Greek Shaolin Cultural Organization
少林希腊文化組织

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The temple of the Wind Cave, Feng Xue [chin .: fēng xué sì 风穴寺], is the temple that preserved the legacy of Shaolin, after the great disaster of 1928. Many of the relics of the Shaolin temple survived because they were transferred there. Although Feng Xue temple kept all its halls, was almost deserted, having faded into obscurity. Shortly before leaving this life, the Patriarch of Shaolin, Venerable Shi Xing Zheng [chin .: shìxíngzhèng dàshī 释行正大师 | 1914 - 1987], sent his disciple Shi Yong Hai [chin .: shì yǒnghǎi 释永海 | 1951 - ] in order to restore Feng Xue temple and its former glory, that poems of Ming Dynasty consider far above the Shaolin temple, both in beauty and in the Spirit of Chan.

Thanks to the work of Master Shi Yong Hai, the temple was restored in 1988 and was registered in the Buddhist Union records as an active temple of Dual Chan Dogma, of Chao Tung School [chin .: cáodòng zhèngzōng 曹洞 正宗] and of Lin Ji School [chin. : línjìzōng 臨済宗]. Today it is considered the leading temple of Chan in China for study, meditation and self-cultivation. Venerable Master Shi Yong Hai, is one of the masters of Shi Yan Zhuo, a 33rd generation successor of Shaolin Chao Tung [chin .: shàolínsì cáodòng zhèngzōng 少林寺 曹洞 正宗], the fundamentally Chan doctrine that emphasizes on sitting meditation [ chin .: dǎ zuòchán 打 坐禅] and Silent Enlightenment [chin .: mò zhàochán 默 照 禅], and one of the leading Masters of the "Martial Arts of the Traditional Orthodox School of Shaolin" [chin .: Shàolín chuántǒng zhèngzōng wǔgōng 少林传统 正宗 武功], which he teaches to a very few selected students. Today, he retains the title of the Venerable Abbot of the monastery, a position which was recognized officially to him in 2000.

The EPOS mission visited the temple on July 13, 2015 and was warmly welcomed by the Venerable Master in the Abbot Hall. Master Shi Yong Hai informed his student Shi Yan Zhuo, for the activities of the temple, which is now under the protection and support of the Shaolin Temple and has been included in the development plans of a great metropolitan park of the city Rou Zhou [chin .: rǔ zhōu shì 汝州市], which is about 500 acres. The members of EPOS team, drank tea and talked with the elder master, while Monk Shi Yan Wu [chin .: shì yán wù 释延悟], 34th generation of Shaolin, explained to all Greek male and female students, the development of Chan, the method of sitting meditation, emptying the mind, Qi Gong and the diversity of "Martial Arts of the Traditional Orthodox School of Shaolin."

Then, leaving the Venerable Abbot with Master Shi Yan Zhuo in the Central Hall, the mission traveled around the temple where master Shi Yan Kong described the one thousand years history of the temple and the group toured the halls with the unique architecture of Nine Dragons [chin .: jiǔlóng cháo 九龙 朝], monuments and historical relics, with more important the pagoda of the 7th Patriarch [chin .: chánzōng qī zǔ zhēn chánshī 禅宗 七 祖 贞 禅师], which was built in 738K.E. by Emperor Xuan Zong [chin .: Xuánzōng 唐玄宗 | 685 - 762] of the Tang Dynasty.