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"Warrior Mind Training"

buddhajunkiebuddhajunkie
edited January 2011 in Buddhism Today

I love how the military is repackaging meditation. Could help a lot of people though.

I find the use of music and touching the abdomen interesting.


http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1920753,00.html

http://warriortraining.us/mission.html


Nevertheless, I'm tempted to write spoof military terms that will replace Buddhist concepts:

"Four Noble Truths" = "The Four Freedom Branches"
"mindfulness" = "eyes on target"
"jhana" = "lock on"
"samsara" = "re-up-ness"
"the hindrances" = "the enemy"
"loving kindness" = "got you covered"
"His Holiness the Dalai Lama" = "Hotel Delta Lima"

Comments

  • MindGateMindGate United States Veteran
    Repackaging it so us silly Americans can still praise sweet ol' Jesus, I presume.
  • Ada_BAda_B
    I misread this as the far more helpful "Worrier Mind Training". I could do with that!
  • DaltheJigsawDaltheJigsaw Mountain View Veteran
    Repackaging it so us silly Americans can still praise sweet ol' Jesus, I presume.
    That's what I am getting from it as well.
  • buddhajunkiebuddhajunkie
    edited February 2011
    Repackaging it so us silly Americans can still praise sweet ol' Jesus, I presume.
    That's what I am getting from it as well.

    I think that's only one part the repacking.

    Another part is making meditation a "manly" and "macho" thing to do. Something that is consistent with being a "warrior." Hence the samurai image.

    Here are some snippets from the mission statement:

    Warrior Mind Training is about sharpening and refining the sword of the mind

    the greatest warriors throughout history have always known that the most powerful weapon a warrior can wield is the mind.

    By combining ancient mind focusing techniques with the healing properties of music, warriors can learn to re-strengthen and re-forge their minds.


    The other part of the repacking is much more substantive-- the military wants these techniques to be easy to learn and to integrate into military life, and to offer quick results. The use of music and the touching of the abdomen, I believe, are ways of building concentration quickly. The use of music may also be a concession to the fact that deployments may make it too difficult to find a place that is quiet. So instead, why not use sounds as part of the meditation?

  • TalismanTalisman Veteran
    Maybe the meditation practices will provide beneficial insight and revelation to some of the soldiers, leading them to renounce violence and seek a life of contemplation and mindfulness.

    Maybe...
  • buddhajunkiebuddhajunkie

    ^^^ I'm sure the military would discourage that depth of insight training.

    However, I still think mindful soldiers would help reduce the number of civilian casualties, since it seems that such cases are often caused by excessive fear.
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    Sorry guys... But trust the American Militia to take something that is supposed to train and focus the mind in to tranquil placid peacefulness and turn it into a gung-ho way of helping soldiers focus on killing someone.

    neat.
    Commendable.
    yay, go the pentagon.....
  • CloudCloud Veteran
    Yeah, what @federica said. Still... it may result in benefits for the mental well-being of those who practice, despite that they may be part of a military organization.
  • TheJourneyTheJourney
    How is this not a good thing???
  • LostieLostie Veteran
    Meditation is also practised by the Christian faith. Go wiki or google.
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