Esoteric

Upon entering the Bamboo Temple, one should separate himself from the things of the outer world - whether money, titles, rank, fame or anything else - which he may tend to enlarge or magnify as a substitute for his real self, the real man.

In the Bamboo Temple, all men are on the common level of our simple humanity, unaided and unadorned by worldly distinctions such as wealth and honor. In the Bamboo Temple, you appear before your brethren in your true and only worth, where self-examination sometimes reveals a condition of smallness and poverty of spirit. As in the Christian Revelation, all will stand before God "naked and alone" where character and truth is our sole mainstay. Know you not that your body is the "Temple" of the Holy Spirit which is in you.

Upon leaving the Bamboo Temple, a Tabernacle of clay, in peace we find the grave but a phantom victory and the sting of death only imaginary.  Our trust having been in the Eternal, our faith was well founded.

The insignia book represents the shared knowledge and experience of the hing-dai, the members of the Bamboo Temple family in which "all men are brothers." The five pages of the book are symbolic of the five ancient ancestors (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching).

The Chinese characters state praying mantis. The crossed swords are symbolic of loyalty first.

The footwork pattern is symbolic of the three steps forward in existence (birth, life, death). The four bamboo stems represent the four seasons of life (infancy, adolescence, adulthood, old age). The 108 pieces of bamboo represent 108 vital points on the human body.

The Bamboo Forest Temple Praying Mantis Kungfu is based on the philosophy of yin and yang. In personal combat this is expressed in the method of controlling the adversary's (will) power and releasing it. In society, this is expressed in the ideology of wen (literary) and wu (military) arts. The Chinese characters on the banner represent wen and wu.

Through daily hard work, dedication and loyalty, new members are encouraged to achieve an orderly balance in their physical, intellectual, moral and social aspects of life so they might better serve themselves, family, friends, community, state and God.

BAMBOO TEMPLE CHINESE BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION                
PO Box 7683
Algonquin, IL, 60102                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
Phone: 1-800-JOOK LUM                                              
Fax: 847-458-8219