Introduction
Mike Shaw
Born in Canada in 1956 into an Anglican / Presbyterian home.
The first few years of my life was rather pleasant, then things got rough for my parents, and we began to move. It seemed like we were moving almost every 3 months. As the new kid I got picked on a lot. The same bullies at school were also at Sunday school, so I soon dropped out.. Interestingly, my parents had stopped going before I did.... I use to walk to church on my own. But, like I said, soon I got tired of the hypocrisy..... and the beatings.
In 1969, at the age of 13, I started kung fu and karate lessons...... I would go on to earn high ranking black belts in Karate/Tang Soo Do, Jiu-Jitsu/Hapkido, Kempo and black sash in Shaolin Mantis Kung Fu. Never, ever, did I want revenge or to hurt anyone, only to stop the beatings....
Though I had dropped out of church, I continued to worship God on my own.
My parents became alcoholics and I left home at age 16 and started driving a truck for a couple years and did some factory work. I continued to study kung fu, which lead me to Buddhism and Daoism.
For years I walked a dual road of Eastern and Western Spirituality.
In 1987 I began Christian ministry. First working with some Mennonites. Later I hooked up with some Independent Apostolics and was eventually Consecrated in 1995. Later, actually, just recently, after about 10 years of study, I was made an Ajari Buddhist Priest in the Jodo Shu tradition. That said, my first love is Western Spirituality.... My vegetarianism and my belief in reincarnation existed before any influence from the East.
Currently, besides services, I teach Christian Meditation classes and Kung Fu.
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