Phil Jackson And Buddhism Essay example -- essays research papers fc

Buddhism is a major Asian religion studied and practiced in countries such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Although Buddhism is a growing religion throughout the world, in particular, the practice of meditation is spreading in the West. The United States has a center for Buddhists in Hawaii and New York and also a Buddhist community has been established in California. (Hewitt, 13-14) But even closer to home for most is the practicing of Zen Buddhism on the basketball court by former Chicago Bulls and present Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson. In this essay I will discuss how Jackson has incorporated some of the practices of Zen Buddhism into his and the players of his teams lives and how it has been effective for the game and the lives of those involved. I will also touch on his use of combined Zen and Christianity along with his extended interest in the Lakota Sioux. â€Å"The Chicago Bulls’ Buddha-like guru Phil Jackson inks the richest coaching deal in N.B.A. history ($6 million for one last season [with the Bulls])† (Notebook, 11). There may be some sound reasoning behind this. Michael Jordan was quoted on how some team members are starting to use Jackson’s religion to help them win, â€Å"It’s that Zen Buddhism stuff. We’re practicing smiling when we may be frustrated inside so we can relieve some tension. It’s an art form† (Quotables, 1). Jackson speaks in depth to his team about ejecting selfishness and egotism (Eckman, 3). â€Å"He describes Jordan in the late 80’s as a player who tried to beat the other team by himself† (Zen Teamwork). He not only helped lead Jordan to play like a star but led the Bulls to be a winning team. He and several of his former players believe that this is partially due to what they practiced in the years Jackson was coach. Not only did they study bas ketball, as writer Frank Deford for Sports Illustrated noted in a cover story on Jackson, they took part in â€Å"group meditations and pregame ‘nap time’† (84). Not to mention poetry and assigned books (83). These things may sound odd but as one of the beliefs of Zen says, â€Å"Don’t get caught up in only one way of doing things; and don’t look at things from just one point of view. If you try another way, or change your point of view, the results will always be different† (Chung, 99). Jackson definitely looks at and coaches basketball from a different point of view then most coach... .... As an attention getter to his team before a big game when they are wondering if the meditating and poetry will pay off or if they are just wasting their time, Jackson reminds them of his awareness by saying, â€Å"It’s like you’re going along at 65 miles an hour, listening to your hip-hop music, and your cell phone is ringing, and you’re eating a Big Mac, and you spill ketchup on your shirt. You look down. And when you look back up: right ahead of you, it’s all red lights. There’s just too much going on in your lives† (Deford, 84) Works Cited Chung, Tsai Chih. Wisdom of the Zen Masters. New York: Doubleday, 1998. Deford, Frank. â€Å"Father Phil.† Sports Illustrated 1 Nov. 1999: 82-91 Eckman, Dr. Jim. â€Å"Issues in Perspective.† 2 April 2000. Grace University: â€Å"Zen and the Art of Teamwork.† Fortune 25 Dec 1995 Hewitt, Catherine. Buddhism. New York: Thomson Learning, 1995. Jackson, Phil, and Hugh Delehanty. Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior. New York: Phil Jackson, 1995. â€Å"Notebook.† Time 4 Aug. 1997: 11 â€Å"Quotables.† Home page. 26 April 2000.