like Kung Fu.

8am, breakfast is announced via a dinner bell, you are provided one bowl and a set of chopsticks which are yours to use for the duration of your stay. There is a communal dinning hall where everyone, you, the monks and even the Shifu (master) eats. Food is placed on plates at the center of the table with serving chopsticks to be used to place the food in your own bowl. Any food you take, or drop, is to be eaten, there is no waste. Uneaten food from the center plates will be reused/cooked for later meals and nobody eats until the master is there and everyone says Ami Tofu, which is basically a name for the Buddha of Internal Light. After each meal you wait till at least one other person is done, leave your bowl at your table and move from table to table bowing, hands pressed together in a prayer, and say Ami Tofu to each table which replies in kind. You collect your bowl and sticks, wash them and return them to you room or the common area in a safe place.

9-12am is training. Starts with stretching ends with the taolu. After the first day you're sore, after the second you can't walk downstairs without winching and after a week you start to get your mobility back until the bones and joints start to hurt. I'm serious, it is like you are breaking your body down only to rebuild it stronger.

12pm, lunch, like dinner but you are starving rather than just hungry.

1-4pm, relax, read, many take a nap, I did all and spent time in the temple mediating.

4-6pm more training.

6pm is dinner. After which you are most likely trying to stay awake until 9ish when you go to bed. Lights out at 9:30 but rarely are your lights not already out.

Repeat.

Anyway, on to some photos. Like I said, photos are not really allowed but here are some to give you a feel of the monastery.

The women below are from the area and about to go to the temple for chanting on the autumn full moon.

One of the kids, preparing for temple.

The Shifu on his way.

The inner courtyard of the monastery from my room's window.

Us and the kids playing Go in the common room.

Night fall, chanting continuing.