Buddha and sports

Jayadev Athreya

Buddha said that roots of all sadness were desire and attachment. We often look at life through metaphors with sports, and we can see the truth of this statement through sports, and the viewing of sports.

Before you get scared, this isn’t some religious conversion piece. I’m not even Buddhist. But it is fun and interesting to look at some parallels between sports and life.

People do live vicariously through sports: whether it’s pushing their children to do better in Little League, putting money on the big leagues, rooting for a specific team, or just watching a game and choosing sides.

Ames Mayor Ted Tedesco admitted as much at the ISU women’s basketball game: “We live and die with every game … every shot … every recruit.” Is this healthy?

I don’t know, but in many situations it can bring, as Buddha said, sadness.

When the team falls, you fall, crash, descend, whatever. But conversely, when the team rises, you fly with them.

It’s probably more fun to enjoy the rises and the falls than to stay on an even keel all the time.

However, keeping the emotional attachment at a reasonable level allows one to deal with losses in a calm, rational manner; deep emotional attachment, like that found in Indian cricket fans or South American fans, has actually led to people committing suicide.

There are other times when the attachment is bad: coupled with desire for money, as in gambling, it can destroy.

Zen has other philosophies that apply well to sports phenomena. For example, live in the present.

The truly great players don’t worry about past mistakes. They’re not afraid to take the big shot, to thread the key pass between defenders or to go up to the plate with two outs in the ninth.

Maybe that’s why Phil Jackson was so successful. Of course, a 6’6″, bald, potential Charlotte Hornets owner, a current Houston Rocket and a certain L.A. Lakers tattoo boy had something to do with it too.

But really, these are two philosophies that apply in life as they do in sports. Keep desires and attachments to a minimum, and you will rarely be disappointed or dispirited. Live in the present, and you eliminate needless regret for the past.

One of my philosophies is rebelling against the above part of the column. That would be my rule about not taking myself too seriously.

And how can you be more pompous than lecturing readers of a sports column about Zen Buddhism?

Maybe going around writing silly columns and assuming people still read them.

Also, I’m a perpetual violator of that “don’t get attached” principle. Hell, I’ll go for a team just because I like the color of their uniform. Damn, that Valpo saffron still looks good.

To complete the big three of violations, I’m not exactly utilizing the present well. Why am I sitting here in a stuffy Daily newsroom when its 70 and sunny outside, writing a column about Zen Buddhism?

Well, now I’m not.


Jayadev Athreya is a senior in Math from Ames.