Now I have the bravery to do fine things.
I played Mary Joe Fernandez in the semifinals. She was winning the first set. Second set was very close. I started to play this aggressive game. I think I surprised them.
I was feeling a lot of confidence, so I wanted to take advantage of that and keep playing.
I lost more then 6 kilograms when I ceased with the top sport. That were all muscles. They are now gone.
The difficult part was to tell the world that I was finishing.
Sports is like literature. People watch it and if it's beautiful and it's non-violent, whatever messages that you see, people can read into it and say, "Wow! You know what? Whatever they're doing over there, it's extraordinary, and maybe that culture is superior to ours in certain ways."
Suffering is the sole origin of consciousness.
If your intent is that athletics and sports are tools or devices to reach higher levels of mind, then your workout sessions become meditation.
All success in sports and athletics, from the Zen point of view, comes from the mind. No matter what kind of shape your body is in, there is disharmony in the being.
I recommend for everyone the study of some type of sports or athletics, particularly martial arts. Always check with your doctor first, naturally.
Unlock the power of the will. Learn balance and gain the knowledge and wisdom necessary to guide those powers, to succeed in sports and athletics.
If you have the sense of participation in sports or athletics, of being a player, then you are not really into the Zen mind. In Zen mind there is no sense of self in the play.
If you are serious about sports and athletics then you need to begin the discipline of mind. With the power of mind, almost anything can be accomplished.
In the West, we think of sports and athletics as individual achievement, the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat; it all revolves around the ego. This has nothing to do with the Zen of sports and athletics.
In the Zen of sports and athletics, we seek to bring discipline and control into our physical movements, but at the same time to eliminate the self that gets in the way of perfect play.
Sports and athletics can be a path in Zen, in concordance with daily practice of zazen meditation. You need to move with your spirit, not just with your body.
It is a good idea to become involved with sports and athletics. It makes you strong. You need to be strong to deal with this world and the powers and forces that block enlightenment.
It is fun to be outside; it's good to move your body and there is just a joy in sports and athletics.
To its great credit, Wimbledon has been a leader in bringing about change and improvement in the sport.
Sports is the very fiber of all we stand for. It keeps our spirits alive.
It is just called Continuing Legal Education. You can go to lectures, you can even listen to tapes on airplanes - they want you to stay current. So you do have to stay current to maintain your license even if you are not practicing.
I think the secret of my light, quick, foot strike is related to the fact that I have fragile feet.
There's obviously some validity to it. But I think it also points out that you obviously can do it on your own because people have been doing it long before they had the stuff.
I think it is that parents just don't kick their kids out the door as much as they used to. I think the demise of sandlot sports has had a lot to do with it.
I plan to be running as long as I can and have no plans to stop.
