Detachment And Sports

[TravelerEastWest]

Detachment and Sports:

The other day I found myself wondering if the competition in sports is compatible with detachment?

For myself I find detachment a daily challenge which is always somewhat easy on retreat from daily lfe in the countryside or while meditating anywhere...

In theory competition (sports & business etc.) can be done with detachment and can be a good exercise or test.

Random thoughts on topic or off on a tangent are very welcome.

[garro]

My own experience is that sports can work well with Buddhism. It is said that Bodhidharma invented Shaolin Kung <deleted> because he worried that meditation alone was not effective as a path - he wanted his monks to also engage in physical activity. It is possible for those who are involved in sport to enter what is called “the zone”. This is where they become one with their movements and they are detached from their usual concerns – it is similar to a meditative state. I found that natural states of mindfulness can even occur in sports like Muay Thai. It probably isn't what the Buddha had in mind but when you are in the midst of combat you are completely in the moment

[rockyysdt]

Some may disagree, but for me, sitting practice, concentration, and active mindfulness are superior when I'm at my physical peak.

Naturally we must experience and be aware of all our states and continue (practice) regardless.

Whether you train, or engage in sport, physical activity will improve your practice.

The mind and body are inseparable.

Sloth & torpor recede, lower metabolic rate enhances general calm, feeling of well being improves concentration.

The attachment doesn't come with sport itself but how you engage it (win at all cost, despair in loss, ego boosting play, physical altercations, foul play).

Alternatively, perform at your best, engage in play, and observe thoughts and feelings as they arise without attachment.

Edited March 9, 2012 by rockyysdt

[Xangsamhua]

Garro referred to the "zone", and yes, as a former competitive racewalker and non-competing runner I can remember the "zone", or the "flow", quite well. It really is what people say it is.

Regarding competition, I think we need to discriminate between (1) professional and amateur sport, and (2) team and individual sports. My own experience is with individual amateur sport and, while competition was the name of the game - to win, for one's own sense of fulfilment, or to beat the other fellow in points-scoring inter-club competition, I don't remember any unhealthy attachment to either of these goals. There was no money in it, and the other fellows were your friends as well as your rivals.

The only danger I could see to one's dhamma practice would come from high-stakes competition in lucrative or high-prestige sports, where the desire to win takes over from normal sportsmanship. This has led to some nasty incidents in sport, e.g. the Tonya Harding - Nancy Kerrigan incident in 1994. Unhealthy desire to win (attachment to self-glorification and fame) is much more likely to occur in professional and individual sports; hence the degree of drug abuse in these sports. Team sports have some unbalanced individuals, very attached to artha (wealth-attraction), kama (attraction to goods and pleasure) and maya (illusion about oneself), but they seem to be a small minority. The more money involved in the sport, the better these people (e.g. John Terry) are known.

[Brucenkhamen]

detachment [dɪˈtætʃmənt]

n

1.

indifference to other people or to one's surroundings; aloofness

2.

(Psychology) freedom from self-interest or bias; disinterest

3.

the act of disengaging or separating something

4.

the condition of being disengaged or separated; disconnection

Indifference, aloofness, disinterest, disconnection these are the opposite of Buddhist ideals, Buddhist practise is about being fully interested and connected with ones experience.

So the word you are looking for is non-attachment. This is where you are interested and engaged but not seeking a result that you expect will make you happy, so you are fully involved with what you are experiencing rather than attached to a specific outcome.

So in the case of sports it's simply a case of playing the game for the enjoyment of it, the experience of the process of playing the game is the goal, not the winning.

[Xangsamhua]

So the word you are looking for is non-attachment. This is where you are interested and engaged but not seeking a result that you expect will make you happy, so you are fully involved with what you are experiencing rather than attached to a specific outcome.

So in the case of sports it's simply a case of playing the game for the enjoyment of it, the experience of the process of playing the game is the goal, not the winning.

Yes and no, I think. The physical effort involved in sports like running (anything over 200 metres) is not "enjoyment". It's agony. One draws on every resource, and yet we come back for more next week, whether we win, gain some points for our club, or simply finish well. The PB (personal best) is the goal for most athletes - you're competing as much or more against yourself as against your competitors. If the PB is the desire, then I suppose one could say it's an attachment, but one that intends no harm to anyone nor has that effect.

Edited March 10, 2012 by Xangsamhua

[Brucenkhamen]

If the PB is the desire, then I suppose one could say it's an attachment, but one that intends no harm to anyone nor has that effect.

the point is it doesn't have to be an attachment, one can strive for the sake of striving because one finds that striving is a worthwhile activity, not because one believes that happiness can be obtained by beating ones personal best.

[Xangsamhua]

If the PB is the desire, then I suppose one could say it's an attachment, but one that intends no harm to anyone nor has that effect.

the point is it doesn't have to be an attachment, one can strive for the sake of striving because one finds that striving is a worthwhile activity, not because one believes that happiness can be obtained by beating ones personal best.

A sense of achievement is attained by beating one's personal best. I think that's a form of happiness, illusory though, because once you've done a PB you start aiming for a better one.

I think you're right that the striving is an end in itself. Athletes see it as a form of self-discipline, or possibly as a form of self-transcendence - one goes beyond what one is now, physically and mentally. I see attachment in there, but pretty harmless unless it becomes obsessive.

If one starts using steroids and the like to improve performance, however, that indicates serious attachment, whether one does so in order to gain materially or simply out of vanity and the desire to impress people.

Edit: I'm sorry, I may have missed your point. If an athlete believes he or she will attain real, lasting happiness by, say, beating 10 seconds for the 100 metres, they're probably a bit naive. The "happiness" will be short-lived, though the sense of achievement may be long lasting. The belief, however, that the training, self-discipline, short-term pain etc is a worthwhile form of striving would be universal, I think, among athletes who have attained some satisfaction and self-belief through their sport.

Edited March 11, 2012 by Xangsamhua

[huli]

detachment [dɪˈtætʃmənt]

n

1.

indifference to other people or to one's surroundings; aloofness

2.

(Psychology) freedom from self-interest or bias; disinterest

3.

the act of disengaging or separating something

4.

the condition of being disengaged or separated; disconnection

Indifference, aloofness, disinterest, disconnection these are the opposite of Buddhist ideals, Buddhist practise is about being fully interested and connected with ones experience.

So the word you are looking for is non-attachment. This is where you are interested and engaged but not seeking a result that you expect will make you happy, so you are fully involved with what you are experiencing rather than attached to a specific outcome.

So in the case of sports it's simply a case of playing the game for the enjoyment of it, the experience of the process of playing the game is the goal, not the winning.

Brucenkamen

I was kinda taken aback at your statement that detachment and the various synonyms are the opposite of Buddhist ideals.

I have read, and now refer to the Handbook for Mankind by Buddhadasa. In it he refers to insight into the true nature of things as seeing them as unsatisfactory, and worthless, which results in disenchantment and disentanglement. Indeed, "disenchantment develops in proportion to the intensity of the insight."

I am wondering, would you say this is a matter of semantics? Or, might you say that Buddhadasa teaches differently than your understanding? How is non-attachment compatible with your statement that "Buddhist practice is about being fully interested and connected with one's experience"?

It is actually critical to understand this issue.

Thank you

Edited March 18, 2012 by huli

[TravelerEastWest]

Thanks everyone for the thoughtful comments I have read all the posts 3 times.

As for detachment vs non attachment there probably are small differences in meaning but I think you understand me - smiling...

I was actually using sport as an easy to talk about metaphor for all the challenges of life business being another good example. In the past I liked to win just to win - very American but maybe not the best spiritual practice. Now I am finding myself being more ceative in my business practices and less attached to the results.

Interestingly when I am less attached I tend to do better.