Tag: Zen-related (Page 4 of 4)

Way Of The Peaceful Warrior

December 26, 2007 /

I was recommended to watch the Peaceful Warrior movie (IMDB) which has a site of its own at The Peaceful Warrior. The plot can be found at Wikipedia.

I decided to instead get the book the movie is based on, “Way Of The Peaceful Warrior”. The author Dan Millman is a former world champion athlete, university coach, martial arts instructor and college professor.

Blending fact and fiction, the story relates an odyssey into realms of light and shadow, romance, and mystery. Guided by an eccentric old warrior named Socrates, drawn to an elusive young woman called Joy, Dan moves toward a final confrontation that will deliver or destroy him.

This classic tale, told with heart and humor, speaks to the peaceful warrior in each of us, moving readers to laughter and tears — even to moments of illumination — as they rediscover life’s larger meaning and purpose. Join Dan on the peaceful warrior’s path. Find out why this book has changed lives.

I picked some quotes from the FAQ-section at Dan’s website that are relevant to my comments:

Life, literature and film overflow with such pairings (a struggling student and mysterious mentor): Arthur had Merlin, Frodo had Gandalf; Mitch had Morrie; Luke Skywalker had Obi Wan Kenobi and Yoda. And I had my Socrates.

According to an old proverb, “Art is a lie that helps us see the truth.”

The student – mentor setup is great, the focus is on the life of Dan the student with Socrates the mentor there to help in the spiritual process. I like the book for its spiritual teachings, they are similar to what I have learned from my mentors. But I would have preferred less fiction, sometimes Socrates gets ‘superhero’ abilities and that is strange to me. Still, the book is well worth reading and gave me some new insights.

I have picked some quotes from the book, pieces that stuck with me.

  • Everything you’ll ever need to know is within you.
  • You do not see your prison because its bars are invisible.
  • To rid yourself of old patterns, focus all your energy not on struggling with the old but on building the new.
  • Once you make your choice, do it with all your spirit.
  • Responsibility means recognizing both pleasure and price, action and consequence, then making a choice.
  • You are rich if you have enough money to satisfy all your desires. (Get more money or simplify life.)
  • It does not matter what you do, only how well you do it.

This was originally posted at another (now extinct) blog of mine.

Zen and the Art of Harmonica

February 6, 2007 /

While surfing around for harmonica information I came across David Harp and an article at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. The article is titled Zen and the Art of Harmonica which sounds really interesting to me. This means I can combine my new harmonica with my interest in meditation and mindfulness.

The article starts like this:

Some people might consider the harmonica an unlikely vehicle with which to explore and transcend that mysterious and often mutinous entity known as the human mind. But as we’ll see in this article, the unique qualities of the harmonica are particularly well-suited to those in pursuit of a healthy, integrated approach to life. From its direct relationship with the breath to the fact that you can’t play a wrong note, the harmonica offers a pocket-sized key to meditation and mindfulness.

This was originally posted at another (now extinct) blog of mine.

The Buddhist Hotdog Vendor

January 26, 2007 /

A Buddhist approaches a hotdog vendor and says: “Make me one with everything.”

He gives the vendor a $20 bill and waits. Finally he says: “Where’s my change?”

Says the vendor: “All change must come from within.”

Poker and Zen

August 1, 2006 /

Howard Lederer wrote an article about poker and Zen.
There are four basic stages that a player must pass through to achieve poker mastery:
1. Beginner’s Passion
2. The Student Emerges
3. Expert Level is Achieved
4. Poker, One Hand at a Time

This was originally posted at another (now extinct) blog of mine.

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