Meditation & the Martial Arts - 9780813922386

In this alloy of philosophical reflection, historical synthesis, and spiritual guide, Michael Raposa, himself a martial arts practitioner, provides an approach to understanding the connection between martial arts and meditation in such diverse disciplines as Japanese aikido, Chinese tai chi chuan, Hindu yoga, Christian asceticism, Zen Buddhism, and Islamic jihad.
The relationship between meditation and the martial arts is a multifaceted one: meditation is one of the practices in which martial artists engage in order to prepare for combat, while the physical exercises constituting much of the discipline of the martial arts might well be considered meditative practices. Raposa suggests there is a sense in which meditation may in turn be considered a form of combat, citing a variety of spiritual disciplines that are not strictly classified as "martial arts" yet that make heavy use of martial images and categories as part of their self-description.
What happens when spiritual discipline is appropriated as exercise for health or recreation? How might prayer, meditation, and ritual be understood as martial activities? What is the nature of conflict, and who is the enemy? These are some of the questions Raposa raises and responds to in Meditation and the Martial Arts, his rumination on the martial arts as meditative practice and meditation as a martial discipline.