First we should look at the reasons why Zen utilizes meditation. Zen differs from other schools of Buddhism in that it believes one can attain satori instantly and without the guidance of a master or a sutra. All schools of Buddhism maintain that we all have Buddha nature, and the potential to become a Buddha, but Zen puts a special emphasis on this fact. As Watts said "one does not practice Zen to become a Buddha; one practices it because one

Juggling in this spontaneous and focused style puts me in what I would describe as a Zen state, giving me a feeling of "non-difference" between my body, the balls(or whatever else I am juggling) and gravity. Just as the seasoned monk can reach this state through the practice of za-zen, my practice and experience can deliver me to this state of "non-difference" consistently and fairly quickly. Because of this I often juggle for stress-relief and to clear-headedness, especially when I need to attune my focus to something. For instance, during the course of writing this paper when worries outside of the task began to distract me, I picked up three balls and put all of my focus into juggling which definitely helped me when I sat down again to write. While I do attain some level of non-difference, due to the intentional and at least semi-contrived nature of juggling, I do not attain as high of a level of non-difference as one would attain through forms of za-zen. However, there is that occasional moment while juggling that I feel no "I", with no sense of intention or conflict, while I passively observe this feat of harmony between gravity, objects, and my body.

Having discovered the Zen aspects of juggling, I will try to further apply some of the upaya, or useful methods for attaining satori. I have recently been working at juggling four and five balls at a time which is very fast paced, and a scenario where decision and action must be even more simultaneous than traditional three ball juggling. Often times, my best execution of juggling four balls is the first time I try it on a given day. Without any thought or hesitation, I can cycle four balls around for a few times in a smooth fashion. It is the subsequent attempts where my execution begins to fall apart. I think that if I began to practice anapasanti meditation, my senses will become more keen and my ability to clear my mind will be heightened, so that I can achieve the clear headedness of my first attempt every single time. If this application succeeds I might try other forms of vipassana meditation, to gain insight into the execution of certain maneuvers. Sometimes in the moment of spontaneity I will execute a trick or combination that I have difficulty reproducing later. With deeper awareness of what my body is doing, I could more easily discover the specific postures, rhythms, and paths the arms and hands take to execute a move.

Although I am considered a fairly advanced juggler, I still slip into the haphazard, almost-dropping-everything style of juggling that you see in the beginner. Instead of stopping and starting over because the execution was sub-par, I simply continue on. These mistakes are more often a crowd pleaser(if there is a crowd) than something negative, because it shows the human and natural side of juggling, much in accordance with the Zen tradition. Would there be any novelty in watching a machine juggle? Similar to the way juggling with no intended routine can help discover new combinations, making mistakes can lead to the discovery of new styles and patterns. While symmetry and uniformity can be beautiful, so can be the haphazard and erratic. Similar to what Sabro Hasegawa described as the "controlled accident"(Watts, p.193), my mistakes can lead to new erratic and wild patterns, which are both impressive in their intricacy and rewarding in their execution, some almost taking on the appearance of a rain shower.

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Approximate Word count = 2746
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)