Staring At the Wall (in Utah)

Zhen Shen-Lang  (last name first)
"Spirit Wolf of Truth"
Born: Richard Del Connor February 4, 1954
        Pacific Beach, California 7:58AM

Buddha Zhen
Shaolin Communications
P.O.Box 632
Verdugo City, CA 91046

858-717-7074

"That Shaolin Monk..." or "That Buddhist Tai Chi Guy..."

RESUME TCY Patriarch (very comprehensive): PDF

RESUME TCY Executive Director - "Richard Del Connor": PDF

I was famous in Utah. The police knew me. The mayor new me. The governor knew me.

Fresh out of UCLA film school, with a one-year old daughter, and a six man record company, I made the mistake of moving my Shaolin Film & Records production enterprises to Salt Lake City, Utah, from North Hollywood, California.

Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. Despite how well it may have turned out for me, (becoming Kung Fu Master, Tai Chi Master and forming my own Zen Buddhism religion), it wasn't my plan to start my own religion either. I'd spent my teenager years breaking away from the Catholic Church. Then I sought enlightenment through movie making, poetry, studying physics, reading Buddhist dharma and Daoist writings, while performing my rock operas, and writing a novel titled, SID'S PLACE.

During the eighties I discovered Zen Buddhism, Chan Buddhism, Quantum Physics, and Kung Fu. I absorbed them like a sponge and bypassed every other student and caught up with my instructors. Buddhism and Kung Fu seemed to fit naturally into my life no matter what I was also doing or working. When people tell me, "I don't have time for Kung Fu or Tai Chi," I feel pity for their ignorance.

During the nineties I became a Mr. Mom. This developed a new Zen of maturity, maternity, paternity, and brotherly love. I learned a lot about life, nature, and spirituality by raising my daughter and becoming a "Medicine Man" Pipe Carrier of the Lakota Sioux.

In 1992, my Buddhist Kung Fu school needed a name because the Utah Governor hired me to teach at a Maximum Security Prison. Naming my Kung Fu school, Shaolin Chi Mantis, was based on the three styles of Kung Fu I had mastered, Shaolin Kung Fu, Tai Chi, and Praying Mantis Boxing. My school grew until 1996 when I created the TAI CHI YOUTH nonprofit education organization. This resulted in support and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Utah Arts Council, markets, corporations and many donations by individuals.

Starting in 1993, when I was teaching at the YWCA in Salt Lake City, I started giving FREE ZEN SEMINARS every few months to promote my school semesters and spread an awareness of Chinese martial arts and ancient philosophies. These Zen Seminars developed into Saturday seminars at Liberty Park, and Sunday Sanghas of Shaolin Zen Buddhism where I would preach and discuss concepts of Buddhist philosophy.

During 1993 I also began publishing the SHAOLIN ZEN NEWSLETTER. After a year of working as the Editor for the Utah Black Belt Association's magazine, I devoted myself to developing our own newsletter, SHAOLIN ZEN, which was mailed worldwide.

From the Shaolin Zen Newsletter sprung our own flavor of Zen Buddhism as more and more Mormons sought me out for my "Tai Chi Buddhism."

During 2001 I developed the ShaolinZen.org website and planned a CYBERTEMPLE there. My plans are still developing to create the interaction, conferencing, live Sanghas, and podcasts I plan for here.

I look forward to adding the next chapter to this website. It is currently 2007 and I am just about to release my first album, Tai Chi Magic 1 and my first series of podcasts, The Shaolin Zen Buddhist Podcast...

 

Zhen Shen-Lang "Buddha Zhen"
Patriarch of Shaolin Chi Mantis and Shaolin Zen