Shaolin Thinking & the OODA loop

What does Shaolin and OODA loop have in common?

I saw fascinating TED talk on about the Shaolin practices of self mastery. Usually I multi-task while watching videos or listening to podcast, but this video “Master Shi Heng Yi — 5 hindrances to self-mastery” really caught my attention. Watching it, I was compelled to tune out my other distractions, focus on the video, take notes and share. One of the reasons I found it so arresting is that it reminded me of the simple but powerful concepts of the OODA loop.

The talk centers on the Shaolin beliefs of “5 hinderances” that hold you back from meeting your goals. I found it helpful to paraphrase the 5 hinderances in my own words:

• Sensual desire — Sensations that feel so good they can be addicting (doesn’t have to be what you usually thinking of -it can be the taste of great food which leads to gluttony)
• Ill will / aversion — Negative emotions such as anger, hatred, or distaste to a person, thing or situation you are dealing with
• Dullness / Heaviness — Slothfulness of mind and body
• Restlessness — Not being in the present moment
• Skeptical Doubt — Self doubt and “What If something bad happened”

The speaker then moved on to an operating model to overcome those hindrances. It reminded me of the OODA loop, a simple but powerful decision making framework developed by the military strategist John Boyd.

In particular Master Shi Heng Yi describes a simple method for getting through challenges systematically:

RAIN:

• Recognize: Identify which of the 5 hinderances (above) are holding you back
• Accept: The situation leading you to feel this way will likely not change. You have to accept it and adapt yourself to it.
• Investigate: Understand the “Why” and the consequences of your feeling. Why am I feeling this way? What is the consequence of it on what I want to do?
• Non-Identity: Realize you are not defined by the senses, feelings or thoughts that gave rise to this hinderance. Who you are rises above and outside of each of these individuals elements. You are not [just] your body. You are not [just] your emotions. You are not [just] your mind.

This last set of sayings is what I found to be the most powerful:

I am not my body.

I am not my emotions.

I am not my mind.

As a fan of operationalizing the OODA loop in life, I’m going to trying implementing RAIN when it comes to self discipline.

If any of this sounded interesting, I hope you find this talk as inspiring as I did:

“Master Shi Heng Yi — 5 hindrances to self-mastery” — Master Shi Heng Yi | TEDxVitosha