Bridging East and West: Experiencing the Vibrant Celebration of Shaolin Culture
Recently, I attended the fantastic Shaolin Festival at Rosemead Park. Each March, the Shaolin Temple Cultural Center USA organizes this event to share and promote the rich traditions of Shaolin culture throughout Southern California.
The festival is rife with family fun and the park was so bright under the colorful banners and the large, beautiful photographs of Shaolin temples and other cultural symbols. There were Buddhist statues, sanctuaries, a meditation booth, a Shaolin temple booth, and artwork kiosks. Shaolin masters mingled with the people in their traditional robes, bringing ancient Eastern clothing to the West. I love seeing this East-meets-West dynamic and I’m happy I live someplace as culturally diverse as LA.
Just because we move to a new land doesn’t mean we have to leave our ancestry behind. We can honour our past while embracing our future. We can appreciate our values and traditions while adjusting them to fit a modern lifestyle.
Since there are many Chinese people in California, there quite a few Shaolin temples and schools. I noticed that many of the younger Chinese people of SoCal are having interracial children. I love seeing all the multicultural children with an endless variety of mixed features. Seeing Eastern and Western ethnic features on these children reminds me of my mixed ancestry.
It’s admirable to see how hard the Chinese people of SoCal work so hard to keep their traditions alive here in the United States. I believe it’s important to teach children to have pride in their heritage while also respecting others’ cultures.
The highlight of the festival was the martial arts performance. Kung Fu, one of the four major pillars of Shaolin culture (along with Chan, Medicine, and Art) nurtures focus, discipline, strength and confidence. Mastering Kung Fu connects the body and mind. It shares parallels with Yoga, which is culturally significant to me because of my Indian heritage.
The older kids, who have been studying martial arts since they were young, were very skilled. They were flexible and moved so fluidly. The most advanced students also showed off their skills with traditional martial arts weaponry, demonstrating their mastery with swords, Shuang jie gun (popularly known as nunchucks from the Okinawan nunchaku), chain whips, and spiked clubs. I was filled with joy watching so many young children concentrating deeply on their movements. Their little faces were so expressive; I could feel their focus.
Note: The kids were training with replicas instead of real weapons.
There were people of many ethnicities there. I saw many Chinese people with an interracial partner there. I love it when people show an interest in learning other people’s ancestries. Nothing good ever comes from denying another person’s culture.
Like I always say, one of the best ways to achieve lasting unity is to observe and celebrate our diversity because every culture has something beautiful to share.
The Shaolin Festival reminded me of my love for cultural unity.
#EastMeetsWest, #Unity
