The relationship between meditation and the martial arts is a
multifaceted one: meditation is one of the practices in which
martial artists engage in order to prepare for combat, while the
physical exercises constituting much of the discipline of the
martial arts might well be considered meditative practices. Michael
Raposa, himself a martial arts practitioner, suggests there is a
sense in which meditation may in turn be considered a form of
combat, citing a variety of spiritual disciplines that are not
strictly classified as "martial arts" yet that employ the heavy use
of martial images and categories as part of their
self-description.
Raposa, in this extraordinary alloy of meditation manual,
historical synthesis, and spiritual guide, provides a fascinating
approach to understanding the connection between martial arts and
spirituality in such diverse disciplines as Japanese aikido,
Chinese tai chi chuan, Hindu yoga, Christian asceticism, Zen
Buddhism, and Islamic jihad.
What happens when spiritual discipline is appropriated for
exercises meant for health or recreation? How might prayer,
meditation, and ritual be understood as martial activities? What is
the nature of conflict, and who is the enemy? These are some of the
questions Raposa raises and responds to in Meditation and the
Martial Arts, his rumination on the martial arts as meditative
practice and meditation as a martial discipline.
Michael L. Raposa, Professor of Religion Studies at Lehigh
University, is the author of Peirce's Philosophy of Religion and
Boredom and the Religious Imagination (Virginia).
Studies in Religion and Culture
General
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