shaolinCOM.com     The Shopping Cart of SHAOLIN COMMUNICATIONS

Staring At the Wall (in Utah)

"That Shaolin Monk..." or "That Buddhist Tai Chi Guy..."

I was famous in Utah. That's not what I wen there to do though.

I did seek fame in 1991 when I moved to Utah with some exciting promises -- that weren't kept.

Fresh out of UCLA film school, with a one-year old daughter, and a six man record company, I made the mistake of setting up my Shaolin Film & Records production enterprises in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. Despite how well it may have turned out for me, (becoming Kung Fu Master, Tai Chi Master and forming my own Zen Buddhism religion), it wasn't my plan to start my own religion either. I'd spent my teenager years breaking away from the Catholic Church. Then I sought enlightenment through movie making, poetry, performing my rock operas, and writing a novel titled, SID'S PLACE.

During the eighties I discovered Zen Buddhism, Chan Buddhism, Quantum Physics, and Kung Fu. I absorbed them like a sponge and bypassed every other student and caught up with my instructors. Buddhism and Kung Fu seemed to fit naturally into my life no matter what I was also doing or working.

During the nineties I became a Mr. Mom. This developed a new Zen of maturity, maternity, paternity, and brotherly love. I learned a lot about life, nature, and spirituality by raising my daughter and becoming a "Medicine Man" of the Lakota Sioux.

In 1992, my Buddhist Kung Fu school needed a name because the Utah Governor hired me to teach at a Maximum Security Prison called Decker Lake. The government owned about 60 acres of land, including this large pond, called Decker Lake. They built a prison right next to the lake and kept all housing and businesses far away...

Naming my Kung Fu school, Shaolin Chi Mantis, was based on the three styles of Kung Fu I had mastered, Shaolin Kung Fu, Tai Chi, and Praying Mantis Boxing. My school grew until 1996 when I created the TAI CHI YOUTH nonprofit education organization. This resulted in support and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Utah Arts Council, markets, corporations and many donations by individuals.

Starting in 1993, when I was teaching at the YWCA in Salt Lake City, I started giving FREE ZEN SEMINARS every few months to promote my school semesters. These Zen Seminars developed into Saturday seminars at Liberty Park, and Sunday Sanghas of Shaolin Zen Buddhism.

During 1993 I also began publishing the SHAOLIN ZEN NEWSLETTER. After a year of working as the Editor for the Utah Black Belt Association's magazine, I devoted myself to developing our own newsletter.

From the Shaolin Zen Newsletter sprung our own flavor of Zen Buddhism as more and more Mormons sought me out for my "Tai Chi Buddhism."

During 2001 I developed the ShaolinZen.org website and planned a CYBERTEMPLE there. My plans are not even halfway in achieving the interaction, conferencing, live Sanghas, and podcasts I plan for here.

I look forward to adding the next chapter to here. It is currently 2007 and I am just about to release my first album, Tai Chi Magic #1 and my first series of podcasts, The Shaolin Zen Buddhist Podcast...

 

Zhen Shen-Lang "Master Zhen"
Patriarch of Shaolin Chi Mantis and Shaolin Zen