"What is the relationship between gong fu and Buddhism?"
This reminds me of the "make me a disciple" post-ceremony translation (see Shaolin FAQ / Vows) when they told me that I couldn't go to Catholic church no more, as during the ceremony, on top of taking vows to the master and temple, I had taken vows to Buddha, which had effectively, as they had put it, made me a Buddhist. (As if not ever going to church again was going to be a problem....) But the Buddhist thing was going to be a problem, because, despite any attempt at reading books on it, regardless of what "Dummy" or "Idiot" books they were, I just couldn't get a handle on it. So much for my gong fu career I had thought. But, no, one really doesn't have to learn Buddhism to learn Shaolin gong fu. Is Buddhism related to Shaolin gong fu? Yes, but that's another question. Is Buddhism worth reading about? Yes too. It really is pretty interesting stuff.
And if any of you ever get a handle on it, please make sure you get a hold of me and straighten me out.