I doubt whether King Lear ever met Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, which is unfortunate for the venerable king.
It would perhaps have done Lear some good to have learned meditation, and some running, from Sakyong Mipham — the Boulder-based author, marathoner and head of the Shambhala Buddhist lineage — or from one of the many other meditation instructors in the area.
Lear, of course, is one of William Shakespeare’s greatest creations, the paradigm of the once-all-powerful man — today, he would be head of an Internet start-up or giant computer company — ready to enter retirement. Lear decides to divide up his estate, with disastrous results. (…)
Not knowing his three daughters, and knowing himself even less, Lear ends up destitute, naked, with only the fool for a companion, crying out into the wild, storm-tossed night, “Who is it who can tell me who I am?”
Well, it is Lear himself, I thought last month while on a Sunday long run along the Mesa Trail with a group that included meditation instructors Jon Pratt and Marty Kibiloski. Both are accomplished marathoners (2:40 for Pratt, 2:23 for Kibiloski), but what makes a two-hour run with these guys pass quickly are the insightful conversations we have.
I first became interested in the relationship between meditation and running in 2006 when Sakyong put on the first “Running with the Mind of Meditation” weekend at the Shambhala Mountain Center near Red Feather Lakes. Pratt was an instructor there and is directing the annual retreat this Labor Day weekend, along with local yoga instructor Tarah Cech. Kibiloski and another local runner/meditator, Bob Sutherland, will be assisting.
While climbing the steep hill up the Shannahan Ridge Trail south of town on this run, Kibiloski posed a couple of “koans,” which are puzzles designed to make us think by “turning our world upside down,” so to speak.
“What did your face look like before your parents were born?” Kibiloski asked. “It is meant to not make sense at first blush. By looking inward with the koan in mind, you discover the answer.”
The koan that reminded me of Lear is one often taught in Zen Buddhism, which asks, “Who am I?”
It turns out that running and meditation are both tools that can help us answer that question as we run along our life’s trail. Meditation is a way to clear our minds, to calm the muddy waters, as it is sometimes put. And running with a meditative mind can lead us to be more “present,” Pratt explains. “It can bring benefits into our life.”
Meditation indeed brought some benefits into Pratt’s life, as he slowly discovered who he is, after a series of ups and downs. In the years before beginning a meditation practice, he would daydream on runs, or use the time to plan out his day. It was “not unpleasant, but there wasn’t much joy in them,” he said. “Once I learned to apply meditative techniques to my runs, I let go of those mental activities and was able to be present for my runs.”
“Now when I run, I just run. I experience my body in motion and the environment around me. The experience is a very simple and fresh one, rather like the feelings I had as a 5-year-old running around in my backyard.”
I have seen meditation’s concrete benefits in some of my fellow runners. One is Boulder Road Runner Jim Martin, a former University of Colorado regent and real estate attorney who has, he admits, what is called “a monkey mind”. Those who know Martin know he is quite busy and can see that he is much calmer after meditation.
“It gives me a way to focus,” said Martin, a 2:34 marathoner who began meditating while recovering from a bicycle accident.
For those of you new to meditation, Pratt said that before your next run, sit quietly for a few minutes. Then, recall an especially joyful experience you had while running; one in which you were relaxed and also in tune with the natural power and grace of your body.
“As you do this, focus on the sensations in your body. Then let go of the memory and sit quietly for another minute. Then go for your run.”
We runners, it seems, are often running toward something: the next race; the next training session; a personal best. Or perhaps away from something we might not even realize. We don’t allow ourselves to just “sit quietly for a minute.”
Running with the mind of meditation can be a way to help us delve deeper into ourselves and to begin answering Lear’s plaintive cry. It is too late for Lear and his favorite daughter, but not for us.
Source: Colorado Daily
