Tuesday, 30 June, 2009

Fingers pointing at the moon


The nun Wu Jincang asked the Sixth Patriach Huineng: "I have studied the Mahaparinirvana sutra (wikipedia) for many years, yet there are many areas I do not quite understand. Please enlighten me."

Huineng: I am illiterate. Please read out the characters to me and perhaps I will be able to explain the meaning.

nun: You cannot even recognize the characters. How are you able then to understand the meaning?

Huineng: Truth has nothing to do with words. Truth can be likened to the bright moon in the sky. Words, in this case, can be likened to a finger. The finger can point to the moon's location. However, the finger is not the moon. To look at the moon, it is necessary to gaze beyond the finger, right?


commentary:
Language and words are merely symbols with which to express the truth. But to mistake words for the truth is just as laughable as to mistake the finger for the moon.




无尽藏尼向六祖慧能说:“我研读涅槃经多年,却仍有许多处不甚了解,还请不吝赐教”。
六祖: 我不认识字,请您把经文念出来,或许在下可以略解其中的真理。
无尽藏尼: 你连字都不认识,如何能了解其中的真理?
六祖: 真理是与文字无关的!真理像天上的明月。而文字却像您我的手指。手指可以指出明月的所在,但手指却不是明月,看月也不一定透过手指,不是吗?

评注:
语言、文字只是借用来表达真理,只是帮你达到悟境的舟车而已,误将文字以为真理,不正像误以为手指是月亮一样可笑吗?



蔡志忠动画禅说指月的喻语- 视频- 酷6视频

Tags: video, book, Buddha, impermanence, dualism, zen, story, 蔡志忠, comic, anime


Posted in Buddhism , Personal , Chinese-中文


Monday, 29 June, 2009

All is emptiness


Yamaoka Tesshu, as a young student of Zen, visited one master after another. One day, he called upon Dokuon of Shokoku.
He wanted to show his attainment and was full of pride.

Tesshu: The mind, Buddha, and sentient beings, after all, do not exist. The true nature of phenomena is emptiness. There is no realization, no delusion, no wisdom, no mediocrity. There is no giving and nothing to be received.

Suddenly Dokuon whacked Tesshu with his bamboo pipe. This made Tesshu quite angry.

Tesshu: Why did you hit me?

Dokuon: If nothing exists, where did this great anger come from?


commentary:
"No good, no evil, no sorrow, no happiness, all is emptiness." This profound statement is not even understood by ordinary people. The Zen uttered by Yamaoka Tesshu is but empty words.



山冈铁舟到处参访名师。一天,他来到相国寺见独园和尚。 为了表示他的悟境,他十分得意。
铁舟: 心、佛,以及众生,三者皆空。现象的真性是空。无悟、无迷、无圣、无凡、无施、无受。

当时独园未曾答腔。但他突然举起烟筒将山冈打了一下,使得铁舟甚为愤怒。
铁舟: 你干吗打我?
独园: 一切皆空,哪儿来这么大的脾气?

评注:
「无善无恶,不受苦乐,一切皆空」。连这一句都不足与外人道,铁舟拥有的不过是口头禅罢了。



蔡志忠动画禅说一切皆空- 视频- 酷6视频

Tags: video, book, Buddha, impermanence, dualism, peace, zen, story, 蔡志忠, comic, anime


Posted in Buddhism , Personal , Chinese-中文


Monday, 29 June, 2009

If I do not enter hell who will


A man asked a Zen master: "After a life of a hundred years, where does a monk end up?"

Zen master: He becomes a donkey or a horse.

man: And after that?

Zen master: I will go to hell.

man: But you are a paragon of virtue. How come you will descend to hell?

Zen master: If I do not enter hell, who will enter hell to enlighten you?


commentary:
If one associates the dharma only with clean places, would this imply that the dharma is not present in defiled places such as dirty toilets? The dharma is all-embracing and has no fixed abode. The dharma is present in paradise, but is hell not where the dharma is more in need?



有人问一位禅师:“和尚百年之后向何处去?”
禅师: 做驴做马。
又问: 然后呢?
禅师: 我入地狱。
那人不解: 和尚是大善知识,怎么会入地狱呢?
禅师: 我不入地狱,谁到地狱教化你呢?

评注:
如果只把佛供奉于清洁地方,那么像污秽的厕所即无佛存在吗?
佛是无所不在,天堂有佛,但是地狱不正是更需要佛的地方吗?



蔡志忠动画禅说我不入地狱,谁入地狱?- 视频- 酷6视频

Tags: video, book, death, belief, peace, dualism, bodhicitta, zen, story, 蔡志忠, comic, anime


Posted in Buddhism , Personal , Chinese-中文


Sunday, 28 June, 2009

Heaven and hell in a thought


A samurai approached Japanese Zen master Hakuin Ekaku and asked: "Is there really heaven and hell?"

Hakuin: What are you?

samurai: I am a samurai.

Hakuin: Ha Ha! Which fool employed you to be a samurai? Why, you look more like a butcher!

samurai: What!

The samurai could no longer contain himself. He drew his sword and readied to strike the master.

samurai: I will cut you down!

Hakuin: Here open the gates of hell!

The samurai sheathed his sword and bowed.

samurai: I am sorry ... Please forgive me for my rudeness ...

Hakuin: Here open the gates of heaven.


commentary:
Heaven and hell are not places one goes to after death, but in the here and now! Good and evil are all in the thought, and the gates of heaven and hell will open to you at any time.



有一位将军向白隐禅师问道。。。 “真的有天堂地狱吗?“
白隐禅师: 你是做什么的?
将军: 我是一名将军。
白隐禅师: 哈哈哈, 是哪一个笨蛋请你当将军的?你看来倒像一个屠夫。
将军: 什么!
将军大怒,一手抽出配剑。
将军: 看我宰了你!
白隐禅师: 地狱之门由此打开!
将军猛然醒悟,急忙道歉。
将军: 对不起,请原谅我的失态。。。
白隐禅师: 天堂之门由此敞开!

评注:
天堂地狱并不在死后的将来,而是在现在!善恶在一念之间,天堂地狱之门随时会为你打开!



蔡志忠动画禅说天堂地狱- 视频- 酷6视频


Hakuin Ekaku (1685-1768) Selected Writings.

Tags: video, book, death, belief, peace, dualism, zen, story, 蔡志忠, comic, anime


Posted in Buddhism , Personal , Chinese-中文


Sunday, 28 June, 2009

Carrying a girl across the stream


The Japanese Zen master Tanzan and the monk Ekido came across a beautiful girl who was unable to cross a stream.
Tanzan carried her across the stream.

Tanzan: I will carry you across the stream.

Girl: Master, thank you and farewell!

The two monks continued walking for half the day ... before Ekido couldn't restrain himself any longer.

Ekido: We monks do not go near women, right? Why did you do that earlier?

Tanzan: Er, what woman are you refering to? I put her down long ago. Are you still carrying her?


commentary:
The one who carried the girl across the stream had no feelings of lust. He acted spontaneously and with nonchalance. Is the other monk not the one who all along had lustful desires?



坦山和尚与一年轻和尚走在路上看见一位漂亮的女孩过不了河。
坦山和尚说: 我抱你过河。
女孩: 师父,谢谢您了 再见!
他俩继续走了半天路程。。。 小和尚终于忍不住了。
小和尚: 我们出家人不是不近女色吗?刚才你为什么要那样做?
坦山: 哦!你说那个女人吗? 我早就把她放下了,你还抱着吗?

评注:
渡人过河的,心中并没有抱持着女色,坦坦然无牵无挂。一直抱持着女色的不正是那个小和尚么?



蔡志忠动画禅说渡女过河- 视频- 酷6视频

Tags: video, book, monk, belief, peace, dualism, zen, story, 蔡志忠, comic, anime


Posted in Buddhism , Personal , Chinese-中文


Saturday, 27 June, 2009

Life is all in the breathing


Buddha asked his disciples, "How long is the human lifespan?"

One disciple: Eighty years.

Buddha: Wrong.

Some disciples: Seventy years...sixty years.

Buddha: Wrong, wrong!

The disciples asked: Then just how long is the human lifespan?

Buddha: Life is all in the breathing.


commentary:
Do not dwell on what is past and what is to come, but live in the world of the present. One has to always understand the "now" and perceive all the wonderful things.



世尊问弟子说:“人生究竟有多长?”
一弟子: 八十年。
世尊: 不对。
又有弟子答: 七十年。。。六十年。
世尊: 不对,不对!
众弟子不解: 那么人生究竟有多长?
世尊: 人生只在呼吸间。

评注:
不要沉湎于昨日、明日的世界中,而应该生活在「今日」的世界里,应随时随地体会到「当下」周边美好的事物。



蔡志忠动画禅说把握现实- 视频- 酷6视频

Tags: video, book, Buddha, impermanence, dualism, joy, zen, story, 蔡志忠, comic, anime


Posted in Buddhism , Personal , Chinese-中文


Friday, 26 June, 2009

Zen in a teacup


Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era, received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.
Nan-in served him tea. He poured tea into the cup and even though the cup was full, he kept pouring.

professor: Master, the cup is overflowing with tea. Please do not pour any more.

Nan-in: You are just like this cup, full of your own views and with your own way of thinking. If you do not empty your cup first, how am I to show you Zen?


commentary:
Those who are full of their own opinions will be deaf to words of wisdom from others. In a discussion between two persons, what often happens is that each is intent on asserting his own views. As a result, apart from hearing his own voice or views, he does not learn anything else.



一位学者向「南隐禅师」问禅,南隐以茶相待。
他将茶水倒入杯中,茶满了,但他还是继续倒。。。

学者: 师父,茶已经满出来了,不要再倒了。
南隐禅师: 你就象这只茶杯一样,里面装满了你自己的看法、想法。你不先把你自己的杯子空掉,叫我如何为你说禅?

评注:
心中有自己的成见,就听不见别人的真言。两人对谈,多数人都是急于表达自己的意见,结果听到的只是自己的声音以外,什么都不曾听到。



蔡志忠动画禅说杯茶禅理- 视频- 酷6视频

Tags: video, book, communication, zen, story, 蔡志忠, comic, anime


Posted in Buddhism , Personal , Chinese-中文


Friday, 26 June, 2009

Realization of the wave


small wave: I feel so distressed. Other waves are so big whereas I am so small. Other waves are so powerful whereas I am puny...

Wave: It is because you have not seen clearly your original nature that you have sorrow.

small wave: Am I not a wave? Then what am I?

Wave: The wave is only a temporary form of your nature. In actuality, you are water.

small wave: Water?

Wave: Once you perceive clearly that your actual nature is water, you will no longer be obsessed with the form of the wave and thus you will no longer be in sorrow.

small wave: I understand now. I am you, you are also me. We are both One.


commentary:
Humans are egocentric, one thinks that the "Self" is "me", thereby differentiating oneself from others and comparing oneself with others, thus bringing about sorrow. Actually, humans are but one of the constituents in the immensity of Nature. Think about it ...



波浪说: 我好痛苦啊,别的浪那么大,而我这么小,有的浪境遇很快,而我又这么差。。。
水说: 因为你没有看清你的本来的面目,所以会有痛苦。
波浪说: 我不是波浪吗?那我是什么?
水说: 波浪只是你短暂的现象,其实你是水!
波浪说: 水?
水说: 当你认识清楚你的本体是【水】的时候,你就不会再为波浪的形体所迷惑,你就不会痛苦。
波浪说: 我明白了!我就是你、你也是我,你我同为一个大我。

评注:
人会有痛苦是因为没有悟通人的本来面目是什么。。人很自私以为自己是自己的,于是就与别人有所比较,于是就有痛苦!其实人是大自然的一分子,想想。。。。


蔡志忠动画禅说波浪的觉悟- 视频- 酷6视频

Tags: video, book, interdependence, dualism, zen, story, 蔡志忠, comic, anime


Posted in Buddhism , Personal , Chinese-中文


Thursday, 25 June, 2009

Hanging Temple photos


View 悬空寺 photos (shared by Swee Fun)
(link to a Google Doc slideshow, hit spacebar for navigation)

The Hanging Temple (simplified Chinese: 悬空寺; traditional Chinese: 懸空寺; pinyin: Xuánkong Sì) is a temple built into a cliff ( 75m Above the ground )near Mount Heng in the province of Shanxi. The closest city is Datong, 65 kilometers to the northwest. Along with the Yungang Grottoes, the Hanging Temple is one of the main tourist attractions and historical sites in the Datong area. Built more than 1,500 years ago, this temple is unique not only for its location on a sheer precipice but also because it includes Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian elements.

Related: 悬空寺 (百度百科)
Wikipedia 悬空寺 (Hanging Temple)

Tags: China, history, Photos, religion, architecture, design


Posted in Chinese-中文 , Buddhism , Photos , World


Monday, 8 June, 2009

Federer ties Slam mark with French Open victory

From ESPN.

Rafael Nadal beats Roger Federer for sixth French Open (2011)

Nadal flummoxed Federer yet again Sunday in a riveting, highlight-filled match, beating him 7-5, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-1 for a record-tying sixth French Open championship and 10th major title overall.

Federer ties Slam mark with French victory
Intruder runs onto court, stops men's final
Ford: Federer in a class by himself
Garber: Is Federer the greatest of all time?
Garber: From prodigy to excellence
Garber: Sampras fine sharing the torch
Photos: Revisiting Fed's 14 majors
Sampras: Federer is best ever to play

Kuznetsova upsets Safina for women's title
Kuznetsova gets an assist from Marat and Federer (TennisWorld)

From RolandGarros

Federer displays greatness in winning first Roland Garros
Flawless Federer storms to historic first French crown
Interview with Roger Federer
Interview with Robin Soderling

Agassi pulling for Federer title
Fabrice Santoro: Federer’s biggest match ever


Interview with Svetlana Kuznetsova

Congratulations to both Federer and Kuznetsova for winning their 1st French Open!

PARIS -- Roger Federer beat Robin Soderling, tied Pete Sampras and won the French Open at last.

Undeterred by an on-court intruder, Federer defeated surprise finalist Soderling 6-1, 7-6 (1), 6-4 on Sunday to complete a career Grand Slam and win his 14th major title, matching Sampras' record.

"It's maybe my greatest victory, or certainly the one that removes the most pressure off my shoulders," Federer said. "I think that now and until the end of my career, I can really play with my mind at peace, and no longer hear that I've never won Roland Garros."

On his fourth try in a Paris final, Federer became the sixth man to win all four Grand Slam championships.


Sampras said Federer deserves to be at the top of the all-time list.

"I'm obviously happy for Roger," Sampras told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from Los Angeles, where he lives. "Now that he has won in Paris, I think it just more solidifies his place in history as the greatest player that played the game, in my opinion."

The supportive crowd included Andre Agassi, the most recent man to complete a career Grand Slam when he won at Roland Garros 10 years ago. Agassi presented Federer with the trophy.

"I'm so happy for you, man," Agassi said.

"You're the last man to win all four Grand Slams," Federer said. "Now I can relate to what it really feels like. ... It feels good to be for once on the podium as the winner. It's a magical moment."

Tears ran down Federer's cheeks as the Swiss national anthem played.


"Roger, really, congrats to you," Soderling said.

Federer owed Soderling a thank-you for easing his path by upsetting four-time defending champion Rafael Nadal in the fourth round.

"I kind of was relieved, because he was going to be the hardest one to beat," Federer said.

Nadal defeated Federer at Roland Garros the past four years, including three consecutive times in the final.

Besides Federer and Agassi, the other men to win all four Grand Slams tournaments were Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver and Roy Emerson.

****

Q. We would like to know if you felt more suspense than we felt? You won the first set, second set in the tiebreaker, third, set break immediately. So for you it was easier than you expected,or...


ROGER FEDERER: I mean, sure, I expected a tough match today obviously because Robin's been playing well and it's a final of Paris, one thatI've never been able to win yet.

..

I was very nervous at the beginning of the third set because I realized how close I was. The last game, obviously you can imagine how difficult that game was. It was almost unplayable for me because I was just hoping to serve some good serves and hoping that he was going to make four errors. It was that bad.

So, yeah,it was an emotional roller coaster for me.


Q. McEnroe never won here, and Edberg never won here and Pete never won here. Are you aware there were a lot people thinking you sort of fit into that category and it would have been shame if you didn't do it?

ROGER FEDERER: Well, I always tended to disagree with those. I had the feeling I gave myself too many opportunity over the years at the French Open. I think Pete was maybe once in the semis. Other players were maybe once in the finals. I was in the final three times, one semis before, and I was able to win Hamburg four times and be in the finals of Monaco and Rome, of all those tournaments.

I knew the day Rafa won't be in the finals, I will be there and I will win. I always knew and that I believed in it. That's exactly what happened. It's funny. I didn't hope for it,but I believed in it.

Q. When Nadal lost, you didn't make many comments about it because you had to remain focused on your next opponents. You had to be focused on that rather than on Nadal that was no longer there. But now it's over, so can you tell us if you thought, okay, this is gonna be a good year for me? Did it come to your mind?


ROGER FEDERER: Well, I knew I had bigger opportunities than the years before, because, you know, records against Nadal are tough for me. Even I had defeated him in Madrid, I knew that if he was no longer in the draw, things would be easier for me. I was not happy he lost. That's not the type of guy I am.

This is also why I had to keep my feelings to myself. The press wanted to hear me and listen to what I had to say. When the time came for the press conference, they wanted me to say something about it. But to me, it's important to have respect for Rafa for everything he's accomplished over the last four years. He never lost here. That's an exceptional record, and it shows how difficult it is to win a tournament five times in a row.

That's something. I know. I've done it in Wimbledon and US Open. He tried to achieve it here, and it shows it's not easy to achieve. Of course, I was disappointed for him, but I also knew that it was a big opportunity for me. But it also increased pressure on me.

Didn't make much difference right at that time, but for the final it did because I was not playing Nadal but Soderling.


Q. Since last Sunday and the elimination of Nadal, there were great expectations on you. Was it the longest week of your life?

ROGER FEDERER: Well, these were two long weeks, but especially the last one, because it was as if I had to play four finals against Haas, Del Potro, Monfils, and Soderling. The pressure is so big. People really wanted my to win.

It was very difficult to manage all this. This is why I'm very tired right now. I think it's going to take me a bit of time to sort of accept this victory. It came as a surprise in the end because I've never won here, but the feelings were great, absolutely great.

This is why I think it might take me a bit more time to realize that I made it.


Q. Soderling played beautiful matches all along the tournament. Today he was almost absent during the first set. What happened? Was it the pressure of the final? How do you analyze this?

ROGER FEDERER: Well, no, I don't think so. He probably didn't have the beginning of the match he was expecting, because I was playing well. But when I analyze the matches he played and when I saw how he won, I said, yes, he won against guys who were playing very far from the baseline.

So this gave him time to organize and he used his big shots. I never had many problems returning his shots. I knew that there would be rallies, and it was important for me to be close to him, to play hard against him, and use the advantages I have on clay.

This is exactly what I wanted to do, and it worked out. This is how I beat him the last nine times. I have the feeling that the other opponents let him play too much. This is what I tried not to let him do.

Q. I asked you the question on Friday, and you said, Ask me the question on Sunday. I can't remember what it was,though. Well, it was about did you have signs that it really was your year.

ROGER FEDERER: Yes. Well, the way I won the match against Acasuso and Tommy Haas gave me that feeling that this could be a good year. Then Rafa lost, and Djokovic had lost before that, so it didn't make much difference. But it allowed me to have greater hopes.

But there were moments when I was so close to losing. I feel it's just like Agassi when he won in his days. It's not that we're lucky, but we need to use luck when it's there. When I look at how I practice so hard,thinking I'm doing all this for Paris, for Roland Garros, everything came in at the right time.

Winning tight matches  showed me that, yes, maybe this is the good year.

****

After she lost in Rome, Kuznetsova left for Moscow, which disappointed her coaches at the Sanchez-Casals Tennis Academy. She told them she didn't want to train; furthermore, she didn't want to return to Spain. She was discontented, and so deeply that over the following months there were times when she wanted to quit tennis. "I never felt it," she remembered, "But I said it."

One of the people she said that to was her friend and confidant, Marat Safin. "I said, 'Marat,' I don't know, maybe I should not play. He said, 'Okay, are you crazy or what? You have unbelievable opportunities. You just have to play.'"

She really felt the urge to move back to Russia, to Moscow, a longing that panicked some of her acquaintances and advisers. "I had so many people telling me, you won't be able to play here (Moscow), you won't be able to train here, because it's too much information; it's too much destruction, too much night life, or whatever."

Kuznetsova lost in the first round at the Olympic Games in Beijing; given her deeply-felt and oft-expressed patriotism, it was a devastating blow. She lingered at the Olympics, and one day took a gaggle of Russian female basketball players to see the tennis. At the facility, they saw Roger Federer and appealed to Sveta to get Federer to pose for a picture with them.

Sveta rolled her eyes, just remembering the incident. "You know how I love Roger," she said, "and I never came to him myself to ask for a picture. But it's easier to do something like that for other people so I did go to him. And I was looking at him and he was looking at me and he said, 'What do you want?' "

When Sveta told him, he said, 'Sure, no problem,' and posed with the girls. He also had a 10-minute talk with Kuznetsova - the first conversation she'd ever had with the icon. She told him about the terrible time she was having making a decision about where to live, and she says he told her: "Look, it's up to you. You can only depend on yourself. You can control it. If you can live in Moscow and concentrate, do this. If you cannot. . .  only you can judge, you know."

Kuznetsova made her final decision to re-locate for good at the end of the year. She returned to Moscow and began to work hard; soon she hired a new coach; fittingly enough, it was the Billie Jean King of women's pro tennis in Russia, Olga Morozova. Although the relationship did not last (Morozova has since been replaced by former doubles specialist Larissa Savchenko), Kuznetsova gave Morozova, along with Savchenko, significant credit for her win today.


Me and Marat, we're similar - we hang out a lot, we talk about serious stuff. We go to places - I don't even want to get into what kind of places. . .  Marat and I, we still friends. He help me a lot last year, with agents and stuff. And he texted me after the match, 'Congratulations.'"

Related:
Nadal's reign in Paris comes to an end.

Tags: tennis, legend, history, story


Posted in Sports


Wednesday, 3 June, 2009

Sharks can be cuddled like dolphins

From Telegraph.

Sharks can be trained like dolphins to feed from keepers, roll over and enjoy cuddles, according to new research.

In experiments carried out in the US some varieties of shark allowed themselves to be picked from the water and cuddled.

Keepers at the UK's Sea Life Centres will now use the training techniques in the hope that they will end up with hundreds of trained sharks.


The experts at the aquariums are to begin a period of intensive tuition by using coloured boards and sounds to train the sharks in a similar way to that used by the scientist Ivan Pavlov in training dogs.

It will mean that feeding becomes easier because each shark in a tank will know when it is their turn to feed.

The Sea Life centres have many different types of shark and within just three months the brightest ones should be responding to commands.


Sharks learn the signals then, when they see or hear them, they approach the keeper who holds a "target stick".

The sharks then rub their noses against the stick and wait until they are fed.

No one had attempted to train sharks in this way before, but it could now teach experts a great deal about the creatures.

Carey Duckhouse, of Sea Life, said: "The US team has shown that many varieties of sharks can quickly learn to respond to a combination of audible and visual signals.

"A shark answers its own sound and colour signal by putting its nose on a target-stick held by the trainer, and keeping it there until it receives food.

"Some species, such as zebra sharks, will even roll over to have their tummies scratched or allow themselves to be lifted from the water without any kind of struggle.

"The implications for improving shark welfare are enormous. It means when we have to move them we can get the sharks to swim to a certain spot rather than have to chase them around."

Related:
Just How Smart Are Dolphins?.

Tags: dolphin, shark, Fish


Posted in Animals , Science , Fish


Monday, 1 June, 2009

Nadal reign in Paris comes to an end

Djokovic outlasts Nadal in longest Grand Slam final (2012 Australian Open)

Djokovic's 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 victory over Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open final is a sweat-drenched, sneaker-squeaking 5 hour, 53-minute endurance contest that ended at 1:37 a.m. Monday morning in Melbourne.

Djokovic overcame a break in the fifth set to win his fifth Grand Slam tournament and third in a row. Nadal was his vanquished opponent in all three.

Nadal thought his win in the 2008 final against Federer was the best match he's played, but gave Sunday's match a top place in his personal rankings nonetheless.

"This one was very special," he said. "But I really understand that was a really special match, and probably a match that's going to be in my mind not because I lost, no, because the way that we played."

----

Although this would be a tough loss for Nadal, he is happy that he can now compete with Djokovic on equal terms. Last year, he was never close to beating Djokovic, losing to him 6 times.


Rafael Nadal beats Roger Federer for sixth French Open (2011)

Nadal flummoxed Federer yet again Sunday in a riveting, highlight-filled match, beating him 7-5, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-1 for a record-tying sixth French Open championship and 10th major title overall.

2010 U.S. Open: Rafael Nadal beats Novak Djokovic to complete career Grand Slam

Now owner of a career Grand Slam at age 24, champion at three consecutive major tournaments and nine overall, the No. 1-ranked Nadal is suddenly chasing something else: recognition as the greatest tennis player in history.

Approaching perfection for stretches -- the guy played more than 40 points in a row without making an unforced error -- Nadal beat Novak Djokovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 in a match filled with fantastic shotmaking by both men and interrupted by a thunderstorm a day after it was postponed by rain.


Nadal outclass No. 12 Tomas Berdych, wins the Wimbledon and French Open in the same year for the second time.

The King reclaims his crown.
Nadal wins fifth French Open title.

Nadal beats the No. 5-seeded Soderling of Sweden 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 Sunday

Three-time French Open champion Mats Wilander was impressed. "He's a much, much more complete player than he used to be," Wilander said. "He's playing faster, hitting the ball with lower trajectory and deeper, too. He's serving better, too, moving the ball around."

Nadal was asked about his ability to summon supreme concentration in break-point situations. He referenced the weekly ATP World Tour statistics package.

"I am No. 1 on break points saved," he said, laughing. "Specialist."



From ESPN.
Nadal's historic run in Paris ends.
How Soderling humanized Rafa in Paris.

Interview with Rafael Nadal after the match (rolandgarros)

At precisely 5:54 p.m. local time, history was made at Roland Garros. For the first time here, the 22-year-old Spaniard lost a match.

Nadal did seem uncharacteristically laconic at times and displayed negative body language throughout, but just as much, Soderling won it.

Playing the match of his 24-year-old life, Soderling prevailed 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 7-6 (2), which, considering the context, was one of the most staggering upsets in recent Grand Slam history. Nadal had won all 31 of his previous matches here and seemed destined to become the first man or woman to win five consecutive titles.

Coming into this fourth-round match, Nadal had won all 48 of his best-of-five matches on clay.

Afterward, he was still flushed, but composed.

Mats Wilander, a three-time champion at Roland Garros, analyzed the match for Eurosport.

"All the players are in a state of shock," Wilander said afterward. "At some point, Nadal was going to lose, but nobody expected it to happen today, or maybe even next year. Now there's a tournament to be won by a bunch of players.

"I think they're all having a beer tonight."

Only one month ago, Nadal strafed Soderling 6-1, 6-0 in Rome -- one of the worst losses in the Swede's career. But for 3½ hours at Roland Garros, Soderling consistently out-willed and out-stroked Nadal. And against all odds, he showed more heart when the points mattered most.

So what changed? Perhaps it was Madrid.

The blueprint for the victory was provided by Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer two weeks ago in Spain. Although Djokovic lost, he played an artful, passive-aggressive game that extended Nadal to more than four hours. Federer finished him off in a straight-sets final, but showed a different approach against Nadal than he has taken in the past.

He stepped into the court, making it a smaller playing field. He made a deliberate attempt to keep rallies short, going for shots that were sometimes beyond safe. He took huge cuts with his forehand, running around his backhand whenever feasible. He jumped on anything short and teed off on second serves. He mixed it up with slices and even a few drop shots.

This is precisely what Soderling did. What was so astonishing was that he was able to maintain that unconscious level for four sets.

Last week, Darren Cahill was asked for a game plan to beat Nadal. Cahill, who worked briefly with Federer earlier this year, had three words: High-risk tennis.

"You have to attempt as best as you can, to take Rafa out of his comfort zone," Cahill said. "The best way to do that is to be aggressive, very aggressive."

"I never was calm -- that's the truth," Nadal admitted. "The match started off very badly for me. I mean, the second set, I should have won it 6-4. Then there was wind, and that wasn't good.

"Then not being calm enough to face the important points, so I had to fight. But sometimes it's not enough fighting. You have to play a good level of tennis. Sometimes people think I win because I'm physically fit, but, no. When I win, it's because I play well, and that wasn't the case today."

The King, it must be said, is still only 22 -- three days from 23rd birthday.

"Unfortunately, it's the first time I'm not going to celebrate my birthday in Roland Garros," Nadal said. "I hope I'll be able to celebrate more here and be back next year and try and win."

Hard to imagine, that Federer now has a sterling chance to win his first French Open and complete his set of Grand Slam trophies.

Soderling, for his part, plays Nikolay Davydenko in a surprise quarterfinal.

In his postmatch news conference, Nadal was asked the obligatory question about his preparation for Wimbledon.

"Right now, my preparation is for the swimming pool of my house," Nadal said, smiling at his own joke. "Yeah, give me three more days to think about preparation for Wimbledon."

****

PARIS -- Bjorn Borg's historical place here is safe, thanks to a feisty fellow Swede who froze out the hottest clay-court player of his generation.

"I'm expecting at least an SMS [text message] from him,'' Robin Soderling said, smiling under cocked eyebrows, after ending Rafael Nadal's quest for a fifth straight French Open title, which would have broken the record held jointly by Nadal and Borg.

"Robin, we know, has the capacity to beat anyone,'' Wilander said. "It's just that three out of five sets, mentally he hasn't been strong enough. He hits unbelievably hard from above his shoulders, so obviously Nadal was late and didn't put as much spin on the ball, but it was all caused by the opponent. It's monumental, it's been coming for a long time.''

"He thinks he can beat anyone on any surface,'' Wilander said. "I have to say finally it's nice to see someone stand up to Nadal mentally, and not be bothered by anything and let Nadal take his time, don't worry about it, and be in Rafa's face a little more than the other guys are doing.

"Robin is like that against everybody. He was like that against Nalbandian and 12,000 Argentines in Davis Cup. He really doesn't give a s---, basically. It's a throwback.''

Wilander said he didn't think there was anything Nadal could have done tactically to turn the tide, and Stubbs agreed, saying Soderling's 6-foot-4 height, albatross reach, frequently disguised forehand and flat, penetrating groundstrokes proved too much for Nadal to overcome.

"He's got those long levers to go running for Nadal's long, spinning balls,'' Stubbs said. "The reach helped him on the wide balls, and his height helped him on the high balls.

"Rafa looked shell-shocked today. It looked to me like he knew he didn't have it.''

****


Q. Do you think you maybe played too many tournaments lately?

RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, when you lose, always everybody starts to analyze if I play too much. If I'm tired. The true, I won four years in arow playing the same. That's the true. This year I play the same and I lost. What happen? I lost. That's it.

That what happened. I lost another opportunity to win a big tournament here. Always is a big loss for me. But in the end is one more match, yeah.


Q. You had to know this day would come. Are you surprised it came so quickly?

RAFAEL NADAL: What? (Through translation.)

I don't know. If you think it's soon after four years? (laughter.) Why do you think, no? A lot of players won four years here in a row? Is only another one, no?


Q. Was it the wonderful game level of Soderling on this surface, or because you were on a bad day or any other phenomenon, like you played in Barcelona then in Madrid? Maybe you played too many tournaments.

RAFAEL NADAL: Stop it. Stop it. Had I played my best level against Soderling, maybe the results would have been different. But he played a very good level of tennis and I didn't play well, so the results are what they are.

I didn't play at my best level. I have days like this, and this was one of those days. I had someone playing very well in front of me.

I'm not going to modify the way I prepare,because I've always prepared in the same way for the last four years. So that wouldn't make sense.


Q. A minute ago you were saying that, well, this day had to happen one day. So were you prepared, or are you surprised by this defeat?

RAFAEL NADAL: Well, all of us athletes, we know that when we walk on the court we can either win or lose. I know it for a fact anything can happen, and I have to accept them both in the same way.

You cannot collapse either because you've won a match or because you've lost it. This is sport, and you can have victories or defeats. No one remembers defeats on the long run. People remember victories.

So I have to move forward. Well, I have little time left to prepare for Wimbledon, but I have to move forward and try and prepare the best I can.


Q. If there were no one from Spain, would you like Federer to win?

RAFAEL NADAL: Yeah, that would be great. He's tried to win it for many years, and he was very unfortunate losing three finals and one semifinal. If one guy deserves it, that's him.


Related:
Federer ties Slam mark with French Open victory.

Tags: tennis, legend, history, story, mindset


Posted in Sports