Golf, Zen

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Zen Buddhism,
Sport Psychology and Golf
Simon Jenkins
Carnegie Faculty of Sport and Education
Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds, LS6 3QS, UK
E-mail: S.P.Jenkins@Leedsmet.ac.uk
ABSTRACT
Sport psychology has been influenced by Zen Buddhism as can be
seen by the way in which ideas from Zen were used by Timothy
Gallwey in his popular Inner Game series. The root of this Zen
influence is Eugen Herrigel’s Zen in the Art of Archery. Herrigel was
influenced by D.T. Suzuki, who popularised Zen Buddhism in the
West. Zen has generally been adopted in an instrumental manner by
sport psychology and is stripped of its metaphysical context. Drawing
on Zen and other Eastern disciplines such as Yoga, however, Michael
Murphy’s Golf in the Kingdom has spurned a large following. Jeff
Wallach’s Beyond the Fairway is noteworthy in its use of Zen not only
for performance enhancement, but also for matters of life meaning
such as the father-son relationship.
INTRODUCTION
The main purpose of this article is to stimulate commentaries from practitioners in the
psychology of golf as to how they have been influenced (or not) by Zen. The article
has two parts. The first part of the article provides a background to Zen Buddhism
from the perspective of Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki (1870-1966) and from a study of his
key works [1-9] using also general reference material in philosophy culminating in a
section on Zen and Swordsmanship. This provides a link to the second part of the
article that discusses the use of ideas from Zen in a popular book on mental training
in sport by Terry Orlick [10], Timothy Gallwey’s Inner Game series [11, 12], and
Michael Murphy’s Golf in the Kingdom [13]. A section follows that discusses
Gallwey’s views on competition and the academic sport psychology literature on goal
orientation. Finally, attention is given to Jeff Wallach’s Beyond the Fairway [14],
which uses Zen ideas in both instrumental (i.e., performance enhancement) and
spiritual (i.e., life meaning) ways.
Zen Buddhism in the West is largely due to the work of D.T. Suzuki of Japan, who
was Professor of Buddhist Philosophy at Otani University in Kyoto. Suzuki’s Zen and
Japanese Culture [5], which was published in 1959, is a revised and enlarged second
edition of Zen Buddhism and Its Influence on Japanese Culture, which was published
216 Annual Review of Golf Coaching 2008
in 1938. Much of the contents originated as lectures given on various occasions in

England and America in 1936. Suzuki’s Essays in Zen Buddhism, 1st Series, was
originally published in 1927. [15, p. 13]
Despite stimulating intellectual interest in the 1950s, Zen has not become a major
religious force in the West1. [16, p. 416] According to Suzuki, Zen is not a religion in
the sense of having a God to worship. Zen does not deny the existence of God, it is
simply not concerned with the issue. [6, p. 39] For Suzuki, Zen is a form of
mysticism2. [6, p. 45] It may be attained through contemplation (deep reflective
thought) and the word ‘mysticism’ is actually derived from the Greek word meaning
‘to remain silent’ [18, p. 175].
Zen Buddhism has a major influence on sport psychology. The key publication in
popularising the relationship between Zen and sport was Zen in the Art of Archery
[19] in which Eugen Herrigel describes the six-year course of training he received
from a Japanese master of archery. The focus of the training was the development of
an un-self-conscious drawing of the bow and shooting the arrow such that the action
became a spiritually oriented ritual involving ‘effortless effort’. Herrigel’s book, the
foreword of which was written by D.T. Suzuki, set the stage for a host of other
publications, such as Timothy Gallwey’s Inner Game of Tennis [11], in which themes
of Zen Buddhism are applied to sport with the emphasis on removing the influence
of the evaluative mind.
Yamada Sho-ji [15] has shown that Herrigel went to Japan in search of Zen and
chose kyo-jutsu (‘the art/technique of the bow’) as the means by which to find it.
Herrigel’s teacher, Awa Kenzo- had “no experience in Zen nor did he unconditionally
approve of Zen” [15, p. 1]. Furthermore, a combination of language barriers,
misinterpretations by Herrigel and liberal translations “gave birth to a modern myth”
[15, p. 27] It was only after 1956, when the Japanese language version of Zen in the
Art of Archery (Yumi to Zen) was published that kyujutsu became particularly
associated with Zen. [15, p. 2] In 1953, Suzuki, who was impressed by Zen in the Art
of Archery travelled to visit Herrigel. [15, p. 27]
It was through his preoccupation with the German mystic Meister Eckhart that
Herrigel became interested in Zen, which he considered the most mystical of religions.
[15, p. 12] Herrigel lived in Japan for six years, holding a position of lecturer in
philosophy at To-huku Imperial University in Sendai (1924-1929). He was influenced by
D.T. Suzuki’s postulate regarding the intimate connection between Zen and Japanese
culture. [15, p. 13] According to Sho-ji, there is no evidence that Herrigel practised Zen
during his time in Japan. [15, p. 13] He did, however, read extensively about Zen.
ZEN BUDDHISM
BUDDHISM
Buddhism is a religion founded during India in the 5th Century BC. The title of
Buddha is usually given to the historical founder of the Buddhist religion, Siddhartha
1Religionis concerned with the belief and worship of a superhuman controlling power(s), such as god(s)
and goddess(es) as well as other spiritual beings or transcendental ultimate concerns. [17, p. 414]
2Mysticism may be defined as a heightened form of religious experience in which the subject feels the
immediate presence of God or some ultimate reality, resulting in an expansion of consciousness and in a
feeling of transcending the ordinary world. [18, p. 175]
Zen Buddhism, Sport Psychology and Golf 217
Gautama (563-483 BC). The word ‘buddha’ in India was originally a common noun
meaning ‘awakened one’, but in Buddhism it refers to one who has become awakened
to the ultimate truth of life. In addition to being considered as a human being,
‘Buddha’ can be regarded as a spiritual principle or as something between the two.
[20, p. 34] Enlightenment is attainment of Buddhahood (i.e., to become a Buddha).
Buddhism has four noble truths, which are: all existence is afflicted with suffering;
desire, thirst or craving are the sources of suffering; suffering can be brought to an
end by elimination of craving; and the eightfold path is the means to eliminate
suffering and escape from samsara (the endless cycle of birth and rebirth). The goal
of Buddhist life is Nirvana, which is attained by overcoming samsara. [21, p. 52]
Buddhism denies the existence of any enduring ‘self’ and substitutes instead the
concept of anatman, ‘no self’. [21, p. 149] In Buddhism, atman is the self or soul,
conceived of as lying behind the empirical self. Notions of self result in the
emergence of suffering; nothing in a person’s empirical self is worthy of being
regarded as the real self. [20] In Mahayana Buddhism, nirvana came to mean an
awakening to the true nature of phenomena or the perfection of Buddha wisdom.
In Hindu3, atman is an eternal unity, identified with Brahman4. This is where
Buddhism and Hinduism differ. The Buddha did not accept the notion of atman and
discoursed instead about anatman (no self). Belief in reincarnation and in the eternity
of the soul of self (atman) is nearly universal among Hindus, but Hindu theology and
metaphysics range from belief in a divine Absolute to atheism.
Karma is the universal law of cause and effect as applied to the deeds of people.
[22] A person’s destiny is determined by karma in terms of samsara, and only deeds
free from desire and delusion have no consequences for karma.
The elements of the eightfold path are: the right or perfect view of the four noble
truths, and the nature of self (atman); perfect resolution in favour of renunciation and
ahimsa (the ethical principle forbidding injury to all living creatures); perfect speech,
i.e., avoidance of lying and slander; perfect conduct; perfect livelihood; perfect effort;
perfect mindfulness or control of thought; and perfect concentration or attainment of
the contemplative ideal. [22]
The ultimate reality in Buddhism is sunyata (often translated as ‘emptiness’):
Sunyata suggests that although things in the phenomenal world appear to be

real and substantial outside, they are actually tenuous and empty within.
They are not real, but only appear to be real. Sunyata denotes the absence of
any kind of self, or selfhood. All things are empty in that they lack a
subsisting entity of self being (svabhava). [21, p. 42]
3Hinduism is the dominant religion of India. There is no single system of belief that can be said to
represent Hinduism, but Hindu orthodoxy is marked by the acceptance of the Vedas as revelation and
participation in the Hindu social structure. The Vedas are the scriptures derived from the Vedic period (c.
1500-700 BC), the most famous of which is the Rig-Veda (book of prayers and hymns). [22] The Vedas
are written in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-European language of India. The philosophical component of the
Vedas is mainly contained in the concluding sections, known as the Upanishads.
4The Sanskrit word Brahman emerged in late Vedic literature and Upanishads (900-300 BC) as the name
of the divine reality pervading the universe. Brahman is the ultimate reality that makes possible time,
space and natural order.
Sunyata is also called the ‘Middle Way’ because it is neither an eternalist view that
insists on the existence of an unchanging eternal entity as the ultimate, nor a nihilistic
view maintaining that everything is null and void. [21, p. 151] The notion of
emptiness is not nihilistic, because what is ultimately negated in the teaching of
emptiness is the self (atman) and any self-substantiated entity (svabhava). This
enables the true reality (tattva) to manifest itself. [21, p. 49]
There are two sets of Buddhist scriptures: the Pali Canon of the Theravada or
Southern School of Buddhism (found mainly in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Sri
Lanka) and the Sanskrit-Tibetan-Chinese Canon of the Mahayana or Northern School
(found mainly in Nepal and surrounding countries such as China). Those of the
Mahayana Canon were all compiled after 100 BC.
Madhyamaka (‘the Middle Doctrine’) Buddhism was one of two Mahayana
Buddhist schools (the other being Yogacara) that developed in India between the first
and fourth centuries AD. Yogacara is a form of absolute idealism that denies the
existence of any reality independent of consciousness. [22] Pure consciousness is
identified with the Buddha nature. After c. 500 AD, Yogacarins came to increasingly
dominate the thought of the Mahayana. [20, p. 161]
Buddhism first entered China from India and Central Asia two thousand years ago.
It was introduced to Japan in the sixth century in the form of sutras (sacred texts) and
commentaries written in Chinese characters. Mahayana Buddhist thought entered into
Japan from the Eastern Asian continent as part of a cultural complex that included
written language, political institutions, formal iconography, and Confucian
literature5.
ZEN BUDDHISM
The word ‘zen’ is derived from the Chinese word ‘Cha’an’, which in turn comes from
the Sanskrit word dhyana, which means meditation. It was due to Bodhidharma,
around 520, that Zen came to be the Buddhism of China. [1, p. 108] ‘Bodhi’ means
wisdom in the sense of enlightenment. [23, p. 16] It was only in the seventh century
that Zen emerged clearly as a separate Buddhist movement, under Hui-nêng (637-
713), who succeeded Hung Jen was the sixth Chinese Zen patriarch after
Bodhidharma. Patriarchs were the great masters who received and formally
transmitted the Buddha’s Dharma (Truth). [24, p. 374] Hui-nêng propagated Zen in
the southern part of China and therefore his lineage is called the Southern School of
Zen. Another of Hung Jen’s disciples, Shen-hsiu (606-706), spread Zen Buddhism in
northern China and thus his lineage came to be called the Northern School.
Zen was introduced into Japan in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. It represents a
synthesis of Indian Buddhism and Chinese (mainly Taoist) ideas. Indian methods of
meditation (dhyana) tend to emphasise the effectiveness of individual effort in control of
the mind and the importance of detachment from one’s environment, whereas Zen
Buddhism emphasises the spontaneity of illumination and the rapport between the
individual and nature. By ‘spontaneity’ is meant absence of individual effort in the
control of the mind. Zen is characterised by a “practical turn of mentality” [1, p. 172],
5Confucianism is the Western title for the intellectual tradition in Chinese that is called Rujia or ‘School
of Literari’ founded by Confucius (551-479 BC), who is the most influential and revered person in Chinese
history.
reflecting the down-to-earth nature of the Chinese people. While the Indians were “subtle
in analysis and dazzling in poetic flight” [1, p. 96], the Chinese were less intellectual and
had “no aptitude like the Indians to hide themselves in the clouds of mystery and
supernaturalism” [1, p. 103]. Confucianism represents the practical Chinese mentality;
whereas Taoism represents its mystic and speculative trends. [5, p. 48]
Although Zen does not emphasise the readings of sutras (sacred texts) and the
sastras (the philosophical discourses), Zen does have a kind of metaphysical and
scriptural basis, notably in the teachings of the Lankavatara Sutra (‘Sutra of the
Descent on Lanka; translated into Chinese in the fifth century), which expresses the
Yogacara viewpoint. The sutra indicates that it is not cerebration, but rather
immediate mystical experience that brings one to ultimate truth and Buddhahood.
Interpretation of the sutra is not a straightforward matter and this was partly
responsible for the division between the two main sects within Zen Buddhism; i.e.,
the Rinzai (Lin-chi) and the Soto (Ts’ao-tung), which were introduced into Japan by
Eisai (c. 1191) and Dogo (c. 1225), respectively.
RINZAI SECT
Rinzai is better known in the West, mainly because of D.T. Suzuki (1870-1966).
Rinzai aims at sudden illumination (Enlightenment), is more anti-intellectualist and
emphasises the Taoist concept of ‘acting through not acting’ and ‘effortless effort’.
Rinzai uses Yogacara metaphysics as a starting point, but does not accept an ultimate
distinction between the Absolute and phenomena, or between nirvana and empirical
existence. There is no gap between the spiritual and the secular. Secular acts such as
swordsmanship, archery and the tea ceremony are transformed into contemplative
disciplines and used as a means of spiritual training. This reflects the appeal of Zen
in medieval Japan, especially in the samurai class. The illuminated life can be led
with the conditions and obligations of one’s secular status; thus it is not necessary to
be a monk. The Rinzai methods of spiritual training are za-zen and secular acts. Za-
zen, or its Sanskrit equivalent dhyana is a kind of meditation or contemplation on a
religious or philosophical truth and is practised in an erect, cross-legged sitting
position with the eyes cast down. [1, p. 79-80] Students sit in special meditation halls
or Zendo, or may practise in their own houses or in other quiet and secluded places.
Za-zen involves a topic of meditation from a Zen master, often in the form of a koan
(see next section). Four or eight kinds of dhyana can be distinguished:
The first dhyana is an exercise in which the mind is made to concentrate on

one single subject until all the coarse affective elements are vanished from
consciousness except the serene feelings of joy and peace. But the intellect
is still active, judgement and reflection operate upon the object of
contemplation. When these intellectual operations too are quieted and the
mind is simply concentrated on one point, it is said that we have attained the
second dhyana, but the feelings of joy and peace are still here. In the third
stage of dhyana, perfect serenity obtains as the concentration grows deeper,
but the subtlest mental activities are not vanished and at the same time a
joyous feeling remains. When the fourth and last stage is reached, even this
feeling of self enjoyment disappears, and what prevails in consciousness
now is perfect serenity of contemplation. All intellectual and emotional

factors liable to disturb spiritual tranquillity are successively controlled, and
mind in absolute composure remains absorbed in contemplation. In this
there takes place a fully adjusted equilibrium between Samatha and
Vipassayana; that is, between tranquillisation or cessation and
contemplation. In all Buddhist discipline this harmony is always sought
after. [1, p. 83-84]
For individuals who have passed beyond the last stage of dhayana, there are four
further stages of dhyana called ‘arupavimoksha’ which culminate in the absence of
analytical intellection.
KOANS
According to Suzuki, the koan came into vogue towards the end of the ninth century
[1, p. 40] and is the most essential feature of contemporary Zen in the Far East [6, p.
99]. Koan literally means a ‘public document’ or ‘authoritative statute’ [6, p. 102] that
sets up a standard of judgement, whereby one’s Zen understanding is tested as to its
correctness. It is the means by which the Zen master is supposed to test the depths of
understanding attained by his disciples. [8, p. 146] There are said to be 1700 koans,
with Japanese Zen masters using a core of 500. [24, p. 369] The koan actually denotes
some anecdote of an ancient master, or a dialogue between a master and monks, or a
statement or question put forward by a teacher [6, p. 102]; e.g., ‘what is the sound of
one hand clapping?’ The koan is neither a riddle nor a witty remark [6, p. 108], but
rather a question that cannot be answered conceptually. The koan keeps the mind in
the “middle way” between “rationalistic abstraction” and “quietistic tranquilisation”:
…those who were intellectually inclined were saved from losing themselves
in an endless maze of speculation, while the others who took Zen for the
mere emptying of contents of consciousness were held back from
committing a sort of mental suicide. [8, p. 148]
In the koan exercise, the most essential process is not concentration on mere words
or sounds, but rather “the will to get into the meaning of the koan”:
When the will or the spirit of inquiry is strong and constantly working, the
koan is necessarily kept without interruption before the eye, and all other
thoughts that are not at all cogent are naturally swept off the field of
consciousness. This exclusion and sweeping off is a by-product… . This is
where the koan exercise is distinct from mere concentration and also from
the Indian form of Dhyana, that is, meditation, abstraction, or thought-
cessation. [2, p. 127]
RINZAI VERSUS SOTO

An essential difference between the Rinzai and Soto schools concerns the question of
whether meditation is a means or an end. Dogen Kigen, founder of the Soto school
argued that meditation is the expression or enactment of enlightenment, not the means
to attaining it. Dogen believed that even a novice might achieve insight, however
fleeting. The Soto school did not advocate the use of the koan.
ZEN AND ENLIGHTENMENT

Zen is concerned mainly with Enlightenment, which is “the absolute reason of the
universe and the essence of Buddhahood” [1, p. 65]. Supreme Perfect Enlightenment
(annutara-samyak-sambodhi) was attained by the Buddha while he was meditating
under the Bodhi-tree, near the city of Gaya. [1, p. 60; p. 65] It is believed that the
Buddha wished to impart to his disciples the Doctrine of Enlightenment. [1, p. 165]
Enlightenment means emancipation; freedom from moral, spiritual and intellectual
constraints. [5, p. 516] It is also known as satori [1, p. 229] and may be defined as “an
intuitive looking into the nature of things in contradistinction to the analytical or
logical understanding of it” [1, p. 230]. It involves neither intellectual process nor
judgement [1, p. 68], but it “opens the mind to a wider and deeper world” [1, p. 260].
It is the “awakening of a new sense which will review the old things from an angle
of perception entirely and most refreshingly new” [1, p. 262]. It is the most intimate
individual experience and therefore cannot be expressed in words or described in any
manner:
All that one can do in the way of communicating the experience to others is
to suggest or indicate, and this is only tentatively. The one who has had it
understands when such indications are given, but when we try to have a
glimpse of it through the indices given we utterly fail. [1, p. 263]
It should be noted, however, that while “Zen is not to be sought in ideas or words”,
“without ideas or words Zen cannot convey itself to others” [1, p. 291]. Zen stands in
contrast to the conceptualising tendency of the other schools of Buddhism. [1, p. 359]
When words become conceptualised, they are ‘dead’ because they no longer pass
directly, concretely and intimately on to experience. [5, p. 7] There is no conscious
duality – life is not divisible into oppositions such as subject vs. object, acting vs.
acted, good vs. evil, eternal vs. temporal, material vs. spiritual, etc. [1, p. 212, 265]
Salient features of satori include irrationality, intuitive insight, authoritativeness (in
that it cannot be refuted by logical argument), impersonal tone, feeling of exaltation
and momentariness. [2, p. 31] Satori occurs when consciousness realises a state of
‘one thought’, in which time is reduced to an absolute point with no durability; it is
‘absolute present’ or ‘eternal now’. [8, p. 54] Ichinen is the time unit, or in Buddhist
terms, one thought-moment or one consciousness moment and it is the shortest
possible term of time. [7, p. 75] Consciousness is said to consist of infinite
accumulation, sequences of ichi-nen.
The principle underlying the various methods of instruction used by the Zen
masters is to “awaken a certain sense in the pupil’s own consciousness, by means of
which he intuitively grasps the truth of Zen” [1, p. 292].
THE UNCONSCIOUS
The unconscious (subconscious) is “a storehouse of every form of occultism or
mysticism” within which may be hidden “the power to see into the nature of one’s
own being” [1, p. 32]. Psychologically speaking, satori is super-consciousness or

consciousness of the Unconscious, but:
…the Unconscious is…not to be identified with the one psychologically

postulated. … It is what lies at the basis of reality; it is the cosmic
Unconscious. … [It] is a metaphysical concept, and it is through satori that
we become conscious of the Unconscious. … The cosmic Unconscious in
terms of space is ‘Emptiness’ (sunyata). To reach this Emptiness is satori.
[8, p. 88]
According to Hui-nêng, the unconscious is a fundamental concept in Zen

Buddhism. [3, p. 58] Hui-nêng’s sutra is discussed in Suzuki’s The Zen Doctrine of
No Mind. Suzuki states that, “In modern psychology, scientists refer to the
unconscious as underlying consciousness” [3, p. 57] and involves the notion of self
[5, p. 96]. At that time, Western psychology was in the grip of the view of the
unconscious expounded by depth psychologists such as Sigmund Freud. Hui-nêng’s
Unconscious, however, has a metaphysical connotation [3, p. 60] in that it goes
beyond empirical psychology and is concerned with the transcendental world. [3, p.
123] The Unconscious is the Chinese way of describing the realisation of emptiness
(sunyata) and no-birth (anutpada). [4, p. 36]
EMPTINESS
‘Muga’ is something identified with a state of ecstasy in which there is no sense of “I
am doing it’. [4, p. 362] The Buddha’s experience of muga was later framed within
an intellectual framework, the doctrine of anatman (anatta), which denies the
existence of the atman.
When the doctrine of anatman assumed a more metaphysical aspect, the doctrine
of sunyata developed. [3, p. 120] Sunyata is the gospel of the Prajnaparamita-sutra
and also the ‘fountain head’ of all the Mahayana philosophies and practical
disciplines. [2, p. 341] Practically, however, anatman and sunyata are the same
teaching. Along with sunyata there comes prajna. [3, p. 121] Hui-nêng upholds prajna
as the most important thing in the grasping of Zen. [3, p. 64] By prajna is meant
‘insight and understanding’; insight is understood in the special sense of ‘seeing
things as they are’. According to Hui-nêng, prajna is the awakening of consciousness
in the Unconscious [3, p. 124]; when the Unconscious becomes conscious of itself,
or rather to the act itself becoming conscious. [3, p. 121] When prajna functions, one
finds oneself, all of a sudden, facing emptiness. [3, p. 55]
Emptiness does not mean ‘nothingness’, but rather the Absolute or something of a
transcendental nature. [4, p. 225] In other words, it is concerned with an ultimate
reality. Discovery of emptiness is the fact that really there is no such thing as Self.
ZEN IS NOT DHYANA

According to Suzuki, satori is the “raison d’être of Zen, and without which Zen is no
Zen” [1, p. 261] Dhayana is merely a quieting exercise of mind [1, p. 262]; the goal
is to be able to realise the state of perfect void such that the field of consciousness is
like “a sky devoid of every speck of cloud” [1, p. 262]. Suzuki argues that this may
be called ecstasy or trance, but it is not Zen. [1, p. 262] Samadhi – tranquilisation [1,
p. 81] – is “a psychological state realised by the exercise of dhyana” [1, p. 82] and is
an intermediate stage on the path toward Zen’s final realisation. Samadhi should not
be confused with the suspension of thoughts – a psychological state of utter
blankness, which is another word for death. [8, p. 54] For Zen Buddhists,
tranquilisation is not the real end: Enlightenment is to be found in the “fuller and freer
expressions” of life, and not in its “cessation” [1, p. 85]. Quietism involves attempts
to suppress ideas and feelings in order to realise a state of tranquillisation or perfect
blankness. [2, p. 143] Zen is concerned with neither “mere quietism [n]or losing
oneself in trance” [1, p. 32], nor “meditating on a metaphysical or symbolic
statement” [1, p. 261]. According to Suzuki, it is the koan that “saves Zen from
sinking into trance, from becoming absorbed in mere contemplation, from turning
into an exercise in tranquillisation” [6, p. 111]. Zen is not a system of dhyana as
practised in India and by other schools of Buddhism than Zen [1, p. 262]:
To meditate, a man has to fix his thought on something; for instance, on the
oneness of God, or his infinite love, or on the impermanence of things. But
this is the very thing Zen desires to avoid. If there is anything Zen strongly
emphasises it is the attainment of freedom; that is, freedom from all
unnatural encumbrances. [6, p. 41]
For Suzuki, just as Zen is not about dhyana neither is it about the mind being
hypnotised to a state of unconsciousness [6, p. 43], but rather awakening the person
from a state of unconsciousness. Zen is not about uncritical acceptance of suggestions
and ‘thoughtlessness’ has been described as a most undesirable state of mind as the
goal of Zen discipline (or any spiritual exercise) [4, p. 35]:
In auto-suggestion there is no intellectual antecedent, nor is there any intense

seeking for something, accompanied by an acute feeling of uneasiness. In
auto-suggestion a definite proposition is given to the subject, which is
accepted by him unquestioningly and wholeheartedly. He has a certain
practical result in view, which he desires to produce in himself by accepting
the proposition. Everything is here from the first determined, prescribed and
suggested. In Zen there is an intellectual quest for ultimate truth which the
intellect fails to satisfy; the subject is urged to dive deeper under the waves
of the empirical consciousness. This diving is beset with difficulties because
he does not know how and where to dive. He is at a complete loss as to how
to get along, until suddenly he somehow hits a spot that opens up a new field
of vision. [2, p. 60]
ZEN: EAST VERSUS WEST

Carl Jung argued that “a direct transmission of Zen to Western conditions is neither
commendable nor even possible” [6, p. 26]:
The spiritual conceptions necessary to Zen are missing in the West. Who
amongst us would produce such implicit trust in a superior master and his
incomprehensible ways? This respect for the greater human personality

exists only in the East. [5, p. 24]
This echoes Suzuki’s point that the psychology of Zen cannot be treated
independently of philosophy or a definite set of religious teaching and that Zen
experience is impossible without the guiding hand of the Zen master. [2, p. 66]
Nevertheless, Jung has no doubt that the satori experience does occur also in the West
and argued that psychotherapy is the only movement in Western culture which has
some understanding of striving for satori:
Taken basically, psychotherapy is a dialectic relationship between the doctor

and the patient. It is a discussion between two spiritual wholes, in which all
wisdom is merely a tool. The goal is transformation; not indeed a
predetermined, but rather an indeterminable, change, the only criterion of
which is the disappearance of I-ness. [6, p. 25]
In many respects, Zen is an Eastern form of psychotherapy that counteracts

anxiety and excessive self-consciousness. [9]
ZEN AND SWORDSMANSHIP

The influence of the samurai was such that their code of Bushido, ‘the way of the
warrior’ came to mean Japanese chivalry and finally ‘The National Spirit of Japan’.
[25] For the samurai, the sword was more than a weapon; it was the “supreme symbol
of his dignity and honour” [5, p. 93]. Training in use of the sword was conducive to
his moral and spiritual enhancement. The ascetic tendency of Zen goes well with the
bushido of the samurai. [5, p. 62] By ascetic is meant strict, harsh or austere. What
makes swordsmanship come closer to Zen than any other art that has developed in
Japan is that it involves the problem of death in the most immediately threatening
manner in that the swordsman has no time for conceptualisation or calculation. [5, p.
182] An important difference between swordsmanship and Buddhism, however, is
that swordsmanship is concerned with the struggle between life and death, whereas
Buddhism is concerned with striving after nirvana so as to escape the bondage of
samsara. [5, p. 139]
In Japan, technical knowledge of art is necessary but not sufficient for a man to be
master of that art: he also needs to have delved deeply into the inner spirit of it. [5, p.
94] This spirit is grasped only when he attains mushin (‘no-mind-ness) and is
synonymous with munen (‘no-thought-ness’) [5, p. 111]; each points to the same state
of consciousness. [3, p. 57] Suzuki argues that it is difficult to find an English
equivalent of mushin except the Unconscious (but not in its usual psychological
sense). [3, p. 120] Mushin is primarily derived from muga (‘non-ego’, ‘selflessness’).
[3, p. 120] The feelings of ‘self’ (‘self consciousness’) associated with muga are a
hindrance to performance. Self consciousness is concerned with moral judgement. [4,
p. 362] Takuan (1573-1645), an abbot in Kyoto, wrote a letter to the great master of
swordsmanship Yagyu Tajima No Kami Munenori (1571-1646) in which he strongly
emphasises the significance of mushin. [5, p. 94]
When things are performed in mushin or munen, which means the absence of all
modes of self-or-ego consciousness, action is perfectly free from inhibitions. [5, p.

147] Consider an archer: he takes out his bow, puts an arrow to it, stretches the string,
fixes his eyes on the target, and when he judges the adjustment to be right he lets the
arrow go; he has no feeling of doing anything specifically good or bad, important or
trivial. [5, p. 147] Suzuki describes how in fencing, as well as in Zen, a ‘non-
interfering’ attitude of mind is vital:
…one movement follows another without being interrupted by one’s

conscious mind. … Let your defence follow the attack without a moment’s
interruption, and there will be no two separate movements to be known as
attack and defence. [4, p. 363]
In swordsmanship, it involves a state of identity where “my body and the sword I
hold become one” [5, p. 205]. When mushin is realised, the swordsman is
emancipated from dichotomies such as life and death, gain and loss, or victory and
defeat. His mind is emptied from all thoughts, all emotions originating in fear, all
sense of insecurity and all desire to win, he is not conscious of using the sword. [5,
p. 133; p. 146] To the Zen masters, the final intuition is the going beyond samsara and
attaining the state of fearlessness. [5, p. 193] Mushin involves being “unconsciously
conscious” or “consciously unconscious” [5, p. 95].
The main thesis of Takuan’s letter consists in preserving the absolute fluidity of the
mind (kokoro) by keeping it free from intellectual deliberation and affective
disturbances of any kind. [5, p. 108] Takuan distinguished between the ‘original
mind’ and ‘delusive mind’. [5, p. 110] The original mind (honshin) is a mind
unconscious of itself, whereas the delusive mind (monshin) may be defined as the
mind intellectually and affectively burdened. [5, p. 110] Muga (‘no-ego’, or ‘no
mind’) entails return to honshin. [5, p. 205] Tomaru (‘stopping’) is a term used to
refer to the mind attaching itself to any object it encounters; the mind stops with one
object instead of flowing from one object to another. [5, p. 95] Here is how ‘stopping’
can be prevented in swordsmanship:
No doubt you see the sword about to strike you, but do not let your mind
‘stop’ there. Have no intention to counterattack him in response to his
threatening move, cherish no calculating thoughts whatever. You simply
perceive the opponent’s move, you do not allow your mind to ‘stop’ with it,
you move on just as you are, toward the opponent and make use of his attack
by turning it on himself. Then his sword meant to kill you will become your
own and the weapon will fall on the opponent himself. [5, p. 95-96]
Qualities of the conscious mind, such as “recollection” are “useful and serve
certain purposes” but:
…when actions are directly related to the problem of life and death…they
must be given up so that they will not interfere with the fluidity of mentation
and the lightning rapidity of action. The man must turn himself into a puppet
in the hands of the unconscious. [5, p. 117]
Takano Shigeyoshi, one of the greatest swordsman produced by modern Japan,

referred to the psychology of swordplay:
“When the identity is realised, I as swordsman see no opponent confronting

me and threatening to strike me. I seem to transform myself into the
opponent, and every movement he makes as well as every thought he
conceives are felt as if they were all my own and I intuitively, or rather
unconsciously, know when and how to strike him. All seems to be so
natural.” [5, p. 206]
It is no easy task to realise this state of mind, however: a man must go through a
great deal of discipline, both moral and spiritual. [5, p. 209] Suzuki discusses a
swordsman who knew nothing of the moral and spiritual side of his art:
His egotistic pride was boundless. He thought his self-asserting

aggressiveness, backed by his mastery of the technique, made complete
swordsmanship. He never realised that mere offensiveness, characterising
the Japanese method of swordplay, was after all nothing unless something
transcending the sportive spirit of winning and losing controlled the entire
procedure of combat. Not only must the desire to be victorious or to be not
defeated be entirely absent itself from the consciousness of the combatant;
the philosophical problem of life and death must be settled, not theoretically
or conceptually, indeed, but in the most concretely practical way. [5, p. 212]
ZEN IN SPORT PSYCHOLOGY AND GOLF

For Terry Orlick, one of the most important lessons of Zen is ‘one-ness’ – “becoming
inseparable from the essence of what you are doing are doing at each moment you are
actually doing it” [10, p. 105]. It is a state in which you are in the process of doing;
and judgements about yourself, others or your performance are suspended. [10, p.
105] Under the subtitle, “Transcending Technique”, Orlick selects words, phrases and
sentences from Suzuki’s Zen and Japanese Culture such as “no-mind-ness”, “the
mind of no mind” and “emptiness”. This is related to Western athletes talking of
‘flow’ states and suspension of conscious thinking. Orlick refers to some work he did
with a fencer, who combined aspects of Eastern and Western psychology to improve
his fencing performance:
He developed a pre-competition plan that helped him start in a more calm

and relaxed state. What he wanted most was to compete in a Zen mind-set.
In the beginning he wrote out a list of quotations that triggered in him the
primary feelings of a Zen perspective. [10, p. 108]
One of the quotations was: “Zen is against conceptualization. The experience is the
thing. Verbalism becomes an empty abstraction.” Orlick reports how the fencer fared:
The fencer read these quotations to himself several times before competing,
as a reminder of the state of mind that he sought. He had some initial success
but also some subsequent difficulty in maintaining this approach throughout

his most crucial bouts. He refined his approach into a series of key words…
which he plugged in whenever he experienced too many thoughts or too
much anxiety. As he went out to compete he began to tell himself, ‘You’re
here to fence and nothing beyond the experience of fencing really
matters…just go out and fence and enjoy yourself. When he was able to
follow these simple reminders, his body took over and he moved in an
incredibly fluid way… The fencer could not always enter this state, but it
began to happen more frequently with more tournaments. [10, p. 109]
In other words, the fencer used self talk to promote ‘one-ness’ and what he did was
probably little to do with Zen. The words, phrases and sentences that Orlick extracted
from Suzuki are stripped of their context of Zen metaphysics. For example, there is
no mention of mushin. What Orlick states regarding the insufficiency of technical
knowledge can be compared to what is actually stated in Suzuki.
Orlick states:
Suzuki discusses the connection between Zen and the ancient art of
swordsmanship as follows: “If one really wishes to be master of an art,
technical knowledge is not enough. One has to transcend the technique so
that the art grows out of the unconscious…” [10, p. 106]
Suzuki states:
In Japan, perhaps as in other countries too, mere technical knowledge of an

art is not enough to make man its master; he ought to have delved into the
inner spirit of it. This spirit is grasped only when his mind is in complete
harmony with the principle of life itself, that is, when he attains to a certain
state of mind known as mushin (wu-hsin in Chinese), “no mind”. In
Buddhist phraseology, it means going beyond the dualism of all forms of life
and death, good and evil, being and non-being. [5, p. 94]
However, Suzuki does point to a contrast between the mind of a Zen master (such
as Takuan) and a master swordsman (such as Yagyu Tajima No Kami) in terms of the
psychological versus metaphysical level of mind:
…Takuan’s mind goes for deeper than the swordman’s, for the latter
generally stops at being psychological, while Takuan, being a Zen master,
sees into the very source of reality, which we may call the metaphysical or
cosmic Unconscious, though the term is liable to be misunderstood because
of its psychological connotation. The main point is that the swordsman’s
insight is limited; he carries a sword; he faces an opponent or opponents; he
sees that his life is at stake though he is not at all afraid of meeting the
situation; his instinctual craving for life, though quite unconscious, is not
effaced; he has not yet attained to the state of emptiness. [5, p. 199]
On the other hand, bearing in mind what was stated earlier in this article about
satori being the “raison d’être of Zen” and Jung’s argument that “a direct transmission
of Zen to Western conditions is neither commendable nor even possible”, consider
Suzuki’s comments on a poem that Yagyu supposedly left to one of his sons
expressive of the secret of his school of swordsmanship:
Yagyu the master knows that the technique alone will never make a man the
perfect swordplayer. He knows that the spirit (ri) or inner experience (satori)
must back the art, which is gained only by deeply looking into the inmost
recesses of the mind (kokoro). That is why his teacher Takuan is never tired
of dilating on the doctrine of emptiness (sunyata), which is the metaphysics
of mushin no shin (‘mind of no-mind’). Emptiness or no-mind-ness may
appear to some to be something most remote from our daily experience, but
we now realise how intimately it is related to the problem of life and death
with which most of us nowadays remain unconcerned. [5, p. 113]
THE INNER GAME

Tennis coach Timothy Gallwey, who has written a series of popular books on sport
psychology, has stated that the quality of his teaching and his students’ performance
took a major step forward when he realised the “disrupting effects of over-
instruction” [12, p. 18]. He found that his students’ minds were filled with “a lot of
self instruction” when playing badly, with “self judgement” and “various thoughts
and feelings stemming from doubt and fear” [12, p. 96]. When his students were
playing at their best, however, they reported that their minds were “relaxed, absorbed
and quiet, free of these tensions”. Furthermore, they often reported that they weren’t
thinking at all and that “their bodies seemed to know without conscious thought how
to hit the ball”. Gallwey refers to ‘playing in the zone’, which is related to the concept
of flow6:
Athletes often call this experience ‘playing out of one’s mind’, a phrase that
indicates the absence of mental interference. I have interviewed many
athletes who reported that when they are at their best they are not thinking;
the mind is clear and very much aware. … Arthur Ashe calls this state
‘playing in the zone’. Eastern martial arts disciples have known for
centuries…[that] the less conscious thought in the mind, the better the
chances for pure and precise action. [12, p. 96]
6 Flow is a state “in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the
experience itself is so enjoyable that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that
people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it” [26, p. 4]. Thus it is not only the state
of mind when we are so absorbed in what we are doing that we lose ourselves in the activity, but also a
special case of intrinsic motivation. It occurs when there is a perceived balance between one’s
competencies and the demands of the task. Based on the study of accomplished rock climbers, surgeons,
artists, pianists and athletes, characteristics of flow are: a challenging activity that requires skills; the
merging of action and awareness; clear goals and feedback; concentration on the task at hand; the paradox
of control (no worry about losing control); the loss of self-consciousness; and the transformation of time.
[26, p. 49-66]
From these revelations and observations, seemingly, Gallwey developed his Inner
Game theory. It is based on the premise that a person has two selves ‘Self 1’ and ‘Self
2’. Self 1 gives instructions and makes judgements; it is conscious and verbal. Self 2
is unconscious and nonverbal and performs the required actions automatically.
Gallwey argued that Self 1 can cause interference with the processes of Self 2. This
occurs when attention is directed inwards to Self 1’s needs rather than outwards and
allowing Self 2 to ‘let it happen’.
The aim of the Inner Game is to reduce interference from Self 1 and to trust Self
2. Gallwey uses an extract from D.T. Suzuki’s foreword to Eugen Herrigel’s Zen in
the Art of Archery to describe the effects of the ego mind on motor performance:
As soon as we reflect, deliberate, and conceptualise, the original

unconsciousness is lost and a thought interferes… The arrow is off the string
but does not fly straight on the target, nor does the target stand where it is.
Calculation, which is miscalculation, set in… Man is a thinking reed but his
great works are done when he is not calculating and thinking.
‘Childlikeness’ has to be restored with long years of training in self-
forgetfulness. [19, p. viii-ix; quoted in 11, p. 31]
Gallwey believes that focusing Self 1 in a concentration exercise will decrease

interference with Self 2 and improve performance. In the ‘back-hit’ exercise, for
example, a golfer says ‘back’ when the club reaches the furthest point in the
backswing and ‘hit’ as the club makes impact with the ball. The goal is to heighten
awareness of what is happening. This awareness is non-judgemental, in that one
notices what is happening without worrying about whether it is right or wrong. In the
Inner Game of Tennis, ‘watching’ the ball is discussed in terms of attentional focus:
Because the pattern made by the spinning ball is so subtle, it tends to engross
the mind more completely. The mind is so absorbed in watching the pattern
that it forgets to try too hard. To the extent that the mind is preoccupied with
the seams, it tends not to interfere with the natural movements of the body.
[11, p. 91]
In light of the Inner Game, study the following extracts from Jack Heise’s book on
self hypnosis and golf (published more than a decade before the Inner Game):
The correct mental image of the swing is recorded in your subconscious

mind as feel. To produce the end result, a good swing, your conscious mind
need only actuate your subconscious. … Any conscious effort produces
muscle tension. This is what is meant when you are told “You are trying too
hard”. … Automatic action is lost when conscious, unwanted muscle action
is brought into play. It is by reducing the distractions of the conscious mind
and concentrating its attention upon a single object or thought that allows the
stroke to be controlled by the subconscious mind... You fixate [your
conscious mind] on a single object, in this case upon the ball. The physical
act of hypnosis is fixating the attention of the conscious mind upon an object
or thought to distract it from other thoughts so that contact may be made

with the subconscious mind. [27, p. 43; p. 62]
Heise’s notion is that hypnosis can prevent conscious effort (which produces muscle
tension) from interfering with the unconscious execution of the shot. It could be argued
that Heise’s “conscious effort” and “automatic action” equate with Gallwey’s “Self 1”
and “Self 2”, respectively. What is interesting is that Gallwey associates concentration
exercises such as watching the seam on the tennis ball and the ‘back-hit’ exercise in golf
not with hypnosis, but rather with bahkti (the yoga of devotion):
Bahkti yoga teaches that love of the object of concentration makes it

possible to focus one’s attention without wavering, and eventually to
become one with that object. [11, p. 92]
Gallwey describes four steps in concentration: discipline, interest, absorption and

oneness. [12, p. 99-100] Yoga7 is strongly associated with meditation, but Heise
described watching the ball in terms of hypnosis.
Like Heise, Gallwey sees ‘overtightness’ as the “single most common physical
cause of error in golf” [12, p. 44] and as being caused by “doubt”, which Gallwey
describes as a golfer’s lack of trust in his capacity to perform actions that are well
within his capability. [12, p. 54] According to Gallwey, our culture makes us learn to
compensate for doubt by exerting increased Self-1 control over ourselves – through
the “trying mode”. [12, p. 57] In contrast to the “trying mode”, which is often
associated with being challenged, is the “unconscious mode”, which is often
associated with a lack of challenge and boredom. Neither of these modes can
facilitate the ideal state for fulfilling one’s potential. Rather, the optimal state of mind
for performance is the “awareness mode”. Learning how to enter a state of “relaxed
concentration” at will, through the awareness mode (and then how to stay in it for
longer periods of time) is the objective of the Inner Game. [12, p. 96] The awareness
mode is associated with peak performance or experience [12, p. 95] and also the ideal
of ‘effortless effort’ – “the absence of Self-1 trying and the natural expression of Self-
2 effort” [12, p. 204]. Here Gallwey explicitly draws upon Zen:
… [Zen masters] generated the ideal of ‘effortless effort’ – caring without

caring. To the Western mind this paradox is enigmatic. It defies intellectual
logic, but appeals to an intuitive sense that it is the true synthesis between
the two extremes of caring too much and caring too little. [12, p. 204]
7Yoga refers here to a certain range of methods of contemplation used in the Indian religious tradition, both
Hindu and non-Hindu (e.g., Buddhist). Yoga is a Sanskrit word with two roots, i) to mediate; and ii) to
join. In the latter sense, which is more commonly accepted [28, p. 591], the ultimate goal in Yoga is union
with Brahman. Yoga involves the concept of a God (Isvara), having no creative function but who can be
used as an object of meditation. Bhakti is devotion to a divine being. It is the most popular form of worship
in contemporary world religions. While Yoga has been influenced to some extent by the philosophies and
practices of religions such as Hindu and Buddhism, it is not itself a religion that depends on faith, ritual
and sacred scripture. [28, p. 591] It consists of methods developed by practising Yogis over thousands of
years. The training prescribed in Yoga is divided into eight ‘steps’: restraint, discipline, posture,
respiration, withdrawal from sense objects, concentration, meditation and trance.
To achieve relaxed concentration, three types of skill are required – awareness,

trust and will. Awareness skills are concerned with focusing the mind non-
judgementally, in the present moment, on details relevant to activity goal(s). Trust
skills are concerned with decreasing doubt and trusting Self 2 to hit the ball rather
than Self 1. Will skills are concerned with goals, in order to satisfy needs and desires.
Before founding the Inner Game Institute, Gallwey had developed ‘yoga tennis’ at
the John Gardiner Tennis Ranch and the Esalen Sports Center (founded in 1973) at
Big Sur in California. In writing The Inner Game of Golf [12], he acknowledged the
assistance of Michael Murphy, author of Golf in the Kingdom [13].
GOLF IN THE KINGDOM

Michael Murphy is a graduate of Stanford University, where he studied psychology
and philosophy. In 1962, with Richard Price, he founded the Esalen Institute in
California, where Eastern philosophy has been applied to sport. He later published
Golf in the Kingdom [13] in which he makes reference mainly to Indian philosophy
and yoga, but with a few references to Zen.
Golf in the Kingdom is a fictional account of a visit to Fife, ‘The Kingdom’, where
Murphy meets Shivas Irons, the legendary golf professional at a links called
Burningbush, who sees golf as an elusive spiritual exercise. The philosophical core
of the book concerns ‘true gravity’, which Shivas Irons explains as the term used by
Seamus MacDuff (Shivas’ teacher) for the “deeper lines o’ force, the deeper structure
of the universe” [13, p. 85]; it concerns the “alignment of human consciousness with
the physical forces of the universe” [13, p. 57]. In Hindu, Shiva is the God of
Destruction, Redemption and Liberation. [13, p. 99] During a midnight lesson, Shivas
Irons said the following words to Murphy: “When ye swing, put all yer attention on
the feelin o’ yer inner body…” [13, p. 81] By “inner body” is meant a level of
conscious awareness much greater than that explicitly referred to by Gallwey with
regard to the ‘awareness mode’: “…your inner body has no final boundary, unless it
is that final paradoxical line in the ‘bounded infinite’” [13, p. 139] Murphy’s
discourse is at a more metaphysical level than Gallwey’s, but the notions that relate
to control of the golf swing are similar. Murphy describes how Shivas instructed him
to close his eyes while proceeding to lift his arms, moving them through the arc of an
imaginary swing and whispering the words, “feel yer inner body”. Murphy “fell into
the rhythm of his movements, slowly swinging the club and sensing what [Shivas]
meant” and reported a pleasure that had no apparent cause, with the sensation of “a
body within a body sustained by its own energies and delight” [13, p. 81]. Mysticism
and passive control are thus central to Murphy’s experience during his lesson with
Shivas Irons. Murphy became aware that part of his mind had “suspended judgement”
and that he was absorbed in the pleasure and feel of his swing, and relieved that he
didn’t have to worry about results. [13, p. 82] When Murphy told Shivas of some of
his doubts, Shivas said:
“They’re two Michaels, I can see: Michael the plunger and Michael the
doubter. Wha’ a shame it is tha’ye canna’ even go five minutes heer without
yer good sceptical mind intrudin’.” [13, p. 83]
Perhaps this is the most obvious link to Gallwey’s Inner Game with the distinction
between the “plunger” (Self 2) and the “doubter” (Self 1). Murphy notes that mystics
have always said that words can be a “barrier to enlightenment” [13, p. 193].
ZEN, SPORT PSYCHOLOGY AND GOALS

Gallwey states that he became “non-competitive” when applied the principles of yoga
to tennis. He became unconcerned about how well he was doing in relation to his
opponent, but was instead “absorbed solely in achieving excellence for its own sake”
[11, p. 120]. Instead of “trying to win”, he attempted only to “play beautifully and
excellently” [11, p. 120]. Excellence, however, by definition, is concerned with
socially defined levels of performance and, in tennis, cannot be considered without
respect to an opponent(s). Not surprisingly, then, Gallwey felt that something was
missing. Finding a lack of determination when he wasn’t trying to win, he considered
whether there was such a motivation as an “ego-less desire to win” [11, p. 121]. After
a girl cried off from a date with him, he felt an “uncharacteristic determination”,
associated with “anger”, that was beyond “ego-trying”. He subsequently reasoned
that a surfer does not wait for a big wave because he wants to look good, but rather
because he values the challenge that it presents – if he just wanted to look beautiful
he could do that on a smaller-sized wave. Gallwey thus defined winning as
“overcoming obstacles to reach a goal”, but:
…the value of winning is only as great as the value of the goal reached.
Reaching the goal itself may not be as valuable as the experience that can
come in making a supreme effort to overcome the obstacles involved.
[11, p. 123]
By “winning”, what Gallwey really means is ‘success’ (i.e., achieving a goal).

What is brought out above is the distinction between the outcome (“reaching the
goal”) and the process involved in “making a supreme effort to overcome the
obstacles involved” (and the concomitant experience of making that effort). In tennis,
Gallwey notes, “it is the opponent that provides a person with the obstacles he needs
in order to experience his highest limits” [11, p. 123]. Gallwey thus concludes that
“true competition is identical with true cooperation” and that “both players benefit by
their efforts to overcome the obstacles presented by the other” [11, p. 123]. The
bottom line for Gallwey is the distinction between “being concerned with winning”
and “being concerned about making the effort to win” [11, p. 124] – one can control
the latter, but not the former; and try to do one’s best at any given moment. Arguing
that “it is impossible to feel anxiety about an event that one can control” [11, p. 125],
Gallwey points to the “moment-by-moment effort to let go and to stay centered in the
here-and-now action” [11, p. 125]. Gallwey recounts a Zen master’s emphasis on the
importance of the word ‘let’ [11, p. 135] and argues that the basic key to the Inner
Game is “letting go of the judging process”, i.e., letting go of Self 1 control [11, p.
33].
Answering the question of what human experiences the player of the Inner Game
pursues, Gallwey states that “only when man is paying attention to something he
really loves can he concentrate his mind and find true satisfaction” [11, p. 140] and
alludes to something similar to enlightenment (satori) in Zen in conceiving of Self 3,

which is something non-verbal yet “real and changeless”:
When the player of the Inner Game has searched for and found his way to
the direct experience of Self 3, he gains access to the catalyst for finally
stilling his mind. Then his full potential as a human being is allowed to
unfold without interference from Self 1. [11, p. 141]
The themes related to competition discussed by Gallwey are pertinent to the

following account by another author, Jeff Wallach, of one of his peak experiences as
a golfer with ‘letting go of control’ being couched in terms of ego-related or social
motivation:
I’d already launched half a dozen balls into the [trees] and was embarrassed
by my performance. But on the final three holes, when I was far beyond
caring whether I scored well, something clicked: I strung together a series of
long, straight, accurate shots, and finished with birdies to card a nearly
respectable 95. … I achieved that temporary perfection on the last
holes…because I let go of control, of trying to impress my friend…and
because I was no longer concerned with shooting a round that I could brag
about later. … When I stopped caring about such specific and limited goals
as my score, when I surrendered to the process and just played, I began to
truly experience and enjoy each shot, and I began scoring better.
[14, p. xii; xiii]
In the academic sport psychology literature, Joan Duda suggests that golfers will
witness a higher frequency and intensity of flow states (i.e., being in the ‘zone’) if
they adopt a goal perspective that is ‘task involved’ (success equals hard work and
improvement) rather than ‘ego-involved’ (success involves demonstration of superior
ability). [29, p. 156] Failure to achieve outcome goals has been associated with a
reduction in confidence, an increase in anxiety, decreased effort and an overall
deterioration of performance. [30, p. 145] Performance goals focus on improvement
relative to one’s own past performance; these goals reflect task orientation yet could
still elicit negative effects similar to those normally associated with outcome goals
[30, p. 146] Duda [29] predicts that an individual will have higher perceived
competence when they are ‘task-involved’ than when they are ‘ego-involved’.
However, Kingston and Hardy [30] argued that outcome goals should not be
denigrated to the extent that golfers are encouraged to totally ignore them.
Furthermore:
The literature on goal orientations suggests that performers who have strong
ego orientation, but are low in perceived competence, are likely to
experience serious motivational difficulties, particularly when they are
required to perform under pressure. However, it is difficult to see how elite
performers could get to where they are without ever wanting to beat the
opposition. Furthermore, it is at least plausible that a lack of perceived
competence is not usually a major problem for elite performers.

Consequently, it seems likely that elite performers are high in both task and
ego orientations, but use these different orientations for different
motivational purposes. [31, p. 41]
Kingston and Hardy suggest that certain types of goal may be more salient than
others to the golfer at different times. [30, p. 144] In addition to performance and
outcome goals, process goals can be used. Process goals are those concerned with
particular elements of the task, such as specific technical aspects. In this sense,
process goals may relate to ‘swing keys’ (see [32]).
ZEN AND GOLF

Jeff Wallach’s discussion of “letting go of control” does proceed beyond the
psychological level to the metaphysical level. His intention is to “present a new way
of seeing golf, which in turn may help you to use golf as a new way of seeing” [14,
p. xviii]. Golf is thus used as a metaphor:
While hitting beyond the fairway [into unmanicured terrain] implies a lack
of control…it also represents a movement beyond established perceptions
and limitations. [14, p. xiv]
For Wallach, golf as a sport is distinguished from golfing as an action, process or

journey. In making a journey into unmanicured (i.e., cosmic) terrain and towards
enlightenment, golf becomes “adventure travel and mysticism” [14, p. xiv].
Competition is regarded as “only a surface reflection of golf’s true spirit” [14, p. 74].
Golf is viewed as an artistic discipline and in terms of koans. Wallach provides a
number of “Zen golf koans”, such as the following:
A club member taking lessons with the Head Pro asked, “What does one
think of while golfing?”
“One thinks of not-golfing,” the Head Pro replied.
“How does one think of not-golfing?” the member asked
“Without thinking, without golfing,” the Head Pro said. [14, p. 160]
In one of the chapters of his book, Wallach delves into one of the most powerful
dimensions of sport and spirituality in articulating the father-son relationship (think
of the movie Fields of Dreams, for example). He describes his father as being, in
essence, “the fairway” and himself as like “the wild grass that begins at its edges and
moves off into deeper rough” [14, p. 156]. However, they share an unspoken love for
golf that “in all its mythical beauty helps us to communicate a love for each other”
[14, p. 156].
Recently there has been a call for sport psychology to consider the spiritual
dimensions of sport in ways that are broadly concerned about purpose and life
meaning. [33, p. 2-3] At the core of contemporary views of spirituality is “the
capacity to appreciate the other in all its ambiguity, not least the central ambiguity of
being the same and different” [33, p. 36].
CONCLUSION
Gallwey’s [11, 12] popular Inner Game, highlighted by the way in which he draws
from D.T. Suzuki’s foreword to Herrigel [19] exemplifies the strong influence of Zen
on sport psychology. Similarly, Wallach [14] uses Zen notions such as ‘letting go of
control’ at the level of performance psychology, but notably he also ventures into the
metaphysical and spiritual realm.
The point of this article can perhaps be summed up with reference to Tiger Woods.
In a newspaper article in 1997, a family friend was reported as saying:
“People are amazed by the way Tiger seems able to deflect so much of the
stress around him.
“But they don’t realise how much Asian training he has had. He prays to
Buddha before every major championship and asks for patience and
containment.
“Before the Masters this year his mother told me she thought he would win.
She never talks like that.
“But she explained that because of practising the strict regime of Zen
Buddhism, he had got himself centred.
“She said that until two weeks before Georgia he had been fixated by the fact
that his father Earl was ill with heart problems.
“But once Earl had recovered from heart surgery, Tiger spent the two weeks
before the Masters meditating and talking to the Buddha.” [34]
REFERENCES
1. Suzuki, D.T., Essays in Zen Buddhism, 1st Series, (C Humphreys, ed.), Rider, London, 1949a.
2. Suzuki, D.T., Essays in Zen Buddhism, 2nd Series, (C Humphreys, ed.), Rider, London, 1949b.
3. Suzuki, D.T., The Zen Doctrine of No-Mind, (C. Humphreys, ed.), Rider, London, 1949c.
4. Suzuki, D.T., Essays in Zen Buddhism, 3rd Series, (C Humphreys, ed.), Rider, London, 1953.
5. Suzuki, D.T., Zen and Japanese Culture, Charles E. Tuttle Co, Inc., Rutland, Vermont, 1959.
6. Suzuki, D.T., An Introduction to Zen Buddhism, (C. Humphreys, ed.), Rider, London, 1969.
7. Suzuki, D.T., The Field of Zen: Contributions to the Middle Way, the Journal of the Buddhist
Society, (C. Humphreys, ed.), Rider, London, 1969a.
8. Suzuki, D.T., Living by Zen, (C. Humphreys, ed.), Rider, London, 1972.
9. Suzuki, D.T., Fromm, E. and De Martino, R., Zen Buddhism and Psychoanalysis, Harper and Row,
New York, 1960.
10. Orlick, T., In Pursuit of Excellence: How to Win in Sport and Life Through Mental Training, 2nd
edn., Leisure Press, Human Kinetics, 1990.
11. Gallwey, W.T.G., The Inner Game of Tennis, Jonathon Cape, London, 1974.
12. Gallwey, W.T.G., The Inner Game of Golf, Jonathon Cape, London, 1979.
13. Murphy, M., Golf in the Kingdom, Latimer New Dimensions Ltd., London, 1972.
14. Wallach, J., Beyond the Fairway: Zen Lessons, Insights, and Inner Attitudes of Golf, Bantam Books,
New York, 1995.
15. Sho-ji, Y., The Myth of Zen in the Art of Archery, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, 2001,
28(1/2), 1-30, http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/jjrs/pdf/586.pdf
16. Bainbridge, W.S., The Sociology of Religious Movements, Routledge, New York, 1997.
17. Hinnels, J.R., A New Dictionary of Religions, Blackwell, Oxford, 1995.

18. Dye, M., MacMillan Dictionary of Religion, MacMillan, London, 1994.
19. Herrigel, E., Zen in the Art of Archery, Routledge, London, 1953.
20. Conze, E., Buddhism: Its Essence and Development, 3rd edn., Bruno Cassirer, Oxford, 1957.
21. Abe, M., Zen and Comparative Studies, (Heine, S., ed.), Macmillan, London, 1997.
22. Blackburn, S., Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1996.
23. Wood, E., Zen Dictionary, Peter Owen, London, 1963.
24. Kapleau, P., The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice and Enlightenment, rev. edn., Rider,
London, 1980.
25. Sadler, A.L., The Code of the Samurai: A Translation of Daijoji Yuzan’s Budo Shoshinshu, Charles
E. Tuttle, Co., Rutland, Vermont, 1941.
26. Csikzentmihalyi, M., Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Harper and Row, New York,
1990.
27. Heise, J.G., Super Golf with Self Hypnosis, Elliots, Kingswood, UK, 1962.
28. Corsini, R.J., Encyclopedia of Psychology, 2nd edn., John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1984.
29. Duda, J.L., Promotion of the Flow State in Golf: A Goal Perspective Analysis, in: Cochran, A.J. and
Farrally, M.R., eds., Science and Golf II, E & FN Spon, London, 1994, 156-161.
30. Kingston, K.M. and Hardy, L., Factors Affecting the Salience of Outcome Performance and Process
Goals in Golf, in: Cochran, A.J. and Farrally, M.R., eds., Science and Golf II, E & FN Spon,
London, 1994, 144-149.
31. Hardy, L., Jones, G. and Gould, D., Understanding Psychological Preparation for Sport: Theory
and Practice of Elite Performers, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, 1996.
32. Jenkins, S., The Use of Swing Keys by Elite Tournament Professional Golfers, Annual Review of
Golf Coaching, 2007, 1, 199-217.
33. Parry, J., Robinson, S., Watson, N.J., Nesti, M., Sport and Spirituality: An Introduction, Routledge,
London, 2007.
34. Lawrence, K., Tiger Gets a Buddha Help From Above, News of the World, 1997, June 8, 78.

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ARGC 2008-body_online 15/7/08 1:41 pm Page 215

216 Annual Review of Golf Coaching 2008

in 1938. Much of the contents originated as lectures given on various occasions in

Zen Buddhism, Sport Psychology and Golf 217

Sunyata suggests that although things in the phenomenal world appear to be

218 Annual Review of Golf Coaching 2008

Zen Buddhism, Sport Psychology and Golf 219

The first dhyana is an exercise in which the mind is made to concentrate on

220 Annual Review of Golf Coaching 2008

now is perfect serenity of contemplation. All intellectual and emotional

RINZAI VERSUS SOTO

Zen Buddhism, Sport Psychology and Golf 221

ZEN AND ENLIGHTENMENT

222 Annual Review of Golf Coaching 2008

own being” [1, p. 32]. Psychologically speaking, satori is super-consciousness or

…the Unconscious is…not to be identified with the one psychologically

According to Hui-nêng, the unconscious is a fundamental concept in Zen

ZEN IS NOT DHYANA

Zen Buddhism, Sport Psychology and Golf 223

In auto-suggestion there is no intellectual antecedent, nor is there any intense

ZEN: EAST VERSUS WEST

224 Annual Review of Golf Coaching 2008

incomprehensible ways? This respect for the greater human personality

Taken basically, psychotherapy is a dialectic relationship between the doctor

In many respects, Zen is an Eastern form of psychotherapy that counteracts

ZEN AND SWORDSMANSHIP

Zen Buddhism, Sport Psychology and Golf 225

modes of self-or-ego consciousness, action is perfectly free from inhibitions. [5, p.

…one movement follows another without being interrupted by one’s

226 Annual Review of Golf Coaching 2008

Takano Shigeyoshi, one of the greatest swordsman produced by modern Japan,

“When the identity is realised, I as swordsman see no opponent confronting

His egotistic pride was boundless. He thought his self-asserting

ZEN IN SPORT PSYCHOLOGY AND GOLF

He developed a pre-competition plan that helped him start in a more calm

Zen Buddhism, Sport Psychology and Golf 227

but also some subsequent difficulty in maintaining this approach throughout

In Japan, perhaps as in other countries too, mere technical knowledge of an

228 Annual Review of Golf Coaching 2008

THE INNER GAME

Zen Buddhism, Sport Psychology and Golf 229

As soon as we reflect, deliberate, and conceptualise, the original

Gallwey believes that focusing Self 1 in a concentration exercise will decrease

The correct mental image of the swing is recorded in your subconscious

230 Annual Review of Golf Coaching 2008

or thought to distract it from other thoughts so that contact may be made

Bahkti yoga teaches that love of the object of concentration makes it

Gallwey describes four steps in concentration: discipline, interest, absorption and

… [Zen masters] generated the ideal of ‘effortless effort’ – caring without

Zen Buddhism, Sport Psychology and Golf 231

To achieve relaxed concentration, three types of skill are required – awareness,

GOLF IN THE KINGDOM

232 Annual Review of Golf Coaching 2008

ZEN, SPORT PSYCHOLOGY AND GOALS

By “winning”, what Gallwey really means is ‘success’ (i.e., achieving a goal).

Zen Buddhism, Sport Psychology and Golf 233

alludes to something similar to enlightenment (satori) in Zen in conceiving of Self 3,

The themes related to competition discussed by Gallwey are pertinent to the

234 Annual Review of Golf Coaching 2008

competence is not usually a major problem for elite performers.

ZEN AND GOLF

For Wallach, golf as a sport is distinguished from golfing as an action, process or

Zen Buddhism, Sport Psychology and Golf 235