History of the Center
by Sifu Rama
About one and a half years ago, I was in Colombia, South America with Sifu Wong Kiew Kit and Sifu Pragata, an old friend of mine who I met at the feet of great Advaita masters in India. Sifu Wong was there kindly accepting my invitation to teach Chi Kung for the first time in South America and I was translating for him. After the wonderful courses we visited a sacred Indian mountain, a pristine sanctuary of nature called Iguaque in the Colombian Andes which I had discovered many years ago in quest of the Amerindian tradition.
Elated by the beauty and the pure energy of the mountain, a vision dawned in me: a Shaolin Temple on this natural sanctuary of Pachamama, the mother earth. Immediately the three of us agreed on the magnificence of such a project and Sifu Wong simply said “Do it!”
After that, Sifu Wong left South America following his teaching program around the world. Pragata and I embarked on a pilgrimage through the Peruvian and Bolivian Andes, the land of the Incas, an adventure we had dreamt of accomplishing while in India on the banks of the sacred river Ganges in the Himalayas.
From Cuzco to Macchupicchu and on to the Titicaca lake we experienced in such amazing places the wondrous qualities of the chi kung that Sifu Wong had generously transmitted to us. The vision of a Temple of Learning and Practice of the Shaolin Arts remained vividly engrained in our minds and hearts. During a very powerful chi kung session in the mystical Titicaca Isle of Sun, a clear message came to my heart and mind: this project it will be in Costa Rica.
Then, once again Pragata went his way and so did I, full of this life energy and ready to spread it out in other countries. Very soon I felt a very strong pull to go to Costa Rica where I never been before. I knew it was a good and safe country in Central America, a sort of Latin American Switzerland that in 1947 abolished the Army and devoted the budget to social and cultural welfare. I also knew that about one third of that country consists of National Parks and Protected Areas with an incredible diversity of primal, natural beauty.
Open and vigilant, moving one step at a time, in the course of four months and four trips to Costa Rica, following the signs that life was constantly sending me I found myself guided to discover the slopes of the National Park of Chirripó, the highest mountain in Costa Rica. Immediately I felt at home, in an atmosphere similar to that of Macchupicchu, emanating Power, Peace, Beauty and Universal Love. Interestingly as in Iguaque, the land offered to me in Costa Rica was also bordering an amazing National Park.
In the flow of life that has blessed our project since its very conception, a wonderful local family, who became partners of the project, offered to sell part of their property to house the centre: over 100 acres of pristine land and river. Dedicated workers appeared and our vision could then start to unfold and materialize. Work immediately began on the infrastructure (roads, ground leveling, electricity, water) and the first lodge was soon on the way.
I invited Sifu Wong to check the location and in a moment of ecstatic happiness he said: “Here is the hidden garden of timelessness”…and walking about, declared: “I am so happy, I am so happy”. Soon after in Malaysia Sifu introduced me to a Feng Shui grandmaster to whom I described the place and showed representative pictures. He confirmed the excellence of the Feng Shui and offered guidelines regarding the building of the temple.
In the meantime Pragata received my email describing all that was happening and his answer was “I’m coming!” He cancelled all his current programs and within a couple of months reached the “promised land”, ready to dedicate himself fully to this extraordinary adventure, in partnership with me. His wife Swaha-ji joined in enthusiastically and since then contributed her skills as a professional stage designer in the esthetic and practical realms.
Since then, eleven months have passed. Tremendous work, energy, talent and money have been devoted to the project which, combined with a sense of constant guidance and Sifu’s enthusiastic support have brought about the most remarkable results.
The inauguration of the Shaolin Wahnam Temple of Learning and Practice took place at the end of february 2004 honored and blessed by the auspicious presence of Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit, who has generously donated a significant amount of money to contribute in the development of the project, and for that we are immensely grateful.
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