When I first came to Wesleyan I found myself drawn to the practice of Buddhism. After borrowing a couple books from friends, Stephen Batchelor’s “Buddhism Without Belief” and Thich Nhat Hanh’s “Being Peace,” my interest was confirmed. I had found a practice that confirmed my desire for spirituality, without asking me to believe in anything that I couldn’t. I continued reading different books on Buddhism and practiced essentially alone until my junior year.
Then another friend started taking meditation classes through WesWell with the Small Forest Temple. He told me that they had invited him to practice at their temple, which would include studying Shaolin Kung-Fu as well as practicing meditation and wisdom questions. Now I was very interested, as martial arts had been another latent interest of mine.
Since I started practicing at the Small Forest Temple nearly a year and a half ago I have found my practice expand and deepen in ways that I wouldn’t have imagined. It is very different to be part of a directed spiritual group, than a lone spiritual hopeful. The temple has helped me to establish more than a firm spiritual base, the teachings have provided a foundation for me to extend to many of my studies at Wesleyan and my life as a whole.
For example at the end of this past semester I was studying for a quantum mechanics exam and I found myself distracted and unable to prepare myself well. The day before the exam I had studied all day and made reasonable progress, but after I went to the temple and practiced that evening I centered myself and really felt ready to nail down my studying and do well on the exam. The exam went smoothly and I have no doubt that it is due in part to a good practice at the temple the night before, which helped my studying and grounded my thinking.
I think that this practice is of benefit to all aspects of a person’s life. The Shaolin system is a whole and complete understanding from metaphysics to physiology. Any student who is interested in being exposed to the practice of Eastern Philosophy as opposed to an abstract understanding of the texts would benefit from studying at the temple. Also anyone who has studied another martial art but felt that there was something missing will discover that the Shaolin philosophy is martial arts as a model for life. We train our bodies to learn how we interact with the world not simply as a method of self-defense.
I am writing this as an invitation because I believe Wesleyan students could really benefit from this practice and many might not know about it. Wesleyan can often become an academic battleground with little grounding in life beyond the walls of our university. The grounded atmosphere of the temple has helped my to navigate through those struggles, and feel grounded in a practice that is based on concrete world experience.
If you are interested in participating in Shaolin Kung-Fu, Tai-Chi, or meditation please contact the Small Forest Temple at (860)344-9676 (that’s (860)DIG-WORM, if you can’t remember). If you’re hesitant to call the temple directly—there is no need to be, but feel free to contact me at ebutler@wesleyan.edu. I hope to see you there.
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