Here is a fun excerpt from my latest book, out in Spring of 2021, THE COMPETITIVE BUDDHA. It will give you some insight into the game within the game and how Phil Jackson designed a championship culture. Book will be published by MANGO PUBLISHERS...I'm terribly excited as this could be my best and perhaps favorite one I've written.
When you read the title of this section, you undoubtedly knew who this was going to be about. So did Rev. Noriaki Ito, head of Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple in Little Tokyo, LA and an avid “hoop-head” from the time he was a little boy.
Indeed, I am referring to the “Zen Master,” one of head coach Phil Jackson’s affectionate nicknames, given to him by sports writers. What sets Phil apart from most sports coaches is his use of mindfulness and Buddhist wisdom to become one of the most innovative coaches in athletics. His competitive Buddhist ways have become his legendary trademark style. According to Ito, coach Jackson is “a truemartial arts master who realizes that the spiritual, mental and physical have to be integrated into one. I notice more of a focus on denying individual egos for the benefit of the team. In Buddhism, suppressing the ego is central to any kind of awakening.” Ito also credits Jackson with helping his athletes explore their inner space in order to know themselves better, their strengths and weaknesses and how important the process of the game is, as well as the outcome. Like all of my Buddha athletes the ultimate mission isn’t so much winning but how well the team competes, connects, cares and loves each other. Such self-awareness is a crucial aspect of Buddhist thought for mastery leadership and spirituality in sports and life.
From my relationship and friendship with Phil, I can say that his spiritual beliefs merge two disciplines. I would say with some confidence that he considers himself to be a Zen Christian, using each school of thought where appropriate. His Christian background is linked to being the son of fundamentalist Christian preachers. He believes in prayer and miracles.
I also know that he has been fond of the teachings of the Buddha and the Chinese Tao. While coaching, Phil would have a habit of handing out books to his athletes to help them address their personal and performance issues. It was always an honor for me when he would distribute some of my books to Michael Jordan, Steve Kerr, Kobe Bryant and others, giving them a broad spiritual perspective on the game and life.
But, as I recall, it was Shunryu Suzuki’s ZEN MIND, BEGINNER’S MIND that was his initial guide to the practice of Zen Buddhism. From there he was able to apply his learning from his heart to the court. His books, SACRED HOOPS and ELEVEN RINGS are emblematic of his growth as a teacher of Buddhist wisdom as applied to the game of basketball. For example, the patented triangle offense is very Buddha-like with its continual fluid, flowing, free patterns of movement. Using the virtue of selflessness, we can notice how with every championship he won as head coach, he managed to galvanize a team of athletes with a natural propensity to be self-absorbed. Loss and gain, for Jackson, were nothing more than life’s cycle of events. He chose what the Buddha called The Middle Path, a more balanced approach to better cope with the suffering of unpredictable outcomes. As a result, he could enjoy the sounds of many hands clapping in victory or learn from the sounds of silence of one hand clapping that accompany a defeat. And finally, compassion, a foundational cornerstone of Buddhist wisdom, was a virtue that Phil believed enabled the Buddha Bulls to sustain high levels of competitive mastery, their compassion for each team member as well as self-compassion.
Phil Jackson has won more championships than any coach in professional sports believing in his unconventional Buddha way, getting his players to trust each other, to connect and care for each other and devote themselves to something bigger than themselves and, perhaps, larger than the game of basketball. This is the competitive Buddha way that awakens mastery, leadership and spirituality within all of us.
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