31 Aug, 2009
Kung Fu Artist Ends Hair-Raising Career to Become Nun
KAIFENG, China (Reuters) - A Chinese kung fu artist who tows cars and cuts paper with her braided hair has given up her crowning glory to officially become a Buddhist nun.
Zhang Tingting completely shaved off the hair that she says has "kung fu power" and extraordinary strength so that she can enter a temple as a nun.
"I really always wanted to cut my hair off, but I couldn't because of the performances. But this time I've given it up for good," Zhang told Reuters. "It feels great."
The 52-year-old artist has performed across China for decades, after taking up martial arts when she was 17. She began living the life of a nun two years ago.
Before bidding her meter-long braid farewell, she pulled six passenger cars some 50 meters (164 ft) through a Beijing suburb, then repeated the feat with ten cars, for about 30 meters, in her hometown of Kaifeng, Henan Province.
Although Zhang and her plait are now permanently separated, the hair has been preserved. Authorities are considering sending it on a pilgrimage to sacred Buddhist sites in Tibet, or displaying it in a local museum.
The Guinness World Record for the heaviest single vehicle to have been pulled by a person's hair is held by He Jianma from China, who dragged an 8.28-tonne bus 30 meters this May.
Story and photo taken from: http://www.reuters.com
Matthew 16:24, 25
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.
What Does God Say About Giving Up Things?
I love kung fu! I have always been fascinated with martial arts movies where the usually smaller hero can take out 20 people with his or her bare hands. The blocks and fancy kicks mixed in with the distinct sounds of "aiyyyyy" are always fun for me.
But that really isn't the point of this story.
The point of today's story is that a talented kung fu artist gave up something so she could pursue her faith as a nun. And although the woman in our story is not Christian, we can learn from her.
Christ is always asking us to give up something for Him. Whether it's the rich young ruler whom he asks to sell all he has or the passage we read today where he asks us to deny ourselves and take up the cross.
It is easy to get caught up with being overly self-righteous by giving things up for God. If we do that I think we miss the point. As a disciple of Christ, God wants our obedience. To deny ourself is to abandon our natural desire to seek the advancement of ourselves in favor of giving glory to God.
This can often be difficult for sure. But the flip side of that is that when we are frustrated by life we can often look to ourselves as the problem. Are we seeking glory for ourselves or giving honor to God?
- What ways have you been seeking to honor yourself more than bringing honor to God?
- Give these areas to God and ask His forgiveness. Ask for Him to be honored in these activities or maybe even abandoned.
- Pray that God would be honored in your conversation with others today. Instead of seeking the approval of others seek the approval of God in the way you interact with the people around you. Abandon your notions of what is important and ask what might God consider important. This can often make a huge difference in how our day unfolds.
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