Legendary NBA Coach Phil Jackson: The Zen Master – interview on Super-soul-sunday
Oprah goes one-on-one with NBA championship coach and best-selling author Phil Jackson to discuss his latest memoir, Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. Phil opens up about his own spiritual awakening, "Zen" coaching style and legendary career.
Transcript of the conversation:
( excuse the errors due to realtime writing) to be edited later...)
"Phil Jackson – the world’s best basketball coach. He is called the Zen Master. He got a scholarship in basketball where he
started to experiment in different philosophies. He promoted players to play for something greater
than themselves.
His memoire is one of the New York best sellers. "The eleven Rings". It’s about leadership, entrepreneurship and
spirituality.
He grew up in a strict religious family. He wants to encourage people t build their confidence
from inside out i.e. their intuition rather than follow jobs, leadership etc by identify what they are brought
up and let it come out of you to be authentic and take courage.
He was brought up Pentecostal. His parents were both religious. They believed in the Holy Ghost. Most rock and roll music came from Pentecostal
church. His parents were strict and his
sisters could not wear lipsticks. Etc.
Sundays he wore suits.
He was bullied in school.
In the 60’s things started changed and basketball was his freedom. His parents wanted him to speak tongues. Where he had t seek and pray for long to
search your soul. To be open to the spirit. He kept
asking if he was pure enough t accept it.
He didn’t believe fully. His mum
went to his bed and sang to him but they could not dance as it was a sexual
awakening. It was not condoned, as was
seen that it could lead to other things.
When he grew he started to question everything
In college studied evolution and was opposed to his believes
and it was upsetting as what he believed in and had memorized scriptures in catechism. He changed major to psychology and religion
which were great classes. He starting the
He was a student t religion and opened ways to see a broader life. Hs
parents were opposed to Buddhism.
As his spirtuality evolved, he could see the spirituality in
basketball. Getting in the high
level. Incorporating other things, connecting
people spirits about incorporating other people in your things and heightens their
nature. It's not about religion.
In 11 rings he speaks about the spiritual nature of the
game. Most people don’t thing of the spiritual
nature of basketball. It is about
ability to incorporate other beings in your system. Some coaches are bound in winning others in
being seen on TV. What is amazing is when
young people work together and focus their whole self in the game, thinking of something
higher than themselves, that is the spirituality of the game.
What did he see when he got in contact with Chicago bulls? He saw a team searching for identify the magic
of Michael Jordan and wanting to be part of his life. What everyone thought was fun and exciting. He was given the head coach to organise the
players.
If a team has no love nothing else matters. It’s the most important ingredient. They were following something they didn’t know
what it was. They had to sacrifice bond
together and get cohesive. What you do
to yourself in gesture of kindness, gentleness, honesty and love towards
yourself you do to others. This was the
key thing in their game. “NO MAN IS AN
ISLAND” what you do comes back to you.
He asked Michael to stop being the scoring leaders as they
don’t win championships. I told Michael
he wanted to be the scoring leader. Michael
accepted the role as a great leader has to let other take over the leadership role. He was to manufacture Michael.
He knew he had to create a team. He approached it with Zen i.e. With mindfulness. You have to build a mental strength as well to
be able to come up. To focus and come up to one point of attention to be in
contact with one another in times of challenge.
As a mental strength e.g. take a
breath and rest yourself, recollect yourself through mindfulness when n
need. They practiced mindfulness. He trained his team to stay in stillness and
meditate. They held their hands shoulders up, upright not slouching. They introduced meditation in training camps
and wanted them to have a silence day. That that mastering the game from the inside.
They tried yoga etc but didn’t work. At Lakers they were also receptive to his
ideas. He put sprit into the game. He impacted it into the players and they got
it that some practiced in their lives.
There is a salary grip and everyone is trying to reach
it. There is pressure to exert in the
game. They have to forget all about
these (family, contract, and future, what happens next in life, unguaranteed) and
have to be in the moment of the game.
They are in anxiety most of the time if they would be humiliated in the
game. As he started as a player he was
able to empathize with the reality of the players. They feared humiliation. He himself was humiliated
with staying out of the game for a year.
This helped him to be able to relate with how the others were feeling and
going thru. Tell a story of your biggest
failure that turned to your asset. Sidelined,
and team going on and he sitting out helped him to have better understanding of
being a player and a good relationship with the coach and helped him to respond
the way he did today in his career.
Are compassion and competition in conflict?
Zen is a school of Buddhism that teaches mindfulness,
awareness and selflessness and quietness.
It can teach you to three key things:
Anyone can approach life with clarity, focus and calm.
Giving up control
Trusting in the moment and
Living with compassion
Eastern tradition – Meditation you begin your day in a quiet mind and in peace.
Three aspect of it above:
Giving up control –
He maintained control by giving up
control. Sit back and absorb.
When you try to control our mind, personalities is like trying
to control a sheep or cow in pasture it breaks thru the fences. Allow space to settle. Meditate instead. And focus and let it
go. You let it go through passing thru
the 2nd cloud in the sky cloud and let it pass out through your
mind. If you sit back and allow what is happened
happen now it is happening, it has happened, even misbehavior from kids and as
a couch. The energy source is there
feeding into. Sit back and use the mediation
and sit in the bench.
Trusting in the moment
We sit in traffic, don’t feel like your life will be
destroyed, stay still and enjoy the moment.
N tense moment in the game they go into the inner space of stillness.
Living in compassion
Love in Christianity. Compassion is the same in bud. It is the inner feeling of empathy, gong together
that we are together and wanting to be ones best and caring about the best in the
others best and hence brings out the best in others if you want the best in
yourself you want the best in others. Don’t
have to go to hate or destroy this guy Instead of thinking of trying to destroy
this guy that ultimately doesn’t work.
Who is God? – What is his definition of God?
"I am who I am"
As a child he went through worshipping and knew there was something
bigger than himself.
Spirituality and religion the difference is the doctrine
which is the teaching and spirituality is living in it.
Meditation is his prayer.
Favorite quote of affirmation: sustain my body mind and
soul. Always thankful as I receive.
Where are you at peace most?
What does he know for sure?
That we will die and are all waiting that and everyone is trying to do
their best.
Watch below the full episode while available for one week: