The character arc of Shi Heng Yi
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born in 1983 in Kaiserslautern in Germany, to parents born in Vietnam who grew up in Laos, and raised in Otterberg. Between then and now sit a German schooling and a family expectation that he would become a doctor, an engineer or a lawyer, several university degrees including a master of business administration, a dissatisfaction with an education that taught him a great deal and nothing about himself, discipleship under masters sent from the Songshan Shaolin Temple, the monastic name Shi Heng Yi, over thirty years of practice, and responsibility since 2010 for a monastery settlement at Otterberg. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Shi Heng Yi?
Doctor, engineer or lawyer. He took the degrees and left anyway.
He was born in Germany, in Kaiserslautern, to parents who had been born in Vietnam and grew up in Laos as refugees, and he was raised in the town of Otterberg. That is the whole shape of an immigrant childhood in one sentence, and it comes with a particular kind of pressure attached.
The pressure was specific. His parents expected him to become a doctor, an engineer or a lawyer, which are the three careers that make the crossing worth it. He did the work. He took a couple of university degrees, including a master of business administration, and several diplomas. And then, by his own account, he was not satisfied: the education had taught him a multitude of things and nothing about himself.
In 2001 five Shaolin monks were sent from the Songshan Shaolin Temple in China to establish a temple in Germany, and he became a disciple of those masters and was given the monastic name Shi Heng Yi. He is of the thirty fifth generation of Shaolin masters.
Since 2010 he has been responsible for the Shaolin Temple Europe monastery settlement at Otterberg, in the same town he grew up in, and he is its headmaster. He has spent over thirty years studying and practising the interaction between mind and body, combining that with physical exercise, Kung Fu and Qi Gong. What he teaches rests on a Buddhist premise he states plainly, that with your thoughts you are creating the world, and on the argument that mental freedom requires understanding the relationship between freedom and restriction.
The moments
Shi Heng Yi's timeline.
The 1980s
A refugee family in Germany
Everyday, and it changed everything. Parents who left one country and grew up in another, and a German childhood.
The 1990s
Doctor, engineer or lawyer
Everyday, and it changed everything. Three approved careers, and no fourth option offered.
The 2000s
He takes the degrees
Milestone, and it changed everything. He did exactly what was asked, including the business degree.
The monks arrive in Germany
Milestone, and it changed everything. Five monks arrived from China, and he became one of their students.
The degrees did not answer it
Setback, and it changed everything. Everything an education can teach, except the thing he wanted.
Use the degrees, or train
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: train at the temple, taken, or use the business degree. He became a master of the thirty fifth generation and, from 2010, responsible for the temple at Otterberg.
Thirty five generations
Milestone, and it changed everything. Thirty five generations of teachers behind him, and he is the current one.
The 2010s
Otterberg
Milestone, and it changed everything. Responsible for the monastery, in the town he grew up in.
Mind and body together
Milestone, and it changed everything. Thirty years on one question, worked through the body.
He teaches it out loud
Milestone, and it changed his direction. A thousand year old training, explained to people outside the robes.
The 2020s
Headmaster
Milestone, and it changed everything. Running the place, twenty years after he walked in as a student.
The temple at Otterberg is still training people, in the town he grew up in, which is a short walk and a very long way. What he set moving is a Chinese tradition with a German address, run by a refugee family's son who did everything that was expected of him first and then went and did this.
Your turn
Every line draws a unique story.
His had three approved careers in it, and he did the degrees before leaving. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Shi Heng Yi: frequently asked questions
What people ask about his line.
What is Shi Heng Yi's character arc?
Who is Shi Heng Yi?
What does Shi Heng Yi teach?
Did Shi Heng Yi go to university?
When did Shi Heng Yi become a Shaolin disciple?
Why is this page about Shi Heng Yi short?
Where does this timeline of Shi Heng Yi's life come from?
More character arcs
Lives that rhyme with his.
Sources
- Shaolin Temple Europe published material, for his generation, his title, the Otterberg settlement from 2010, his practice and his teaching.
- Secondary biographical writing, for his birth name and year, his family's history, his degrees and the year he became a disciple.
- He has no English encyclopaedia entry, and this page is thinner and more carefully attributed than most in this gallery as a result.