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Buddha Takes the Mound: Enlightenment in 9 Innings
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.
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.
192 pages, Hardcover
Published May 5, 2020
16 people are currently reading
66 people want to read
About the author
Donald S. Lopez Jr.
70 books56 followersDonald Sewell Lopez, Jr. (born 1952) is the Arthur E. Link Distinguished University Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan, in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures.
Son of the deputy director of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Donald S. Lopez.
Son of the deputy director of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Donald S. Lopez.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
April 28, 2020
Put aside all your preconceived ideas and how dull reading a book about Buddhism might be. Author Donald Lopez introduces the concept of baseball through the teachings of Buddha.
While that might sound like it’s out of left field (I just set the book down, so there are probably more of those coming), Dr. Lopez calmly explains that a Buddhist scroll was found in Yankee Stadium ten years ago, proof positive that the Buddha invented baseball. This book contains the wisdom of the Buddha, packaged neatly in what is called “The Baseball Sutra.” Excerpts of the Sutra are presented at the beginning of each chapter followed by a commentary by the author. For those interested in reading the “The Baseball Sutra” on its own, Dr. Lopez provides it in the Appendix.
The book is a whimsical combination of serious tongue-in-cheek explanations of how baseball is a perfect vehicle to display the teachings of Buddhism. The author has a solid knowledge of baseball history, and due to this, can even be forgiven for being a rabid Yankees fan (while Dr. Lopez experienced much pain in 2001, I was living in Phoenix at that time and had adopted the Diamondbacks). Throughout the book, many of baseball’s stars make an “appearance.” The Buddha, from the highest spot on the field, fields questions and teaches philosophy.
This is a treat for all baseball fans, the text reminding us of our heroes. At the same time, readers will come away with a different look at the game of baseball, its players, its fans, and anyone connected in any way. And I guess it was easy to finish this review without any more baseball slang. It was a can of corn. Five stars.
My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a complimentary electronic copy of this title.
While that might sound like it’s out of left field (I just set the book down, so there are probably more of those coming), Dr. Lopez calmly explains that a Buddhist scroll was found in Yankee Stadium ten years ago, proof positive that the Buddha invented baseball. This book contains the wisdom of the Buddha, packaged neatly in what is called “The Baseball Sutra.” Excerpts of the Sutra are presented at the beginning of each chapter followed by a commentary by the author. For those interested in reading the “The Baseball Sutra” on its own, Dr. Lopez provides it in the Appendix.
The book is a whimsical combination of serious tongue-in-cheek explanations of how baseball is a perfect vehicle to display the teachings of Buddhism. The author has a solid knowledge of baseball history, and due to this, can even be forgiven for being a rabid Yankees fan (while Dr. Lopez experienced much pain in 2001, I was living in Phoenix at that time and had adopted the Diamondbacks). Throughout the book, many of baseball’s stars make an “appearance.” The Buddha, from the highest spot on the field, fields questions and teaches philosophy.
This is a treat for all baseball fans, the text reminding us of our heroes. At the same time, readers will come away with a different look at the game of baseball, its players, its fans, and anyone connected in any way. And I guess it was easy to finish this review without any more baseball slang. It was a can of corn. Five stars.
My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a complimentary electronic copy of this title.
June 9, 2025
Been waiting for a book that just blows away all of those uninformed editorials about “why this random thing is soooo Buddhist”. This book is NOT one of those. It’s something far stranger, smarter, personal and sillier.
A little book that can be read in one sitting. But you might want to take your time with some concepts.
It’s for longtime fans and baseball history buffs. For the uninitiated, it’s worth watching Ken Burns’ Baseball before reading.
Very similar to Smokey The Bear Sutra by Gene Snyder.
Authoritative and accessible introduction to core elements of Mahayana doctrine. It’s especially fun if you’re familiar with the stylistic conventions of Mahayana Buddhist sutras. Students of the dharma will find this to be a clarifying refresher.
Read this book with a wry smile on my face the whole time.
[update: Reread this book after reading Lopez’s newest book Buddhism (2025) and after watching the movie Eephus (2025) and I enjoyed it even more this time around. Feels deeply personal. It’s the closest Don Lopez will likely ever come to writing as a Buddhist apologist. One of my favorite books, no clue who else would like this though.]
A little book that can be read in one sitting. But you might want to take your time with some concepts.
It’s for longtime fans and baseball history buffs. For the uninitiated, it’s worth watching Ken Burns’ Baseball before reading.
Very similar to Smokey The Bear Sutra by Gene Snyder.
Authoritative and accessible introduction to core elements of Mahayana doctrine. It’s especially fun if you’re familiar with the stylistic conventions of Mahayana Buddhist sutras. Students of the dharma will find this to be a clarifying refresher.
Read this book with a wry smile on my face the whole time.
[update: Reread this book after reading Lopez’s newest book Buddhism (2025) and after watching the movie Eephus (2025) and I enjoyed it even more this time around. Feels deeply personal. It’s the closest Don Lopez will likely ever come to writing as a Buddhist apologist. One of my favorite books, no clue who else would like this though.]
August 1, 2020
I'll read this one again and again! Thoroughly enjoyable and enlightening, and explains why baseball and Buddhism appeal to me. I only have two quibbles with this book: the author is a Yankee fan, so it's naturally Yankee-themed. And what would the Buddha have to say about the infield-fly rule? (Though I could probably figure that out based on the rest of the text)
October 23, 2024
Fun for a minute as an accessible approach to a fascinating subject, but sooo belabored and dorky that it was too much even for me, the most belabored dork there is.
August 1, 2020
Laugh out loud funny in places--loved it. Proud Member of Red Sox Nation
September 4, 2020
Now I understand.
It’s the suffering.
“More than any other sport, baseball is suffused with suffering. The best batters fail to get a hit 70 percent of the time. The scoreboard in every stadium each day displays a giant E (for errors). Relief pitchers ae judged not by their wins but by their saves, the number of times they avert disaster. A team that loses four of every ten always goes to the playoffs; a team that loses five of every ten games never does. The season seems endless—162 games—many endured in ‘the dog days of August.’”
If only the 2020 season was 162 games and not the pandemic-shortened 60 games, I could suffer more.
Donald Lopez Jr. makes a case—and it’s a convincing one—that baseball is a Buddhist game. “Like Buddhism, baseball has its own elaborate universe, with good karma leading to rebirth as a god in the major leagues, an abode of private planes and luxury suites. Bad karma leads to rebirth in one of the trifling hells of the minor leagues, with names like ‘Low A,’ with smelly buses and cheap motels.”
Buddha Takes the Mound: Enlightenment in 9 Innings is wry and insightful. (It’s also very funny.) The thesis, in case you’re wondering, is not a gimmick. Lopez means business. He is the Arthur E. Dink Distinguished University Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan and he’s the author, editor, and translator of many books on Buddhism, including by the Dalai Lama.
Buddha Takes the Mound provides us baseball fanatics a quickie course in Buddhism—and a better grasp on the strange fixation with the peculiar sport and its deep layers of history, culture, codes, and unwritten rules.
Lopez analyzes baseball through the lens of various concepts fundamental to Buddhism—impermanence, suffering, no self, karma, and Vajrapani (“the bodhisattva of power”).
“In The Baseball Sutra, the Buddha reveals that the true meaning of the name ‘Vajrapani’ is not ‘he who holds the club,’ but rather ‘he who holds a bat.’ ‘Vajrapani’ means ‘batter.’ He reveals also that this bodhisattva appears in the human world as a great hitter. He further reveals that one of the human incarnations of Vajrapani was Ted Williams.”
To give Williams the Vajrapani mantle (ahem) is really saying something here because Lopez is a lifelong and ardent fan of the New York Yankees (a character flaw that cannot be overlooked). But Lopez deserves credit for recognizing this essential truth about the Red Sox legend. “His home runs, runs batted in, and slugging percentage all make it clear that he had tremendous power, as one would expect of the bodhisattva of power.” Lopez even gives Williams a pass for his grumpy public persona—and for killing animals; Williams was a legendary hunter, too.
As a true Yankee fan who seeks to display the depths of misery that are possible for the truly devoted, Lopez takes us all back to the World Series in 2001. Yankees vs. Diamondbacks. Game 7. Clemens vs. Schilling. Lopez is not afraid to revisit the pain and misery of it all (as a lifelong Red Sox, I wish he had stretched these pages out; maybe a full chapter). Yankees take a 2-to-1 lead into the ninth inning and the world falls apart. A single. A bunt. An errant throw into center field by Mariano Rivera, the greatest relief pitcher of all time. A poor decision by the Yankees third-baseman. A double down the right field line. A hit batter. A bloop. Diamondbacks win.
“How could this have happened?” asks Lopez, clearly still befuddled by the notion that the Yankees occasionally must also endure the cruel winds of baseball fate. “Fielders make errors, both errors of commission and omissions. Hitters get clutch hits. But for all manner of cosmic reasons, the Yankees seemed fated to the win the game, and to win the World Series. They had the greatest relief pitcher in the history of baseball on the mound, they had a future Hall of Famers at short, and they had a rock-solid MVP of the 1998 World Series and Gold Glove winner at third. During the 200 regular season, Rivera had seven wins and thirty-six saves. In seventy-five and two-thirds inning pitched, he had not committed a single error. And yet Rivera threw the ball into center. And yet Brosius held the ball. And yet the Yankees lost. There must be an explanation.”
Yes, Buddhism. Rebirth. Past Lives. Karma. The Buddha knows.
And a lesson for everyone outside baseball—about not dividing the world into friends, enemies, and “those to whom we are indifferent based merely on the experiences of this single short lifetime.”
Buddha Takes the Mound will have you yearning for more baseball. During this challenging year, we could all use a little more suffering … of the old-fashioned kind.
It’s the suffering.
“More than any other sport, baseball is suffused with suffering. The best batters fail to get a hit 70 percent of the time. The scoreboard in every stadium each day displays a giant E (for errors). Relief pitchers ae judged not by their wins but by their saves, the number of times they avert disaster. A team that loses four of every ten always goes to the playoffs; a team that loses five of every ten games never does. The season seems endless—162 games—many endured in ‘the dog days of August.’”
If only the 2020 season was 162 games and not the pandemic-shortened 60 games, I could suffer more.
Donald Lopez Jr. makes a case—and it’s a convincing one—that baseball is a Buddhist game. “Like Buddhism, baseball has its own elaborate universe, with good karma leading to rebirth as a god in the major leagues, an abode of private planes and luxury suites. Bad karma leads to rebirth in one of the trifling hells of the minor leagues, with names like ‘Low A,’ with smelly buses and cheap motels.”
Buddha Takes the Mound: Enlightenment in 9 Innings is wry and insightful. (It’s also very funny.) The thesis, in case you’re wondering, is not a gimmick. Lopez means business. He is the Arthur E. Dink Distinguished University Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan and he’s the author, editor, and translator of many books on Buddhism, including by the Dalai Lama.
Buddha Takes the Mound provides us baseball fanatics a quickie course in Buddhism—and a better grasp on the strange fixation with the peculiar sport and its deep layers of history, culture, codes, and unwritten rules.
Lopez analyzes baseball through the lens of various concepts fundamental to Buddhism—impermanence, suffering, no self, karma, and Vajrapani (“the bodhisattva of power”).
“In The Baseball Sutra, the Buddha reveals that the true meaning of the name ‘Vajrapani’ is not ‘he who holds the club,’ but rather ‘he who holds a bat.’ ‘Vajrapani’ means ‘batter.’ He reveals also that this bodhisattva appears in the human world as a great hitter. He further reveals that one of the human incarnations of Vajrapani was Ted Williams.”
To give Williams the Vajrapani mantle (ahem) is really saying something here because Lopez is a lifelong and ardent fan of the New York Yankees (a character flaw that cannot be overlooked). But Lopez deserves credit for recognizing this essential truth about the Red Sox legend. “His home runs, runs batted in, and slugging percentage all make it clear that he had tremendous power, as one would expect of the bodhisattva of power.” Lopez even gives Williams a pass for his grumpy public persona—and for killing animals; Williams was a legendary hunter, too.
As a true Yankee fan who seeks to display the depths of misery that are possible for the truly devoted, Lopez takes us all back to the World Series in 2001. Yankees vs. Diamondbacks. Game 7. Clemens vs. Schilling. Lopez is not afraid to revisit the pain and misery of it all (as a lifelong Red Sox, I wish he had stretched these pages out; maybe a full chapter). Yankees take a 2-to-1 lead into the ninth inning and the world falls apart. A single. A bunt. An errant throw into center field by Mariano Rivera, the greatest relief pitcher of all time. A poor decision by the Yankees third-baseman. A double down the right field line. A hit batter. A bloop. Diamondbacks win.
“How could this have happened?” asks Lopez, clearly still befuddled by the notion that the Yankees occasionally must also endure the cruel winds of baseball fate. “Fielders make errors, both errors of commission and omissions. Hitters get clutch hits. But for all manner of cosmic reasons, the Yankees seemed fated to the win the game, and to win the World Series. They had the greatest relief pitcher in the history of baseball on the mound, they had a future Hall of Famers at short, and they had a rock-solid MVP of the 1998 World Series and Gold Glove winner at third. During the 200 regular season, Rivera had seven wins and thirty-six saves. In seventy-five and two-thirds inning pitched, he had not committed a single error. And yet Rivera threw the ball into center. And yet Brosius held the ball. And yet the Yankees lost. There must be an explanation.”
Yes, Buddhism. Rebirth. Past Lives. Karma. The Buddha knows.
And a lesson for everyone outside baseball—about not dividing the world into friends, enemies, and “those to whom we are indifferent based merely on the experiences of this single short lifetime.”
Buddha Takes the Mound will have you yearning for more baseball. During this challenging year, we could all use a little more suffering … of the old-fashioned kind.
July 11, 2020
My first thought, as author Lopez laid out the premise of Buddha Takes the Mound: Enlightenment in 9 Innings, was "this is going to be a stretch." And I don't mean the seventh inning type. I mean The Baseball Sutra... REALLY? Even buying into that as earnestly as I did, it just seemed too much to ask of the average reader. But as you read on there are indeed a startling number of parallels between Buddhism and the true nature of Baseball, especially at the professional level, and for both fans and players. Students of the Dharma will recognize many familiar insights, most notably the prominence of the suffering of conditioning in our National pastime. That spoken as a lifelong and long-suffering Red Sox fan. There are many opportunities in this book to reflect and reconsider, to take another look at things familiar, including baseball. Non-duality being what it is, I found myself wondering whether the point of this exercise is to really grok Baseball or Buddhism? Both are prominently positioned in my life, and I can't decide. But of course I can't.
March 15, 2022
This is a great companion to Infinite Baseball: Notes from a Philosopher at the Ballpark, especially since it approaches baseball from a spiritual rather than philosophical perspective. Funnily enough, Alva Noë is a Mets fan whereas Donald S. Lopez Jr. is a Yankees fan, but it's endearing to see their fandoms and loyalties plainly color their perspectives on the game.
July 11, 2020
This is a great book for the baseball fan who is interested in Buddhism. The chapter on no-self and emptiness is one of the clearest explanations I have found. Think upon this. The Yankees, the author’s favorite team, starts out the season with a roster composed of a set of players. As the season continues, players are injured, traded, etc. is it still the Yankees?
There is also a nice guided meditation to help clear out your central channel involving baseball imagery also mindfulness based on watching a game.
The more you are a baseball fan, the better the book.
There is also a nice guided meditation to help clear out your central channel involving baseball imagery also mindfulness based on watching a game.
The more you are a baseball fan, the better the book.
April 20, 2020
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC.
The premise is that Buddha invented baseball. The author presents this as the Baseball Sutra.
The book reads like a philosophy book but it is difficult to follow and read. I read about a quarter into the text but was unable to continue as the topic quit being engaging (to me). I am sure some will revel in it but I felt like it was work to get through.
The premise is that Buddha invented baseball. The author presents this as the Baseball Sutra.
The book reads like a philosophy book but it is difficult to follow and read. I read about a quarter into the text but was unable to continue as the topic quit being engaging (to me). I am sure some will revel in it but I felt like it was work to get through.
July 14, 2022
I knew baseball, but I didn't know Buddhism before reading this book. The book was an excellent primer for Buddhism... I don't think I'll ever forget the ideas of impermanence, suffering and no self, the tantric visualization, with their apt comparisons to the sport. In some cases, it's certainly a bit silly, but I appreciate the sense of humor. Plus, the book is short and well worth the brief time needed to read it.
April 13, 2020
Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this eARC.
I was really excited to read this book and unfortunately it struck out.
I don't think the concept of this book needed to be written as a book. A well edited blog post would have sufficed.
I think this book will appeal to a very small group. I for one am not part of that group.
I was really excited to read this book and unfortunately it struck out.
I don't think the concept of this book needed to be written as a book. A well edited blog post would have sufficed.
I think this book will appeal to a very small group. I for one am not part of that group.
August 14, 2020
Oh boy. Amazing, to find that truth as I’ve always known it can be revealed again — on the vast Mandala of Yankee Stadium, by the Buddha. The bodhisattva known as Seven... well he’s always been a god to me. That, plus the verities of life revealed to us on the sacred diamond in the game’s impermanence, suffering, and lack of self. A classic.
December 7, 2020
Cute premise but could only manage to finish 1/3 of book. Far too Yankee-centric, the final blow for this lifelong Orioles fan being that he claimed that Clete Boyer was a better 3rd baseman than Brooks. Did agree with the notion of Cooperstown being nirvana and there were some entertaining aspects.
September 17, 2022
Really well done.. for those who are already interested in both Buddhism and baseball.
This reminds me of "Alice in Wonderland" with its unusual combination of flippant whimsy and serious scholarship. If you're already interested in both Buddhism and baseball you will learn a lot. If you're looking for a simple introduction, look elsewhere.
This reminds me of "Alice in Wonderland" with its unusual combination of flippant whimsy and serious scholarship. If you're already interested in both Buddhism and baseball you will learn a lot. If you're looking for a simple introduction, look elsewhere.
October 11, 2020
This would be a good book for someone that knows a LOT about baseball and little or none about Buddhism. If you don't know and recognize a lot of past baseball greats and baseball situations you'll have a tough time with this one.
September 24, 2020
Clever, endearing, insightful and funny. The Four Noble Truths have seldom been presented more enjoyably. Enjoyed this a lot.
February 9, 2021
Great premise but now well executed; too pretentious and repetitive.
September 18, 2022
fun and funky. only flaw is the yankees are The Team :(
July 30, 2025
The conceit of this book is simply too clunky to be worth dealing with. Spare yourself by starting with a book like Donald Hall’s Fathers Playing Catch with Sons.
August 28, 2025
Top 5 worst books I ever read.
August 26, 2020
https://www.themaineedge.com/sports/s...
Baseball is a sport of interlocking contradictions. It is a team sport built on a foundation of individual battles. It is rigidly structurally defined initially – three outs, nine innings, nine players – while also being utterly open-ended – there’s no clock and extra innings could technically extend to infinity. It is many things in one and one thing among many.
And so, obviously, the game makes for a wonderful framework in which to discuss Buddhism.
That discussion is at the center of Donald S. Lopez’s new book “Buddha Takes the Mound: Enlightenment in 9 Innings.” Dr. Lopez is considered by many to be this country’s preeminent public Buddhism scholar, having published a number of books exploring Buddhist concepts in accessible ways. However, this latest offering might be the most accessible yet.
Lopez has been entangled with the study of Buddhism, first as a student and then as a professor, for half a century. However, his connection to baseball – specifically, his beloved New York Yankees – extends even long, all the way back to his childhood. By bringing his two passions together, Lopez is able to use each to build upon the other, creating a thoughtful and wryly funny book that entertains even as it enlightens.
The thematic center of “Buddha Takes the Mound” is the Baseball Sutra, an allegorical tale in nine parts that Lopez crafts to illustrate the idea that the Buddha created baseball as a tool for bringing the true tenets of Buddhism into the world.
In the prologue, the Buddha, in the midst of the green mandala in the center of the pure land known as Yankee Stadium, stands upon a mountain topped by a slab of alabaster and brings forth a gathering of immortals – gods and demigods – to occupy the 10 directions. The first square in the east, the second in the north, the third in the west – as well as the space between the second and third squares. The place called the household. The left in the northwest, the center in the north, the right in the northeast. The foot of the mountain and the cave dug in on the left and the rows upon rows of laypeople reaching to the heavens. These are the places where the immortals stand, bodhisattvas with names like The Baby and The Horse of Iron and Seven.
In the eight parts that follow, various aspects of Buddhism are explored through the lens of baseball experience. Some of the roles are filled by players famous and familiar, reading like a who’s who of the game’s legendary figures. Others by unnamed representations of those who love the game while existing outside of it. But each section offers a brief allegorical look at a Buddhist tenet.
Interspersed with these parts are authorial commentaries, where Lopez himself steps in with explanations and clarifications regarding how these stories fit with the concepts that are being addressed. It’s accessible, but not simplistic – there’s a lot of complexity in Buddhist thought, but to his credit, Lopez refuses to condescend, trusting that his combination of allegory and explanation will be more than enough to allow understanding.
“Buddha Takes the Mound” is an interesting read. It’s short and sweet, coming in at just under 200 pages; the back-and-forth of the Sutra and the commentary propels the reader at a nice, brisk pace. The Baseball Sutra itself is actually quite an engaging construction, a strange and engaging bit of philosophical alternate history created by someone uniquely qualified to bring it to life. And Lopez’s commentary is an ideal blend of professorial and casual, offering a good deal of insight on some potentially complicated ideas.
None of this works without Lopez’s passion for baseball, by the way. His love for the game – for the Yankees – is omnipresent, making it an ideal lens through which he can project his scholarly ideas. While the Yankees are definitely front and center, plenty of other players – all-timers or otherwise – make appearances. Jackie Robinson and Jim Kaat, for starters. Part Three of the Baseball Sutra – titled “Impermanence” – is led by a conversation with legendary journeyman John Lindsey. Carlton Fisk turns up, incidentally giving Lopez yet another opportunity for a gentle dig at the Red Sox; his dislike of his team’s Boston rivals is a through thread – a commitment I respect, even as a fan of said Red Sox, I admire and understand the passion.
“Buddha Takes the Mound” is an engaging work of popular philosophy, thoughtfully exploring Buddhist tenets by way of a contemporary institution. Baseball’s combination of rigidity, fluidity and history make it the ideal delivery vehicle for these ideas. With Lopez bringing his considerable intellect and passion to the conversation, it was inevitable that it would be thought-provoking, but it’s the joyfulness that pushes it over the top.
Baseball and Buddhism – an unlikely double play, but a well-turned one nevertheless.
Baseball is a sport of interlocking contradictions. It is a team sport built on a foundation of individual battles. It is rigidly structurally defined initially – three outs, nine innings, nine players – while also being utterly open-ended – there’s no clock and extra innings could technically extend to infinity. It is many things in one and one thing among many.
And so, obviously, the game makes for a wonderful framework in which to discuss Buddhism.
That discussion is at the center of Donald S. Lopez’s new book “Buddha Takes the Mound: Enlightenment in 9 Innings.” Dr. Lopez is considered by many to be this country’s preeminent public Buddhism scholar, having published a number of books exploring Buddhist concepts in accessible ways. However, this latest offering might be the most accessible yet.
Lopez has been entangled with the study of Buddhism, first as a student and then as a professor, for half a century. However, his connection to baseball – specifically, his beloved New York Yankees – extends even long, all the way back to his childhood. By bringing his two passions together, Lopez is able to use each to build upon the other, creating a thoughtful and wryly funny book that entertains even as it enlightens.
The thematic center of “Buddha Takes the Mound” is the Baseball Sutra, an allegorical tale in nine parts that Lopez crafts to illustrate the idea that the Buddha created baseball as a tool for bringing the true tenets of Buddhism into the world.
In the prologue, the Buddha, in the midst of the green mandala in the center of the pure land known as Yankee Stadium, stands upon a mountain topped by a slab of alabaster and brings forth a gathering of immortals – gods and demigods – to occupy the 10 directions. The first square in the east, the second in the north, the third in the west – as well as the space between the second and third squares. The place called the household. The left in the northwest, the center in the north, the right in the northeast. The foot of the mountain and the cave dug in on the left and the rows upon rows of laypeople reaching to the heavens. These are the places where the immortals stand, bodhisattvas with names like The Baby and The Horse of Iron and Seven.
In the eight parts that follow, various aspects of Buddhism are explored through the lens of baseball experience. Some of the roles are filled by players famous and familiar, reading like a who’s who of the game’s legendary figures. Others by unnamed representations of those who love the game while existing outside of it. But each section offers a brief allegorical look at a Buddhist tenet.
Interspersed with these parts are authorial commentaries, where Lopez himself steps in with explanations and clarifications regarding how these stories fit with the concepts that are being addressed. It’s accessible, but not simplistic – there’s a lot of complexity in Buddhist thought, but to his credit, Lopez refuses to condescend, trusting that his combination of allegory and explanation will be more than enough to allow understanding.
“Buddha Takes the Mound” is an interesting read. It’s short and sweet, coming in at just under 200 pages; the back-and-forth of the Sutra and the commentary propels the reader at a nice, brisk pace. The Baseball Sutra itself is actually quite an engaging construction, a strange and engaging bit of philosophical alternate history created by someone uniquely qualified to bring it to life. And Lopez’s commentary is an ideal blend of professorial and casual, offering a good deal of insight on some potentially complicated ideas.
None of this works without Lopez’s passion for baseball, by the way. His love for the game – for the Yankees – is omnipresent, making it an ideal lens through which he can project his scholarly ideas. While the Yankees are definitely front and center, plenty of other players – all-timers or otherwise – make appearances. Jackie Robinson and Jim Kaat, for starters. Part Three of the Baseball Sutra – titled “Impermanence” – is led by a conversation with legendary journeyman John Lindsey. Carlton Fisk turns up, incidentally giving Lopez yet another opportunity for a gentle dig at the Red Sox; his dislike of his team’s Boston rivals is a through thread – a commitment I respect, even as a fan of said Red Sox, I admire and understand the passion.
“Buddha Takes the Mound” is an engaging work of popular philosophy, thoughtfully exploring Buddhist tenets by way of a contemporary institution. Baseball’s combination of rigidity, fluidity and history make it the ideal delivery vehicle for these ideas. With Lopez bringing his considerable intellect and passion to the conversation, it was inevitable that it would be thought-provoking, but it’s the joyfulness that pushes it over the top.
Baseball and Buddhism – an unlikely double play, but a well-turned one nevertheless.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews