NBA superstar center Shaquille O'Neal poses with Abbot Shi Yongxin during his visit to the Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng, Henan province, July 13.
Martial arts have been an interest of Shaquille O'Neal, and he paid an emotional visit on July 13 to the Shaolin Temple in Henan province.
"I've been a lot of places but being at the Shaolin Temple has brought a tear to my eye. Buddha blessed," the NBA superstar center wrote on his blog.
The 7-foot-1, 325-pound giant has seen lots of action movies about Chinese martial arts and has been involved in learning the art, but having a face-to-face experience with the warrior monks in the birthplace of Shaolin Kungfu - with a history of more than one and a half thousand years - was a lofty experience.
O'Neal said visiting the temple, birthplace of Zen Buddhism, was not on his China tour schedule, but he could not resist the temptation.
He was able to meet Shi Yongxin, abbot of the temple, and spent time discussing Zen (a school of Mahayana Buddhism, translated from the Chinese word Chan).
