20 Jul 5 ways you can ZEN your way to happiness
Posted at 08:59h
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by Dr Happy
The science of happiness (or Positive Psychology) has borrowed much from Buddhism and Zen principles over the years; and what we’ve gradually found is that the age-old ideas are (mostly) supported by contemporary science.
Accordingly, if you’re interested in finding Zen ways to build more happiness then keep on reading below…
via Observer by Darius Foroux
I love practical advice that you can immediately apply to your life. And Zen, a school of Mahayana Buddhism, is full of practical wisdom.
When I tell my friends, colleagues, and people I work with that I like reading about Zen Buddhism, they often make remarks like: “When are you going to grow your hair, walk around bare feet, and talk about yoga all day?”
That’s the hipster way of life. Not the Zen way.
What is Zen, actually? To be honest, I don’t know. It’s not a religion, belief, or piece of knowledge.
I started reading more about Zen when I learned that legendary basketball coach Phil Jackson is very into Zen and used the concepts to coach Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
Phil Jackson also mentions a Zen quote in his book Eleven Rings (which is about the championship runs of the Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers):
“Before enlightenment chop wood and carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood and carry water.” — Wu Li
My interpretation is that no matter what happens in your life; you must keep doing your task. I live by that philosophy too. You can replace enlightenment with any life goal. Nothing changes once you achieve something. You still have to do what you’re meant to do.
Over the past few years, I’ve read more about Zen and everything that’s related to it. What I’ve found is that it’s not a smart thing to get hung up on definitions, movements, and groups. Buddhism, Taoism, Zen — they share many of the same ideas. I also don’t care what is what and who invented certain ideas. I’ll leave that to the pseudo intellectualists of this world.
All I know is that many of the Zen teachings are very useful for living a peaceful and happy life. So I’ve made a list of 5 Zen lessons I’ve found practical and easily applicable to modern day life. Here we go.
1. Find Your Meditation Technique
The most important part of a Zen monk’s life is meditation. I’ve tried sitting meditation in the past. It’s not for me.
So I’ve turned running and strength training into my meditation. The most important thing about meditation is this: Practice being in the moment.
I’ve found it doesn’t matter what type of activity you use. Sitting meditation, yoga, running, strength training — you can MAKE it work for you. Make sure you’re one with your body, clear your mind, and do it regularly.
One note: Meditation doesn’t work when you try to do six thousand things at the same time. I’ve recently learned to do one thing at a time.
I’ve stopped doing things like listening to audiobooks and podcasts when you’re working on something important, or when you’re exercising.
Ever since I quit that type of multitasking behavior, my workouts have improved drastically. These days, I completely focus on the task at hand: Running, lifting weights, my muscles, the way I breath, etc. I still like to listen to music because that easily moves to the background. You don’t have to focus on it…
…keep reading the full & original article HERE
