In 1961 he met Zen master Shunryu Suzuki, who was running a small Buddhist temple in a run-down former synagogue.

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And he said Gore's running mate was such a humanitarian he once gave a donation to a Buddhist temple.

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The most elaborate, called the Leap of Faith, is a steep drop down the side of the 60-foot high Mayan Temple, and then a fast slide through a clear acrylic tunnel running through a lagoon filled with sharks.

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And echoing through the ancient temple is the sound of a river flowing even beneath this layer, running through a Republic-era drain.

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