In Zen Buddhism, before eating our meals during formal training, we chant a liturgy that begins with: “First, 72 labors brought us this food. We should know how it comes to us.”
The “72 labors” are the traditional jobs and positions in a Zen Monastery that are necessary for the monastery to function. Each labor, or specialty, is necessary to sustain and support every other labor. Without the gardeners, there would be no food grown. Without those to pick, wash, and transport the food, how would it get to the kitchen? Without the cooks, how would it be prepared? Without the serving crew, how would it be presented for consumption? Without the clean-up crew, how would the dishes be prepared to receive another meal? Without builders and craftsmen, how would there be a shelter and beds and the necessities? Without a teacher there, living and teaching the Dharma, how would there be a monastery in the first place?
This is the cycle, the chain of causality that is unbroken: without food, none of these things comes into being…and yet, without these things, the food cannot come into being or be used to nourish life. They are inter-dependent, and only exist in relation to the context of the other phenomenal beings around them. In Buddhism this is called “Co-Dependent Origination”, which basically means that nothing exists independently of anything else…that in order for 1 thing to arise and have existence, the entire phenomenal universe arises.All things are part of, and support, all other things.
Brock Lesnar is a once-in-a-lifetime athlete. At 6’3″ and over 300 lbs, he was a two time NCAA Division I National Wrestling Champion at the University of Minnesota. After a brief stint with the Minnesota Vikings, he went into the WWE, where he became one of the most highly paid and popular sports entertainment stars in the world.
In 2007, he decided to make the transition to MMA, and after training for only 6 months, had acquired a skill set that it takes most athletes years to learn. A Super-Heavyweight, he has the speed, stamina, and endurance of a middleweight, which is extremely rare.
In 2009, at 32 years old, in his 5th MMA fight, after 2 years of competing, he captured the UFC Heavyweight Championship Belt. However, soon after that, he developed a life-threatening “mystery illness” and deteriorated rapidly. While hunting in Canada, his condition became so bad that he needed to be brought back to the United States in an emergency vehicle and undergo immediate major surgery.
The condition affecting his health is known as “Diverticulitis,” which is an infection of the small pouches in the large intestine responsible for absorbing nutrients through the intestinal wall, called Diverticuli. It is very serious, and can be life threatening.
After his surgery, Lesnar was away from competition for a full year while he recovered. When he returned, he successfully defended his title against Shane Carwin, and then lost it to Cain Velasquez. Immediately following, he took a job coaching on the UFC / SPIKE TV show “The Ultimate Fighter,” where he was scheduled to fight rising star and top contender Junior Dos Santos.
However, Lesnar became sick again as the Diverticulitis during the filming of the show, and had to undergo major surgery again, where 12 inches of his colon were removed. We do not know when he will return to competition.
HERE IS THE KICKER: The major cause of diverticulitis is a LOW FIBER DIET rich in processed foods and lacking essential nutrients. The lack of fiber causes hard stool which becomes impacted or causes abrasions to the internal intestinal wall. When the diverticuli become inflamed, it is called Diverticulosis. When pieces of hard stool become trapped in the diverticuli, they become infected and it becomes diverticulitis.
Lesnar himself has openly admitted and spoken about how is diverticulitis was caused by his poor diet. He claimed to have not eaten a vegetable since he was a teenager; only “meat and potatoes” for YEARS. Now, for us here it is difficult to imagine how someone could go for years without eating a vegetable, but we all know that it is possible, and far too frequent.
So here is one of the best athletes, MMA fighters, and sports entertainment stars in the world, who, at 35, has had his career negatively affected, unnecessarily shortened, and perhaps even permanently ended. He has had his very life itself threatened, and continues to struggle with this condition…..ALL BECAUSE HE DIDN’T EAT HIS VEGETABLES.
At a fundamental level, it almost sounds silly, and it would be if it weren’t so serious and far too common.
For those of you who teach children, and who teach Dietary Self Defense, Brock Lesnar’s story is a great example and case study to illustrate the importance of diet, and the need to see the interconnected nature between what we use to nourish our lives, and the activities that we dedicate that life to.
Article by Richard M Hubbard
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