But the monks are not generally known for Buddhist teachings in the present, despite their lives of peaceful meditation. No, the Shaolin monks are noted for their uncanny abilities to kick ungodly ass. With a little help from another legendary teacher from India called Bodhidharma, the monks developed a fighting system called "Shaolin fist" -- what came to be known in the West as kung fu. They honed the martial arts to heights rarely seen outside the temple and were eventually commissioned by the emperor to help him fend off barbarian invaders, a problem imperial China had to deal with through much of its history.
Of course, in this day and age, the Chinese government has little use for soldier monks and even less need for religion. As a result, the Shaolin temple has found itself wanting both cash and awareness from the outside world. And so began the Shaolin Wheel of Life Tour.
The show includes a few actors, 20 soldier monks from the Shaolin Temple in China's Henan Province, and five monks in training, the youngest of whom is 8 years old. And, yes, even he is more than capable of stomping you. It may be shy of the levitating abilities featured in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but within the realm of possibilities, there is little the Shaolin monks cannot do. The performance, which centers on a tale from the earliest days of the temple, features men breaking stones with their heads, supporting their entire weight on both index fingers, balancing on spear points without getting impaled -- you know, the usual kung fu-master fare.
