The Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei

Author: John Stevens
Publisher: Echo Point Books & Media, LLC
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 240

The Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei

Author: John Stevens
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781626541498
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 168

Book Description
The greatest athletes in the world today are not the Olympic champions or the stars of professional sports, but the "marathon monks" of Japan's sacred Mount Hiei. Over a seven-year training period, these "running buddhas" figuratively circle the globe on foot. During one incredible 100-day stretch, they cover 52.5 miles daily-twice the length of an Olympic marathon. And the prize they seek to capture is the greatest thing a human being can achieve: enlightenment in the here and now. This book is about these amazing men, the magic mountain on which they train, and the philosophy of Tendai Buddhism, which inspires them in their quest for the supreme. The reader will learn about the monks' death-defying fasts, their vegetarian training diet, their handmade straw running shoes, and feats of endurance such as their ceremonial leap into a waterfall. Illustrated with superb photographs, the book also contains the first full-length study in English of Mount Hiei and Tendai Buddhism. John Stevens lived in Japan for thirty-five years, where he was a professor of Buddhist studies at Tohoku Fukushi University in Sendai. Stevens is a widely respected translator, an ordained Buddhist priest, a curator of several major exhibitions of Zen art, and an aikido instructor. He has authored more than thirty books and is one of the foremost Western experts on aikido, holding a ranking of 7th dan Aikikai. Stevens has also studied calligraphy for decades, authoring the classic "Sacred Calligraphy" of the East. Other John Stevens titles that are likely to be of interest include" Extraordinary Zen Masters," and "The Philosophy of Aikido."

Running with the Mind of Meditation

Author: Sakyong Mipham
Publisher: Harmony
ISBN: 0307888177
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 210

Book Description
A unique fitness program from a highly respected spiritual leader that blends physical and spiritual practice for everyone - regardless of age, spiritual background, or ability - to great benefits for both body and soul. As a Tibetan lama and leader of Shambhala (an international community of 165 meditation centers), Sakyong Mipham has found physical activity to be essential for spiritual well-being. He's been trained in horsemanship and martial arts but has a special love for running. Here he incorporates his spiritual practice with running, presenting basic meditation instruction and fundamental principles he has developed. Even though both activities can be complicated, the lessons here are simple and designed to show how the melding of internal practice with physical movement can be used by anyone - regardless of age, spiritual background, or ability - to benefit body and soul.

Eat and Run

Author: Scott Jurek
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1408833409
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 274

Book Description
An inspirational memoir by Scott Jurek, one of the finest ultrarunners in the world.

The Art of Zen

Author: Stephen Addiss
Publisher: Echo Point Books & Media
ISBN: 9781635610741
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 226

Book Description
Professor Stephen Addiss explores visual expressions of Zen enlightenment, or Zenga, as created by Japanese monk-artists from 1600 to 1925. Illustrated with over 100 calligraphies and paintings, along with accompanying informative text, Dr. Addiss allows for a deep appreciation of this meditative, spiritual, and inspirational art form.

Ascetic Practices in Japanese Religion

Author: Tullio Federico Lobetti
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134472803
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 201

Book Description
Ascetic practices are a common feature of religion in Japan, practiced by different religious traditions. This book looks at these ascetic practices in an inter-sectarian and inter-doctrinal fashion, in order to highlight the underlying themes common to all forms of asceticism. It does so by employing a multidisciplinary methodology, which integrates participant fieldwork – the author himself engaged extensively in ascetic practices – with a hermeneutical interpretation of the body as the primary locus of transmission of the ascetic ‘embodied tradition’. By unlocking this ‘bodily data’, the book unveils the human body as the main tool and text of ascetic practice. This book includes discussion of the many extraordinary rituals practiced by Japanese ascetics.

The Way of the Runner

Author: Adharanand Finn
Publisher: Faber & Faber
ISBN: 0571303188
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 271

Book Description
Welcome to Japan, the most running-obsessed nation on earth, where: a long-distance relay race is the country's biggest annual sporting event; companies sponsor their own running teams, paying the athletes like employees; and marathon monks run a thousand marathons in a thousand days to reach spiritual enlightenment. Adharanand Finn - award-winning author of Running with the Kenyans - moved to Japan to discover more about this unique running culture and what it might teach us about the sport and about Japan. As an amateur runner about to turn forty, he also hoped find out whether the Japanese approach to training might help him keep improving. What he learned - about competition, about team work, about beating your personal bests, about form and about himself - will fascinate anyone who is keen to explore why we run, and how we might do it better.

Marathon Man

Author: Bill Rodgers
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1250021154
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Book Description
The legendary long-distance runner details his historic victory in the 1975 Boston Marathon that launched the modern running boom Within a span of two hours and nine minutes, Bill Rodgers went from obscurity to legend, from Bill Rodgers to "Boston Billy." In doing so, he instantly became the people's champ and the poster boy for the soulful 1970s distance runner. Having won the Boston Marathon and New York Marathon four times each, he remains the only marathoner to have appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated twice. Winning the Holy Grail of marathons in an unthinkable record time changed Bill's life forever. But his dramatic breakthrough in Boston also changed the lives of countless others, instilling in other American runners the belief that they could follow in his footsteps, and inspiring thousands of regular people to lace up their shoes and chase down their own dreams. In the year before Rodger's victory at the 1975 Boston Marathon, 20,000 people had completed a marathon in the United States. By 2009, participants reached nearly half a million. Thirty-seven years later Bill Rodgers still possesses the same warm, endearing, and whimsical spirit that turned him into one of America's most beloved athletes. In Marathon Man he details for the first time this historic race and the events that led him there.

Bubishi

Author:
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
ISBN: 1462918530
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 321

Book Description
Treasured for centuries by karate's top masters, the Bubishi is a classic Chinese work on philosophy, strategy, medicine, and technique as they relate to the martial arts. Referred to as the "bible of karate" by famous master Chojun Miyagi, for hundreds of years the Bubishiwas a secret text passed from master to student in China and later in Okinawa. All of karate's legendary masters have studied it, applied its teachings, or copied passages from it. No other classic work has had as dramatic an impact on the shaping and development of karate as the Bubishi. Karate historian and authority Patrick McCarthy spent over ten years researching and studying the Bubishi and the arts associated with it. The first English translation of this remarkable martial arts manual includes numerous explanations and notes. McCarthy's work also includes groundbreaking research on Okinawan and Chinese history, as well as the fighting and healing traditions that developed in those countries, making it a gold mine for researchers and practitioners alike. For the final word on the true origins and spirit of classic Okinawan martial arts, one need look no further. This karate book is one of the best karate training supplements available.

IronFit Strength Training and Nutrition for Endurance Athletes

Author: Don Fink
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 0762791748
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 291

Book Description
Fully illustrated with depictions of proper exercise technique, this book contains exciting strength training programs based on sport (e.g., triathlon, running, cycling, swimming) and levels from beginner to advanced. For the marathon runner, triathlete, duathlete, distance swimmer, or cyclist, these programs will complement any other training regimen an athlete follows. Written without confusing jargon, IronFit® Stregth Training… provides concise and easy-to-follow information. Don and Melanie Fink of IronFit® have coached hundreds of athletes over several decades at all levels, from weekend warriors to world champions. Their innovative approaches to strength training and nutrition not only complement an athlete’s sport-specific training, but they do so in the most time-efficient and enjoyable way possible. Multi-sport and multi-leveled, this book provides 27 specific program schedules – 9 sports and 3 levels each to give readers: 1) A progressive strength and core training program for their specific sport and level. 2) A mind and body preparation program to maximize benefits. 3) A traveling strength and core program for travel with little or no equipment. 4) A fueling and hydration routine to maximize performance before, during, and after competition. 5) A healthy eating and lifestyle plan.