As the ancestral monastery of Chan sect, Shaolin Temple has to consider how to properly carry forward the activity that was unintentionally conducted in the past and could accord with the present monstics’ lifestyle. We can’t indifferently let this traditional and effective practice of Chan sect go extinct.

After careful consideration, I decided to create an opportunity for the monastic cultivators to gather together the talented among the monastics as debaters and shan zhi shi (benevolent intellects) serving as judges.

The topics of Chan debate are all carefully selected from gong an, patriarchs’ quotations, hua tou (lit. words sentences used to provoke awakening of wisdom) as well as the oriental wisdom. (From Shaolin Temple in My Heart)