Buddhist Boot Camp
"It is a serenity born of concentration and pain--torture meets bliss."
- Taken from Yoga Bums by Rebecca Mead
In Zen Buddhism there is a ritual called tangariro. In the words of Gil Fronsdahl, “it sort of resembles a hazing.” In the Zen tradition, only the most serious and dedicated practitioners are wanted in the monastery. In order to be accepted in the monastic community, a practitioner must first prove how dedicated they are to their practice, and tangariro is proverbial gauntlet.
The ritual begins with the practitioner being given a robe that they wear for the duration of the process. The practitioner does not know how this process will last, but traditionally tangariro lasts 7 to 14 days. So, you put on your robe, you are escorted into a room, where you sit in meditation, facing the wall in full lotus position. From 4 in the morning until 9 at night, the practitioner sits in meditation without moving for three to four hours at a time. Their meals are brought to them, and they are provided 30 minutes to take care of personal needs after meals. On top of it, every few hours or so a monk will walk into the room with a stick and whack a random practitioner.
Now usually when I think of Zen Buddhism, I think of monks walking through pristine gardens with cherry blossoms floating in a soft breeze. The practice of tangariro seems to be the very antithesis of this image, but the more that I think about tangariro, the more it makes sense.
The whole purpose of Buddhism is to eliminate suffering from one’s life. If a person’s serious about this they are going to have to go through some potentially uncomfortable and unpleasant experiences in order to develop enough concentration and awareness to be present irregardless of the circumstances. From my perspective, being in the moment when you are in a great deal of pain is the ultimate acid test.
This point was hammered home this weekend. I met with my swim coach, went over some goals we agreed upon, then reviewed the workout for the day. The interval on the set was pretty generous, but the distance was double the amount that I was used to. I voiced my opinion that the length of the set would contribute to much more pain than I prepared for, and that my stroke would fall apart at the seams. He looked me dead in the eye and said, “That’s the whole point of this workout: to force you to hold your stroke together when you are in pain.”
Those words changed my perspective. I did the workout, fell apart at the seams, but realized that the real dance of any medium is to be able to handle the most challenging tasks with focus and presence.
Namaste
- Taken from Yoga Bums by Rebecca Mead
In Zen Buddhism there is a ritual called tangariro. In the words of Gil Fronsdahl, “it sort of resembles a hazing.” In the Zen tradition, only the most serious and dedicated practitioners are wanted in the monastery. In order to be accepted in the monastic community, a practitioner must first prove how dedicated they are to their practice, and tangariro is proverbial gauntlet.
The ritual begins with the practitioner being given a robe that they wear for the duration of the process. The practitioner does not know how this process will last, but traditionally tangariro lasts 7 to 14 days. So, you put on your robe, you are escorted into a room, where you sit in meditation, facing the wall in full lotus position. From 4 in the morning until 9 at night, the practitioner sits in meditation without moving for three to four hours at a time. Their meals are brought to them, and they are provided 30 minutes to take care of personal needs after meals. On top of it, every few hours or so a monk will walk into the room with a stick and whack a random practitioner.
Now usually when I think of Zen Buddhism, I think of monks walking through pristine gardens with cherry blossoms floating in a soft breeze. The practice of tangariro seems to be the very antithesis of this image, but the more that I think about tangariro, the more it makes sense.
The whole purpose of Buddhism is to eliminate suffering from one’s life. If a person’s serious about this they are going to have to go through some potentially uncomfortable and unpleasant experiences in order to develop enough concentration and awareness to be present irregardless of the circumstances. From my perspective, being in the moment when you are in a great deal of pain is the ultimate acid test.
This point was hammered home this weekend. I met with my swim coach, went over some goals we agreed upon, then reviewed the workout for the day. The interval on the set was pretty generous, but the distance was double the amount that I was used to. I voiced my opinion that the length of the set would contribute to much more pain than I prepared for, and that my stroke would fall apart at the seams. He looked me dead in the eye and said, “That’s the whole point of this workout: to force you to hold your stroke together when you are in pain.”
Those words changed my perspective. I did the workout, fell apart at the seams, but realized that the real dance of any medium is to be able to handle the most challenging tasks with focus and presence.
Namaste
posted by Zen_Accountant at 3:55 PM
2 Comments:
Don't you just love "voicing your opinion" about a workout to the coach that just gave it to you? Talk about an exercise in humility and futility.
Again I agree with you. If your goal is to excel in your craft you have to be able to push your boundaries and still perform. For most endeavors, reaching the upper tiers of achievement require pain, sacrifice, and great performance while in pain and sacrificing.
That's why most of us (myself included) stick to mediocre. So much easier.
MAD
Focus and presence--something to
strive for. I've observed that
individuals who are at the upper tiers in their professional lives are able to stay motivated year after year. They put in extra thought, planning, and hours. Even after they've reached financial independence.
This does not necessarily result in
balance. Where happens to family, prayer,and play? Maybe that's an idea for another page?
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