In 2010 a Buddhist scroll was found in the ruins of Yankee stadium, and it proved what Buddhist scholar/award-winning author Donald Lopez, Ph.D., had suspected: the Buddha created the game of baseball.
Buddha Takes the Mound: Enlightenment in 9 Innings is The Tao of Pooh for baseball. Funny, moving, and enlightening, this is a read that will engross, enrich, and charm any baseball fan.
At once a love letter to the sport and an engaging introduction to Buddhism, it shows how the Buddha invented baseball to teach us deep truths about the world, about ourselves, and about each other. Lopez believes that Buddhism provides a lens for us to see baseball in a new way, a way that makes us love the game even more, a way that makes us ponder profound questions about winning and losing, about who we are, about finitude and infinitude, about birth and death.
As Lopez reveals, not only is Buddhism integral to baseball; but baseball is Buddhism, and baseball is ourselves.
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THE PROLOGUE
Thus did I hear. At one time, the Buddha was residing in the pure land called Yankee Stadium in the city of New York in the land of America in the Western Continent. As he stood near the center...
Praise for Buddha Takes the Mound
"Baseball has always been a spiritual force of nature in my life and Buddha Takes The Mound only confirms what I thought I knew." —Ron Darling, New York Times Bestselling author and Emmy Award winning baseball analyst
"Runs all the bases with aplomb." —Kirkus Reviews
"Lopez’s passion for baseball and Buddhism is palpable and contagious, resulting in an odd but earnest introduction to Buddhist teachings." —Publishers Weekly