"But mindfulness,
bhikkhus (monks),
I say is always useful."
~ BUDDHA (Samyutta Nikaya V, 46, 53)
Kim Jang-Mi says:
Buddhist mindfulness training
won her an Olympic Gold 2012
An Article News from www.examiner.com
Last week Sky Sports reported that South Korean teenager Kim Jang-Mi beat reigning Olympic champion Chen Ying of China with her final round to win a gold medal in the women's 25m air pistol. The 19-year-old set an Olympic record in qualifying. Then in the final, she shined with a five-shot final round of 51.8, including a perfect bullseye of 10.9, to beat Chen from Beijing.
On August 7, 2012 Emi Hailey Hayakawa reported for The Buddhist Channel "Kim Jang-Mi credits Buddhist mindfulness training for Olympic gold." It is said in Buddhism that athletic activities pull you into a natural state of mindfulness. When you engage in sports with your full attention it becomes a form of meditation.
Buddhists who participate in the Zen Way of Shooting Sport generally prefer the pistol / handgun target shooting events and competitions because the barrel lengths are shorter. Therefore there is typically a greater emphasis on body control, for which meditation serves as a great aid for better performances. And so Buddhists who participate in shooting sports generally prefer the pistol events.
After winning the gold medal Kim commented to Reuters "The men are really good but the last time the women won a gold was 20 years ago so before I came to London I wanted to show that the Korean men and women were equally competitive." Buddhist mindfulness training helped Kim make her point as a gold medal winner in the Olympics.
"Mindfulness meditation is a great foundation to develop insight as well as developing skills to improve your meditation practice. Its really a "Jack of all trades" meditation as it explores all aspects of the mind and body and can be used to develop deeper concentration and has a lot of hidden benefits on the side such as being a helpful anchor to prevent the mind getting lost in thoughts and feelings and skills to improve life quality. Here's a basic way to start and how to develop it." ~ WIKIHOW
"I'll use the term 'mindfulness' to refer to keeping one's consciousness alive to the present reality (11) . . . keep your attention focused on the work, be alert and ready to handle ably and intelligently any situation which may arise-this is mindfulness. There is no reason why mindfulness should be different from focusing all one's attention on one's work, to be alert and to be using one's best judgment. . . . Mindfulness is the miracle by which we master and restore ourselves . . . it is the miracle which can call back in a flash our dispersed mind and restore it to wholeness so that we can live each minute of life. . . Thus mindfulness is at the same time a means and an end, the seed and the fruit. . . . mindfulness itself is the life of awareness . . . Mindfulness enables us to live" ~ Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness
