I recall when I began competing in wrestling at a high level;
one of the pre-match rituals my coach was in favor of was lying down on the mat
and focusing a mental image of the match. This would begin with regimented
breathing the clear all our thoughts and then. From beginning to end envision a
match from start to finish. Picture everything, what you are good at, what you
are not good at, and eventually having you win at the conclusion of the fictitious
match. It was a good exercise, except I couldn’t do it!
No matter how hard I tried roaming thoughts would always
creep into my mind when I was thinking about what should be the most important
endeavor I was engaged in. This lack of pure concentration extended not just to
wrestling but all facets of my life.
Within Buddhism, the Noble Eight Fold Path speaks to many
products in our life that we have control over that will help lead us to
enlightenment. I have always felt that I can express the other seven with
success (Right Speech, Right Action, Right Effort etc.) but I have struggled
with Right Concentration, perhaps I am concentrating too much on concentration?
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