A Shaolin monk has accomplished the impossible by running across more than a hundred meters on the surface of water assisted only by thin plywood planks that would otherwise sink if someone else had done the feat themselves.
Shi Liliang, a monk of the Buddhist Quanzhou Shaolin Temple, may not exactly have done Jesus-style walking on water, but his feat is not exactly one to ignore either. Using only 200 pieces of thin plywood floating across the Quanzhou City river in China, Shi Liliang ran across the surface of the water to the cheers of spectators who were urging him to finish the 125-meter goal he set for himself.
Previously, Shi Liliang set a world record of "running on water" for 120 meters, and this is his next attempt to break his own record and prove that feats of incredible human strength are simply nothing but mind over matter. It took Shi Liliang three tries and more than a decade of training before he finally completed 125 meters.
Footage of Shi Liliang doing the impossible was caught by New China TV, which posted the video on YouTube for the rest of the world to see. Although Shi Liliang is assisted by floating planks, succeeding in this feat requires him to tread as lightly and quickly on the planks as possible to prevent them from sinking and him going down with them. The average person attempting to do the same will most likely drop underwater immediately on the first plank.
"You need to be fast, but you should take only small steps," Shi Liliang says.
The Quanzhou Shaolin Temple in Quanzhou City is also known as the Southern Shaolin Temple. It is widely regarded as the birthplace of kung fu, and its monks, including Shi Liliang, go through a strict routine of exercise and meditation on the principles of Buddhism. The monks are known to put themselves to the test in extremely challenging tasks, such as the one Shi Liliang just completed, to prove that the body can accomplish anything the mind puts itself to it.
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