Zen is Boring

I just stumbled across this web page and found it both funny and profound. 

I've been studying Zen for almost as long as I've been doing triathlons and continuously find parallels between the two.  Endurance sports are for training the body, Zen is for training the mind.  When somebody points out that Zen can be boring, you can definitely say the same about endurance training. 

Running or biking endless miles can be a lot like sitting and staring at a wall for hours on end.  Boring.

But there comes a turning point where you actually enjoy the long workouts.  It takes time, but you gain effeciency and eventually you want to go spend those hours just... going.

I have managed to study and learn Zen the not boring way: Subscribing to Zen podcasts and listening to them while working out.  It may not be typical, but nothing about Zen really is.  You can't corner it and define it.  There are definitely schools of Zen that teach structure and tradition, but once you get past that, it's all in your head.

I recently heard somebody say that he studied Zen for 19 years and found out he was doing it wrong.  His instructor said he himself had studied it for 20 before he realized he was doing it wrong.  Every few months I figure out that I have an aspect of it totally wrong and it changes my practice entirely.  I actually enjoy those moments because each one is like a nice little breakthrough.  Like a PR, of sorts.

Peace and Enjoy!