HISTORY OF THE CENTER:
by Roberto Lamberti
About one and a half years ago, I was in South America with Sifu Wong and Pragata, an old friend of mine who I met at the feet of great Advaita masters in India. Sifu was there giving some Chi Kung courses and I was translating for him. After the courses we went to a powerful ancient Mesoamerican Indian sacred place, a nearby mountain called Iguaque that I had discovered years ago in my quest of the Amerindian tradition.

Elated by the beauty and the pristine energy of the mountain, a vision dawned in me: a Shaolin Temple on this natural sanctuary of Pachamama, the mother earth of the Incas. Immediately the three of us agreed on the magnificence of such a project and Sifu simply said “Do it!”

After that, Sifu 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.

Then, once again Pragata went his way and so did I, full of this life energy in our hearts and ready to spread it out in other countries. Not long after I felt a very strong pull to go to Costa Rica. I knew it was a good and safe country in Central America, a sort Latin American Switzerland that in 1957 abolished the Army and devoted the budget to social and cultural welfare. I also knew that more than 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 mount 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.

In the flow of life that has blessed our project since its very conception, a wonderful local family offered to sell part of their property to house the centre: 96 acres of pristine land and river bordering the Chirripó National Park. Dedicated workers appeared and our vision could then start to unfold and materialize. Work immediately began on the infrastructure (roads, ground levelling, electricity, water) and the first lodge was soon on the way.

I invited Sifu 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 Madhurani 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 and was honoured by the auspicious presence of Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit, who has generously donated the total amount of his fee for his courses to help the development of the project, and for that we are immensely grateful.

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