Today we’d like to introduce you to Orlando Schiaffino.
Hi Orlando, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My name is Orlando Schiaffino. The second of five siblings, I was born in Lima, Peru in 1967, and grew up in a very traditional Catholic family with Spanish-Italian roots. My father was always a hard-working, busy man. Immersed in the corporate world, he traveled around the globe, rarely at home for more than fifteen days at a time. My brothers and I made the most of our time together with him often going on picnics and sharing large family Sunday dinners before he prepared his suitcases for his next trip. From my father, I learned faith, discipline, love, and respect for the family. His frequent absences left my mother to raise us. With strength and love, she held the family together during his absences. Always a beautiful soul, it was my mother who taught me the concept of love, respect, and compassion towards humanity. For my early education, I attended a private school run by the congregation of Canadian Nuns from Quebec. I was a restless, playful child with learning problems. Excess energy lived inside of me like a wild horse, and though the professionals and psychologists tried to help me control it, they failed. Today we recognize the problem as Attention Deficient Disorder. At age 7, on the recommendation of the psychologist, my mother took me to a Japanese Martial Arts Dojo to release my extra energy. That is where a deep transformation began in my being. I spent ten years there learning Okinawan Karate under Sensei Tanaka until he left this world. In 1986 I entered law school and joined the University’s Karate team which competed nationally. There, I met Francisco Wong, a fellow teammate, and descendant of Chinese immigrant parents who were connoisseurs of martial arts.
After Taiwan, my country, Peru, had the second-largest Chinese colony in the world. During the cultural revolution of 1945, many Chinese from different provinces migrated to Peru to work in the sugar cane plantations. The Peruvian and Chinese governments signed contracts granting Chinese immigrants land and allowing them to build their own communities with Buddhist, Taoist temples and exclusive centers for the Chinese community where they kept their traditions alive. During my first year in law school, Francisco and his parents invited me to visit the Tian Tan Temple for the celebration of the spring festival. Captivated by the sweet aroma of incense and the rituals and customs, I began to frequent the Tian Tan Temple to learn the wisdom of the ancient Chinese masters. I studied Chinese Martial arts, Chinese medicine, meditation, QiGong, Cha Dao, the art of Tea, calligraphy, Buddhist philosophy, and other healing arts for the mind, body, and spirit. With my father’s permission, I decided to live with the masters at the temple, spending six years of my life between the walls of the Tian Tan Temple and law school. In 1992, I graduated from law school and continued to attend the Tian Tan Temple. I studied with other Taoist masters while fully dedicating myself to business, even completing postgraduate studies in Administration and Marketing. Difficult times came to my country as terrorism swept across the land. More than 170,000 people disappeared. To save his daughters, my father sent my sisters to study in the United States. Later they, and all my brothers moved to Clearwater, Florida. The tumultuous Peruvian world I lived in mirrored my own internal conflicts. I felt split between the chaos and intensity of corporate life––a world filled with excesses of material comforts, always needing to seek recognition and acceptance––and the serenity and peace of my Buddhist life. The unrest in my soul grew.
During that time, I had several opportunities to visit America to spend Christmas and other holidays with my family. Being with them was wonderful, but it was always a painful experience to see my mother and sisters cry at the Tampa airport when we said goodbye. In the summer of 2000, I left my job. I called my friends and gave away all my clothes––the fancy suits, ties, watches, and Italian shoes. After selling everything else, I bought a ticket to the United States. With a small backpack filled with my Buddhist books, flower essences, wooden Buddha, three shirts, and three pairs of pants, I boarded a plane to join my loved ones. At the airport my father asked me how I would dedicate my time in this country, offering to arrange an appointment at Stetson University to validate my degree. I looked him in the eye and said, “I want to dedicate myself to what I love. I’m going to open a center to honor my teachers.” He answered me, “Americans only eat hamburgers. They don’t exercise, and they don’t meditate like you.” Twenty years have passed since that conversation. Today, Sadana Center is a reality.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t believe in obstacles. Nothing is forever. If you stop to sit under a tree to observe the world and yourself . . . you will realize that all things change, and everything is in constant transformation. We are all part of a process. In an ever-changing world, there are no obstacles. My master’s taught me that anything you build with love and discipline will always have solid roots. We live in a society where we want everything now. As a result, we have instant coffee without any essence or flavor and fast food filled with chemicals and preservatives. We care only about gratification in the moment. When something costs us time, or energy, or effort, we abandon it and claim the role of being victims of the system. Things in life do not come to us as quickly as when we’re in line at a McDonalds. We must first build firm foundations––like the bamboo. After planting bamboo, the first three years people expect the bamboo to grow, but nothing happens because in the first three years the bamboo expands its roots first. After seven years, the bamboo magically shoots through the soil growing strong and tall, often to eight feet high. The master bamboo teaches us how important is to make a strong foundation before we expand. There are no obstacles. In order to build and keep Sadana Center open, I went through many processes and every kind of job imaginable to put food on the table and provide a roof for my wife and young son. There were times when I only slept five hours a day, working in construction from 5:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. then opening Sadana at 6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
In my country, I had been a professional, an executive. Many wondered how I could work with the same discipline and love while doing such physically exhausting work. But for the mission, the creation of Sadana Center, I did everything with love. There were no obstacles. Many Asian countries with deep Buddhist connections often use stories of elephants to teach life lessons. Small elephants were tied to a tree with a chain so they could not escape. They struggled to do so but could not break free because they were tied to a tree that was much stronger than them. When they grew into adults and were extremely strong, they were still tied to small trees. Even though they had the strength to uproot the tiny trees, they didn’t because they were stuck in the belief that the tree was stronger. We are human, and we act in the same way. We create obstacles in our minds that do not allow us to advance. When I came to this country I spoke no English. Many would see that as an obstacle to teaching. Master Tsa, from Tian Tan Temple, always reminded me to teach with love––the universal language. In those early days, my students came back each week. I taught them Qigong, they taught me English. We are each of us the master and the student. There are no obstacles.
We’ve been impressed with Sadana Center, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Today, more than ever, we live rushed and often complicated and stressful lives. Sadana Center offers an oasis in the storm, a place to relax, reconnect and return to the calm peacefulness our spirits crave. Our practice of Qigong, a teaching thousands of years old, begins with the breath offering healing and calm to the body’s internal organs, muscles, ligaments, and joints. Whether you come to a Qigong class, our monthly sound therapy meditation, or a private healing session you will leave more at peace and centered, ready to return to your life with renewed faith and enthusiasm. Qigong has its foundation in strong family roots. We are a welcoming community where all are treated as family. Our ancient traditions are based on mutual respect and acceptance. When we enter the center, we leave our shoes and the stresses of the world at the door. At the Tian Tan Temple, I had the great blessing to hear wonderful stories that share insight into many very human problems. It gives me great joy to share those pearls of wisdom with those who come to the center. In our Qigong and Taichi classes, we follow the natural rhythms of the seasons, the ebb and flow of energy.
We are all connected. The energy of the earth and heavens runs through each of us and using a series of movements, breathing, and visualizations we realign our physical bodies allowing the energy to flow freely, unlocking stagnation and tightness in the joints and muscles. There are two Qigong classes that meet twice a week on Monday and Thursday nights at the center, and a morning Qigong virtual class that meets on Zoom also on Monday and Thursday. For years I have been fascinated by the healing available through sound frequencies. Once a month the center offers a limited number of people the opportunity to spend an hour and a quarter fully immersed in sound therapy using instruments from all over the world: Himalayan Tibetan Singing bowls, Chinese Gongs, Buddhist bells, diapasons, Tibetan ocean drum, Maori didgeridoo, natural sounds, whistles, aerophones, flutes and other ancient shamanic instruments. The frequency of the sounds encourage stress release, calm, and a return to inner peace. We close each class with ancient healing sounds.
All levels are welcome. Healing comes in many forms, using countless methods: Reiki, healing crystals, aromatherapy, sound therapy, aura cleansing are just a few forms we practice at the center. Everyone is different and each body responds according to its needs. At Sadana we work with you to find the practice that resonates most with you to balance your energy and promote healing. We offer individual healing sessions and often teach classes in Reiki and crystal therapy. You may arrive at Sadana Center burdened by the world and its many stresses, but as you walk through the door you’ll begin to shed the outside world. With each breath and movement, stresses melt away leaving you the space to reconnect to yourself. Then, anything’s possible.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Every person in this world is a student and a master.
Contact Info:
- Email: sadanacenter@gmail.com
- Website: www.sadanacenter.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sadanacenter/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sadanacenter
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEWQqTuxFkNC1CzpNifIwDQ
Image Credits
Sadana Center
