As stated by our guest speaker Bhante Sujatha, Zen Buddhism is simply defined as meditation. With that said, the Zen reach Buddha through daily meditation. When comparing Zen Buddhism to Japanese athletics these two categories possess many of the same characteristics. The Zen spirit has a direct correlation to the sport of baseball. Baseball is a game of inches, in order for you to succeed and do well in the sport you must do all the little things efficiently day in and day out. This is quite the case in Zen Buddhist as they go through daily structuralized routines. Both Zen and baseball consists of their own routines. They are truly forms of art. In order for a Zen to call themselves a Zen Buddhist they must overcome the excessive amounts …show more content…
He had the idea that he was going to become the best hitter to ever live and his work ethic and routine set way for that goal to happen. Oh thought that in order for his swing to get where it needed to be he had to become an expert with a samurai sword. His thought process when using a sword was the fact that if he could perfect swinging a sword smoothly than it would carry over to him swinging a baseball bat without any problems. Once Oh became as smooth with the sword as he practiced in the mirror daily, he would reach where his batting career led him and that was into the Japanese baseball hall of fame (Falkner 112). A Zen way of Baseball truly demonstrates the mind aspect of the game. This book was quite interesting towards finding that kind of ball player you ought to be. Sadaharu Oh was one to use Zen to finally realize the player he needed to be. Once Zen spirit became part of Sadaharu’s game he accepted all his competitors and acted as if they were all in it together with no hard feelings or aggressive emotion. He simply played hard and possessed a mind that was full of Zen …show more content…
Sadaharu Oh is an example in Japanese athletics who utilized a Zen mind to separate his game from others. Zen Buddhist as well as ball players both have similar rewards when staying on routine. For Zen staying on routine and having successful meditation leads them to perfecting their religion. Their reward when sticking with the routine their masters lay out for them happens to be the connection they are experiencing with Buddha. A ball player like Sadaharu Oh had the reward of becoming the best Japanese hitter to play in Japanese leagues. By Oh performing his daily routine he was satisfying and staying true to his master. The relation between Zen and baseball is one that many people won’t ever take the time to compare, but ultimately both the game of Zen and the game of baseball involve the same metal capabilities and strength of our own minds. They are truly mental games and the sooner one is to understand that, the further and faster they will advance in their area of
Zen themes may be familiar to a student of religion, since they arise from Buddhism. The Buddha, Sidhartha Gautama, is said to have achieved his four noble truths about the nature of existence through meditation.
Willie Mays once said “In order to excel, you must be completely dedicated to your chosen sport. You must also be prepared to work hard and be willing to accept constructive criticism. Without one-hundred percent dedication, you won't be able to do this” In order to succeed it’s required to put everything on the line to survive in the world of sports. Without devoting to sports there is no correct path to success. Nobody will be on the level of competition. Dedication also comes into play where people will need to be better in other areas. Technique is another must have to be involved with sports. If its not possible to do something right then try over and over until it is. Speed is needed to be able to get place to place or to shoot a swift shot. Working out lower body will help with strength which comes back to dedication. Therefore, everything comes back to each other and helps be better, faster, harder, and stronger.
Zen in the Art of Archery, by Eugen Herrigel describes the ritualistic arts of discipline and focus that the Zen religion focuses around. In this book, Herrigel describes many aspects of how archery is, in fact, not a sport, but an art form, and is very spiritual to those in the east. The process he describes shows how he overcame his initial inhibitions and began to look toward new ways of seeing and understanding. In the beginning of the book Herrigel tells us that he is writing about a ritual and religious practice, “whose aim consists in hitting a spiritual goal, so that fundamentally the marksman aims at himself and may even succeed in hitting himself.” (Herrigel p. 4) Through his studies, the author discovers that within the Zen ritual actions, archery in this case, there lies a deeper meaning. Herrigel explains throughout this book that it is not through the actual physical aspect of shooting arrows at targets that archery is Zen, but through the art and spirituality through which it is performed. It is not merely shooting an arrow to hit a target, but becoming the target yourself and then, in turn, hitting yourself spiritually. By meeting this spiritual goal, you will then meet the physical goal. The struggle then is, therefore not with the arrow or the target but within oneself.
It not only demands physical strength, but a great mindset as well. A great mindset includes qualities such as mental preparedness, concentration, and a positive attitude. These qualities show significantly when a baseball player is playing his best, and without them, he cannot play to his full potential and must change his mindset in order to reach it.
Buddhism is a religion from the East that has spread to many different countries all over the world. It has spread to the West, and has had a great influence and impact, especially in America. However, the Buddhism that is practiced in the United States is not exactly the same as the one that is practiced in Asian countries. If Buddhism differs between the different traditions of the Asian countries themselves, it is obvious that it will differ greatly in America as well. However, even though there are obvious differences, it is important to maintain the core values and fundamental principles the same. This research explores how the three different types of Buddhist practitioners have adopted Buddhism in America, and it describes some differences
During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, Major League Baseball, much like the majority of other American institutions, was racially segregated. A color barrier was implemented during baseball’s infancy in order to separate people of different race to cater to the white American players. The color barrier was an unofficial “rule” that hindered those with dark skin from playing baseball for Major League teams. The color barrier was enforced by preventing any teams with a colored player from competing at the professional level. Many team owners, umpires, and players justified their opposition to allowing blacks to play by declaring that only whites could uphold the "gentlemanly character" of professional baseball. Others argued that excluding blacks would prevent future racial resentment between the ethnicities, as players of different races would be competing for the same job opportunities.
Baseball is a unique sport in many different ways. It is the only major competitive sport that has no time limit. The success of a player is determined on how well he can play as an individual and how well the team plays along with him. There are many rules that determine the success of a player’s performance. A baseball game is played with two teams and each team is permitted 25 players per team; however this is only true for professional teams. There are three parts to baseball: offense, pitching, and defense.
With about 83 players currently to in the MLB, 682 players since 1950, and so far 2 players in the Hall of Fame with much more to get inducted, it’s clear that the Dominican Republic dominates the game of baseball. In the Dominican Republic, baseball is the country’s pastime and official sport. Baseball doesn’t discriminate, regardless of gender, race, and economic status. In my personal view, baseball runs in the blood and embedded in the genetic coding of Dominicans. As a person whose mother and father are Dominican and born and raised in Miami, there seems to be little to nothing that connects me to their culture. Nonetheless, this Miami-born Dominican- American is proud to say that the sport I love the most can connect me to the Dominican
Now, I play baseball whenever in my spare time, which helps me reach my overall goal of playing the sport. It used to be for fun, but now I am trying to go farther than just having fun in the sport. I have had to do many things to get where I am, but I do not want to be finished yet, I want to keep going throughout my life and keep succeeding. “Baseball is a good thing”. Always was, always will be.”
Her spiritual practice up until achieving kensho had been a compilation of different religious traditions in a rather haphazard way to find the Way. She stumbled from tradition to tradition as she never found lasting happiness or peace in any of the traditions that she practiced up until Zen Buddhism. Her miko tradition did not give her peace of mind in the Way, but instead raised more questions about her state of mind, the “gloom” she felt “despite the mysteries, despite the miracles, despite all [her] social service activities” (65), Satomi-san always felt that she was not enlightened, not on the path. This internal questioning had been commonplace for Satomi-san up until she discovered her Zen Buddhism. Zen allowed her to see her experiences from a new viewpoint, a viewpoint that made relative sense of her past, and in turn allowed Satomi-san to align her past and present with her future, allowing her to walk on the Path in a clear concerted manner toward satori, deeper
In Zen living, you do not strive to analyze or explain what happens in your life. You just learn to embrace whatever that may come your way. Life is to be experienced, not just to be enjoyed. Therefore, you do not try to avoid anything in life. Neither do you try to "accept" what is pleasant and "reject" what is unpleasant; the very act of "selecting" is a sickness of the mind. To heal depression with Zen, you must learn to let go - not just of the past (especially a traumatic past experience that might have triggered the depression) but also what you are afraid to let go. Once you mind becomes uncluttered by distorted thoughts, you begin to look at everything in your life in perspective.
As I stepped in the batting box and watched as the pitcher got ready to throw the ball I took a deep breathe as I thought if I would hit the ball. The ball is thrown and coming to me and as I swing my bat and watched the ball coming and closer and closer to the bat I heard a sound from the bat as I hit the ball. I went to a blank space in my head as I saw myself with my personal dream, seeing myself in the future continuing playing baseball showing off one of my talents I have found in myself . That moment and the feeling of discovering my talent and accomplishment arrived in a big rush from all my other teammates on the team cheering.
Khantipalo, Bhikkhu. "The Buddhist Monk's Discipline: Some Points Explained for Laypeople." Access to Insight. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.
Buddhists emphasize having ‘Right Mindfulness’ as a vital part of meditation as well as one of the most important steps in the eight-fold path to enlightenment. Having mindfulness is being completely aware of what happens to us and in us and only focusing on these things. Right mindfulness, defined as “the clear and single-minded awareness of what actually happens to us and in us, at the successive moments of perception,” holds an essential role in the practice of Buddhist meditation (Klostermaier, Buddhism, Pg. 132). This same concept can be beneficial to people that do not even practice Buddhism. Living life in a state of mindfulness promotes relaxation, awareness, efficiency and control. All of these qualities, also known as miracles of mindfulness, are the basis for Buddhist meditation and the goal of developing mindfulness. In a broader sense, these are valuable attributes in many cultures and promote a better life for everyone.
Sometimes, the negativity of past don’t let us to succeed in future. As mentioned by authors (Flood et al., 2015). The outdoor sport Adlerian psychology tested on 429 students has both positive and negative impacts on students. 15 percent of the students who were unable to perform due to some health issues consider them losers throughout their life and those 85% who cleared has quite positive impacts on their lives. Early sports can put an adverse effect on one’s mental thinking and this could completely change one