- “Shunryu Suzuki’s classic, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. Suzuki, a Japanese teacher who played a key role in bringing Zen Buddhism to the West, talked about learning to approach each moment with a curious mind that is free of judgment. “If your mind is empty,” he writes, “it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything. In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind there are few.” Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty. Kindle Loc. 577-78
- “Zen teacher Steve Hagen writes, “Buddhism is about seeing. It’s about knowing rather than believing or hoping or wishing. It’s also about not being afraid to examine anything and everything, including your own personal agendas.” Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty. Kindle Loc 722-23
- “Shunryu Suzuki’s instructions on how to meditate are simple: Sit with your spine straight, your shoulders relaxed, and your chin pulled in, “as if you were supporting the sky with your head.” Follow your breath with your mind as it moves in and out like a swinging door. Don’t try to stop your thinking. If a thought arises, let it come, then let it go and return to watching your breath. The idea is not to try to control your mind but to let thoughts rise and fall naturally over and over again. After some practice, the thoughts will start to float by like passing clouds, and their power to dominate consciousness will diminish.” Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty. Kindle Loc. 723-29
- “Think lightly of yourself and think deeply of the world. MIYAMOTO MUSASHI” Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty. Kindle Loc. 1071-72
- “In his book, The Farther Reaches of Human Nature, Maslow describes the key steps to attaining self-actualization: experiencing life “vividly, selflessly, with full concentration and total absorption”; making choices from moment to moment that foster growth rather than fear; becoming more attuned to your inner nature and acting in concert with who you are; being honest with yourself and taking responsibility for what you say and do instead of playing games or posing; identifying your ego defenses and finding the courage to give them up; developing the ability to determine your own destiny and daring to be different and non-conformist; creating an ongoing process for reaching your potential and doing the work needed to realize your vision. fostering the conditions for having peak experiences, or what Maslow calls “moments of ecstasy” in which we think, act, and feel more clearly and are more loving and accepting of others.” Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty. Page 124
- “Because most of us—basketball players included—spend so much time bouncing back and forth between thoughts of the past and the future that we lose touch with what’s happening right here, right now. And that prevents us from appreciating the deep mystery of being alive. As Kabat-Zinn writes in Wherever You Go, There You Are, “The habit of ignoring our present moments in favor of others yet to come leads directly to a pervasive lack of awareness of the web of life in which we are embedded.” Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty. Page 137
- “Everything changes.” Those words, Suzuki said, contain the basic truth of existence: Everything is always in flux. Until you accept this, you won’t be able to find true equanimity. But to do that means accepting life as it is, not just what you consider the “good parts.” “That things change is the reason why you suffer in this world and become discouraged,” Suzuki-roshi writes in Not Always So: Practicing the True Spirit of Zen. “[But] when you change your understanding and your way of living, then you can completely enjoy your new life in each moment. The evanescence of things is the reason you enjoy your life.” Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty. Page 168
- “There’s a Zen saying I often cite that goes, “Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.” The point: Stay focused on the task at hand rather than dwelling on the past or worrying about the future.” Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty. Page 173
- “Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself. ZEN PROVERB” Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty. Page 231
- “In her book The Zen Leader, Ginny Whitelaw describes how joy arises when people are bound together by a strong sense of connectedness. “This joy may be more subtle than the ‘jump for joy’ variety,” she writes. “It may feel like full engagement in what we do, and a quiet satisfaction arising. It may feel like energy that keeps renewing itself, much as pumping a swing seemingly gives us more energy than it takes.” Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty. Page 244
- “Zen teacher Jakusho Kwong suggests becoming “an active participant in the loss.” We’re conditioned to seek only gain, to be happy, and to try to satisfy all our desires, he explains. But even though we may understand on some level that loss is a catalyst for growth, most people still believe it to be the opposite of gain and to be avoided at all costs. If I’ve learned anything in my years of practicing Zen and coaching basketball, it’s that what we resist persists. Sometimes the letting go happens quickly; other times it may take several sleepless nights. Or weeks.” Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success (Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty) Page 333