Tuesday, July 08, 2003

The spiritual side of the martial arts...

The role of Zen in the martial arts is gaining momentum. While Zen defies easy definition because Zen has no theory, more teachers of the martial arts are including a focus on Zen. Zen is best seen as inner knowing for which there is no clearly stated dogma. The Zen of the martial arts de-emphasizes the power of the intellect and extols that of intuitive action. It's ultimate aim is to free the individual of anger, illusion and false passion.

"In this light, the dojo is a miniature cosmos where we make contact with ourselves, including our fears, anxieties, reactions, and habits. It is an arena of confused conflict where we confront an opponent who is not an opponent but rather a partner engaged in helping us understand ourselves more fully."

What if we did the same in the workplace? Can you imagine the transformation that would occur in how we treat ourselves, our co-workers, customers, suppliers and yes even our competitors.

Source: Zen in the Martial Arts, by Joe Hyams.

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