- Jun 28, 2004
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In the last year or so, I have been studying many Buddhist ideas, I am agnostic and am as skeptical about their ideas about reincarnation and a briefpassage through an afterlife as I am about any claims bad in Western religion, mythology or any definitive claims of the supernatural's existence.
What I like about Buddhism is it philosophical insights and its accompanying ideas about how to think about life and how to live in way that maximizes harmonyand happiness and consciousness. I particularly like Zazen because it was a form of Budhism that was popular amongst warrior, especially the Samurai of FeudalJapan, who could not adhere to the ideas of nonviolence and fasting but who still wanted to bring as much of the Buddhist ideals of how to live as was possibleinto their own secular, temporal and often times violent and high stress lives.
Who here has been learning about and/or practicing meditation, Buddhist guidelines of how to live and think about life and it intellectual and philosophicalcritique about life and knowledge and the cosmos. I know that person who studies the temporal and philosophical aspects of Buddhism, especially Zen Buddhism.
BTW, Ican reall ysee why Phil Jackson applies Zazen to basketball. The idea that one should be fully aware of the moment and neither regret the past nor worryabout the future happens to be similar to the approach tah tone generally takes in athletics. Zazen is especially important in basketball because when you areplaying aggressively but under control, you are taking the situation as it comes and when you do various things, especially shoot a jump shot, the myriad ofdetails in the mechanics are critical and you have to be willing to let your instincts, as developed by your training, take over and not let conscious thoughlet you seize up and make you "choke."
What I like about Buddhism is it philosophical insights and its accompanying ideas about how to think about life and how to live in way that maximizes harmonyand happiness and consciousness. I particularly like Zazen because it was a form of Budhism that was popular amongst warrior, especially the Samurai of FeudalJapan, who could not adhere to the ideas of nonviolence and fasting but who still wanted to bring as much of the Buddhist ideals of how to live as was possibleinto their own secular, temporal and often times violent and high stress lives.
Who here has been learning about and/or practicing meditation, Buddhist guidelines of how to live and think about life and it intellectual and philosophicalcritique about life and knowledge and the cosmos. I know that person who studies the temporal and philosophical aspects of Buddhism, especially Zen Buddhism.
BTW, Ican reall ysee why Phil Jackson applies Zazen to basketball. The idea that one should be fully aware of the moment and neither regret the past nor worryabout the future happens to be similar to the approach tah tone generally takes in athletics. Zazen is especially important in basketball because when you areplaying aggressively but under control, you are taking the situation as it comes and when you do various things, especially shoot a jump shot, the myriad ofdetails in the mechanics are critical and you have to be willing to let your instincts, as developed by your training, take over and not let conscious thoughlet you seize up and make you "choke."
