You can love infinity, eternity, Scotty dogs, sports, work, play, the feelings of being alive, the earth, the sky, the fire, the wind ... there's a lot you can love.
When I play sports, when I dance, when I teach mysticism, I cannot explain, even to myself, how I do what I do.
If you think it makes a difference if I have ten thousand sports cars, ten million girlfriends and lead a very flashy life ... I don't think you should work with any teacher because you don't know what it is all about yet.
I may discuss contemporary cinema, how to shop at a mall without losing energy, how to use the power of mind to increase career and academic success, the Zen of sports, reincarnation, karma, sex, the experience of "suchness" or a new book by Stephen King.
Zen students see themselves as athletes. Their competitive sport is enlightenment; only with enlightenment do we compete.
It is fun to be outside; it's good to move your body and there is just a joy in sports and athletics.
It is a good idea to become involved with sports and athletics. It makes you strong. You need to be strong to deal with this world and the powers and forces that block enlightenment.
Sports and athletics can be a path in Zen, in concordance with daily practice of zazen meditation. You need to move with your spirit, not just with your body.
In the Zen of sports and athletics, we seek to bring discipline and control into our physical movements, but at the same time to eliminate the self that gets in the way of perfect play.
In the West, we think of sports and athletics as individual achievement, the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat; it all revolves around the ego. This has nothing to do with the Zen of sports and athletics.
If you are serious about sports and athletics then you need to begin the discipline of mind. With the power of mind, almost anything can be accomplished.
If you have the sense of participation in sports or athletics, of being a player, then you are not really into the Zen mind. In Zen mind there is no sense of self in the play.
Unlock the power of the will. Learn balance and gain the knowledge and wisdom necessary to guide those powers, to succeed in sports and athletics.
I recommend for everyone the study of some type of sports or athletics, particularly martial arts. Always check with your doctor first, naturally.
All success in sports and athletics, from the Zen point of view, comes from the mind. No matter what kind of shape your body is in, there is disharmony in the being.
If your intent is that athletics and sports are tools or devices to reach higher levels of mind, then your workout sessions become meditation.
