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Golf And Zen
Chapter 2: The Fundamental Truth
Wayne Smith
This is the second in a continuing series of short essays
dealing with the application of Eastern spiritual philosophy
to your golf game.
The surface intent is that, as you apply the ideas, your golf
and your enjoyment of the game will grow. However there is
also an underlying motive: as you are able to see gains on
the course, you'll then be moved to alter your approach to
life as well.)
Today's Topic: The Fundamental Truth
In these articles, I'll be simplifying as we talk about
the Eastern philosophies, and this topic title is a good example.
Buddhism actually opens its doors with The Four Noble Truths.
The first of those is that our experience is marked by suffering.
Living means to suffer. The Eastern term is "dukka."
The second shows the source of dukka to be desire, and the
third shows how we can eliminate suffering; if it is desire
that leads to suffering, then the obvious solution is to stop
desiring. Obvious, sure, but we would agree it isn't easy.
This doesn't mean we stop living, that we give up work, play,
relationships, learning and growth, or even that we forsake
goals. It does mean we stop agonizing about it all. Some things
we'll never have. I won't be the next Senator from Pennsylvania,
and I'm not going to make the PGA tour. That's obvious enough,
but most of us continue to hunger after things that are permanently
outside our grasp, without admitting it to ourselves.
Or, there are goals that we can eventually reach but that
we don't have this minute. I'd like to have a retirement home
in Asheville, North Carolina. But I don't, today, and if I
obsess about it I can easily lose sight of the pleasures of
my current life. It's a fundamental: hungering after something
not yet here contaminates our today.
So, the fundamental truth we're talking about is this. Whatever
we have today is everything we need -- today.
The last of the Noble Truths lays out how to let go of desire:
by following the Eightfold Path (understanding, thought, speech,
action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration).
But the Path a big subject and is for the future; I'll certainly
do a piece on each of those steps along the Path in future
articles.
For now, the connection to golf is obvious to any of us that
have suffered on the course. And who of us hasn't suffered?
Ever throw a club? Dress yourself down -- either out loud
or within your mind?
Beyond the momentary outbursts, is your enjoyment of the game
in general contaminated by not being good enough? Are you
reluctant to play with people that are better? Do you despair
about lack of improvement? Do you think about giving up?
The First Noble Truth within Buddhism is equally true on the
golf course; our golfing dukka comes from our excessive desire,
from our grasping after success. And here's the real secret…
that comes from playing golf in an ego-driven state. If we're
playing to re-enforce our own ego -- either to others or to
ourselves -- then we're going to struggle.
The answer lies in a simple (granted, difficult) idea: we
are, today, only what we are today; our swing is what it is;
our mental game is what it is. Therefore -- we're perfect
-- today. We can let our self focus on the beauty of the walk
in the park, on the companionship of friends. We can be alert,
we can pay attention, we can be mindful of everything we see
and experience, we can allow our game to be what it is, and
we can trust that we're on a path that will take us to higher
levels as we continue move along. And that's true!
I'll be giving you lots of 'tips' or 'thought exercises' as
we move through these articles, and here's one that applies
to this subject. You can reduce your grasping (and thereby,
your golf-course dukka) by detaching for the outcome. Laird
Small, the head pro at Pebble Beach, calls it "NATO: Not Attached
To Outcome."
Here's one way of doing that. Your golf-course job is to swing
the club in a graceful, rhythmic, and balanced way. The Golf
God's job is to move the ball to a new point, for your next
test. Your job is only to be mindful of how well you perform
your task and to then get out of the way and let the Golf
God do his. Try that, next time out.
Related articles:
Golf and Zen Chapter 1: 'West'
versus East'
Golf and Zen Chapter 3: You Already
Know
Copyright © Wayne Smith - http://www.golfingzen.blogspot.com
Wayne Smith is a former DuPont manufacturing manager,
seminar leader, industry consultant, and is the author of
two books: a manufacturing text and a golf novel. He is a
close-up magician and has been a life-long golf searcher.
A father of two, he lives in the Philadelphia area. You can
view his golf book at http://www.littleacornpress.com/books/thirdeye.htm
Article Source: http://www.hotlib.com/articles
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