‘Master your appetite.’

‘How do I do that?’

‘Imagine a dead rat, its steaming intestines draining on your fly-infested morning toast.’

Immanuel swallows the bile rising in his throat.

Chong’s grin never changes. ‘No shoes, please.’

Moments later, a barefoot and impatient Immanuel Gabriel is jogging along a stone path leading out of the atrium.

‘So you’re a Tibetan monk, huh?’

‘You are familiar with the history of the Shaolin?’

‘Just from watching those old kung fu movies.’

Chong slows to a quick walk. ‘Kung fu is just one part of our training. To understand Shaolin means tracing the history of China, which dates back to 2600 B.C., to the age of the Five Rulers. For two thousand years, China remained divided and at the mercy of the invading Huns and Mongolian nomads.’

‘That’s why your ancestors built the Wall, right?’

‘The Great Wall you see today is a result of tourism. The original structure was merely a collection of short barriers. Since it was not continuous, Mongol invaders had no trouble going around it. It was not until 221 B.C. that Emperor Chin finally made strides in uniting China into one nation. Seven hundred years later, an Indian Buddhist monk by the name of Ba Tao came to China to teach Buddhism. The Emperor summoned the monk to his palace and was so impressed by the man’s wisdom that he offered him his own palace to continue his teachings. Ba Tao declined this offer, instead requesting a large piece of land away from civilization where he could build a monastery. The Emperor granted his request, offering him land in the province of Henan on the side of Sung San Mountain. The district was called “Wooded Hill,” which translates to Shaolin in Mandarin. Thus was born the first Shaolin Temple.

‘In A.D. 539, a holy man named Bodhidharma left his monastery in India to spread the teachings of Ch’an Buddhism, what Westerners refer to as Zen. Bodhidharma was described as a bearded wise man with piercing blue eyes.’

‘He was a Guardian?’

Chong only smiles. ‘It is said Bodhidharma traveled hundreds of miles to reach northern China, crossing the Himalayan Mountains and the Yangtze River until he arrived at the Shaolin Temple. Unfortunately, the abbot, Fang Chang, refused him entrance, and so Bodhidharma located in a nearby cave. It is written that the wise one sat in meditation, facing a stone wall until his piercing blue eyes bored a gaping hole through the cliff wall. Visiting monks supplied him with food and water and became so impressed with his depth of knowledge that they invited him inside the Shaolin Temple.