"Do I have to learn Buddhism if I learn Shaolin kung fu?"

This reminds me of the "make me a disciple" post-ceremony translation (see Shi De Cheng) when they told me that I couldn't go to Catholic church no more, as during the ceremony, on top of taking vows to the master and temple, I had taken vows to Buddha, which had effectively, as they had put it, made me a Buddhist. (As if not ever going to church again was going to be a problem....) But the Buddhist thing was going to be a problem, because, despite any attempt at reading books on it, regardless of what "Dummy" or "Idiot" books they were, I just couldn't get a handle on it. So much for my kung fu career I had thought. But, no, one really doesn't have to learn Buddhism to learn Shaolin kung fu. Is Buddhism related to Shaolin kung fu? Yes, but that's another question. Is Buddhism worth reading about? Yes too. It really is pretty interesting stuff.

And if any of you ever get a handle on it, please make sure you get a hold of me and straighten me out.

-----------from russbo