….Buddhism After Baseball…. Ex-slugger credits faith with turnaround BY RICHARD SCHEININ Mercury News Religion and Ethics Writer copyright@Mercury News 1999 SUISUN CITY -- When Orlando Cepeda was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame last week, San Francisco Giants co-owner Peter Magowan quipped that Cepeda will be the first Buddhist in Cooperstown. Cepeda likes the sound of it: The Baby Bull is a Buddhist. Sitting in his living room, the former Giants slugger speculates: Had he been a Buddhist 40 years ago, he would have pushed his lifetime .297 batting average over .300. Even though fewer than 40 players have hit more home runs than he, Cepeda would have shoved his total of 379 past 500. Thats because Buddhism would have focused his young mind, he believes, and dodged the bad karma that plagued him during his 17 years in the major leagues. ``I had a good career but it could have been twice as good, he says. ``My mind was very cloudy. I couldnt see myself because my life was so ugly. But when I began chanting, my life became polished. ``Buddhism saved me. Vast spiritual search In a sense, Cepedas spiritual search reflects the contemporary, American religious quest, which extends to the clubhouse. The Giants of the 80s were famous for their evangelical ``God Squad. Islams adherents include Tariq Abdul-Wahad of the NBAs Sacramento Kings -- known as Olivier St. Jean when he played for San Jose State. Former Chicago Bulls Coach Phil Jackson is famous for building team play through Zen Buddhist principles. Buddhism brought Cepeda back from the depths. His playing days were tainted by chronic injuries and disputes with managers; matters got worse after his 1974 retirement. There was a nine-year free-fall through financial suffering, marital breakup and a 10-month prison term for marijuana smuggling in Puerto Rico. Now in his 16th year of Buddhist practice, Cepeda doesnt proselytize. But when asked about Buddhism, he talks with animation, and credits his Hall of Fame election -- after a 20-year wait -- to daily chanting. He chants, deep and loud: Last week, he and two friends filled Cepedas living room with ringing recitations of the Lotus Sutra, an essential Buddhist teaching about the ultimate perfectibility of human beings. Cepeda, big as a bull at 61, sat before an oak altar, adorned with mandala, incense and candles. He progressed quickly through the Sanskrit, vigorously rubbing prayer beads in the huge hands that once wielded a weighty 40-ounce bat. Baseball fans recite, like mantras, the statistics that define its best performers: For Cepeda, these include nine seasons in which he batted over .300, seven All-Star appearances and winning the National League rookie of the year award in 1958. But his selection to the Hall of Fame is about more than statistics. His Buddhism adds a new dimension to the Hall, a shrine whose original members were all men of Christian heritage. ``A Buddhist? asks Jeff Idelson, a spokesman for the Hall. ``I dont believe there are any others in the Hall of Fame, but were happy to have him. Cepeda, born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, in 1937, grew up Catholic, an altar boy who regularly went to church with his mother, Carmen. But Catholic faith in the Caribbean often echoes with African spirituality. One branch of Cepedas family is famous for maintaining the West African chants and sacred drum music that were once common throughout Puerto Rico. When he hit the skids in the 70s, Cepeda was open to a variety of religious experiences: ``I always knew something was out there waiting for me, he says. ``I tried all the different religions, from Catholicism to voodoo. Return to basics Cepeda is a member of Soka Gakkai International, a sect based in Japan that claims 12 million members in 128 countries. It traces its origins to a 13th-century monk named Nichiren Daishonin, who felt that Buddhism had become too formalistic, caught up in elaborate ceremonies, and tried to return it to basics. He taught that the most essential practice was to chant a single phrase: Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, which signifies homage to the mystic law of the Lotus Sutra. By diligent chanting of that mantra, he said, Buddhists could awaken to their higher selves. In the last 20 years, the Soka Gakkai sect has been mocked for promoting a simple, ``Holy Roller Buddhism. During the 1970s, it attracted musicians Tina Turner and Herbie Hancock and was belittled as celebrity Buddhism. Its practitioners were said to sit in front of their altars -- chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo in a drone -- and expecting to be rewarded with cars and money. Cepeda makes no bones that his Buddhism has brought him material rewards. Without chanting, he says, he and his third wife, Miriam, wouldnt have a house or a car. He believes that chanting helped turn the hearts of baseball writers who repeatedly voted against his induction to Cooperstown in years past. Cepedas living room is devoted to Buddhism and baseball. The altar is flanked by photos of Daisaku Ikeda, president of Soka Gakkai. One wall is covered with images of Cepedas boyhood friend Roberto Clemente, the only other Puerto Rican in the Hall of Fame. After Cepeda finished chanting the other day, his phone rang repeatedly as friends called to congratulate him. Neighbors gave him fruit baskets and hugs. The new Hall of Famer believes that his good fortune is the product of personal change: ``My victory is the way Ive changed inside. Soka Gakkai, which calls itself a ``world peace movement, teaches that chanting brings about internal purification and an outflow of positive energy to improve society. The chanting Buddhist, pouring this energy into the world, is said to become a magnet for good fortune. ``Orlandos been to the heights and to the depths, says Pat Gallagher, Giants senior vice president, who has known Cepeda since the mid-80s and helped hire him as a community goodwill ambassador. Cepeda visits hospitals, homeless centers and youth groups for the Giants. ``The anger that he once had, hes found a way to deal with it and make it a positive. To be honest, Im raised a Catholic and I dont think I ever knew anybody who was a Buddhist. But I can see its provided a vehicle for Orlando to live his life. Cepeda got his first taste of Buddhism in 1968 while in Japan on an exhibition tour. He remembers picking up a book of Buddhist precepts, and feeling an attraction. In 1970, during spring training, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Willie Davis, a Buddhist, invited Cepeda to a meeting. But Cepeda -- also nicknamed ``Cha Cha from his early days because he was a dancer and club hopper -- told him, ``No, Ive got things to do tonight. Im hitting the clubs. Caught trafficking marijuana After his 1974 retirement, Cepeda moved back to Puerto Rico, where his father, Perucho, had been a legendary home-run hitter and national hero. Perucho Cepeda, who played professionally in the Caribbean before the major leagues were integrated, was nicknamed ``The Bull and was known as the Babe Ruth of Puerto Rico. Orlando Cepeda, nicknamed ``The Baby Bull, grew up in his reflected glory. And in 1975, he dragged down his fathers name; the novice drug trafficker was caught at the airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with a shipment of marijuana. Convicted of drug possession, he was sent in 1978 to a minimum-security prison for 10 months. There he joined the jailhouse choir: ``We were singing, `Praise the Lord! he says. ``Everybody in jail goes to Bible study. You get out, forget it. It wasnt until 1983 that Cepeda found Buddhism for keeps. Living in Los Angeles, he ran into an old musician friend who was alarmed by Cepedas down-at-the-heels demeanor and invited him to a Soka Gakkai meeting. Broke and living in a small apartment, Cepeda took one look at the altar, adorned with a mandala known as the Gohonzon, and ``was really touched. I used to be tight, defensive, bitter. . . . I used to blow everybody off: `To hell with the Giants. To hell with the Hall of Fame. I remember, way back, a Japanese member of the community saying, `You talk too much. Misfortune comes from your mouth. Now Cepeda has returned to his true self: ``Through Buddhism I realize how much potential I have as a human being, how much I can give back to humanity with my life. It surprises me that people can change the way Ive changed. Im surprised every day.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 08:46:15 +0000