Basketball and Buddhism

Over the years I've come to see that many people are attracted to Buddhism because of the emphasis on the ideas of Wisdom and Compassion. Who wouldn’t be attracted to that?

Most of us start out wanting to “do” Buddhism as a way of self improvement.  This is a good place to start because we could all use some self improvement. Having more Wisdom or Compassion sounds like a good idea.

Without even really understanding the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths, we can all see and feel that there is suffering. That suffering is our motivation to improve. Motivation is good and important in Buddhist practice.

When I was in my 20’s I started playing a lot of basketball. I loved it and wanted to play all the time. I had a couple of moves that worked for me and I did those a lot. Once I was good enough to play on a real team with a coach, he took me aside and said, “is that all you can do?” I was a bit stunned. “What do you mean?”, I asked. He said, “Well, what you do is pretty good but it doesn’t take long for the other team to figure out that you can’t dribble or shoot with your left hand. Once they take your right side away you are done.”

“What should I do, coach?” He said, “I want you to practice every day dribbling with your left hand, driving to the left, and shooting left handed. Until you get good at that I won’t be able to play you very much and you’ll probably never become a starter.”

I knew he was right but I had never really thought about it. I didn’t want to be on the bench or just get a few minutes a game. I was humbled and hurt, and the suffering I felt was a great motivator.

It was very hard but it worked. I got much better and played a lot more. It was a great lesson that I’m grateful for that taught me a bit about cause and effect. More importantly, that I could create causes that would lead to desired effects. That’s empowering.

I started to think about what other weaknesses I could work on, not just in basketball but in life. I was 30 by then and life was starting to feel more serious.

I, like many people, had relied on my strengths to get by. To take an honest look at my weaknesses had never occurred to me. I resisted even thinking about them. It was depressing. The thought of acknowledging a weakness, then trying to figure out what to do, and then how much work it would take to fix felt overwhelming.

I had a good life, a job, and friends. I was suffering though, emotionally and spiritually. I had to do something.

I remembered the thing the coach told me. Do it every day. Ok, ok, that I can do. One day at a time. It worked again.

It was also about that time that I was first exposed to Buddhism. The ideas of Wisdom  and Compassion didn’t really register that deeply with me. Somehow though I felt I was on a good path. Now that I’m older I realize more of what they mean and the incredible importance of both…in balance.

The balancing of these two things is one of the keys to Buddhist practice. People who come to Buddhist practice are usually pre-disposed to one or the other in varying degrees. We tend to want to play to our strengths. Many times the ego is involved when we tell ourselves things like, “I’m a very feeling person and I’ll know if my practice is working.” Or we might say, “I’m a smart person and I can figure this Buddhist stuff out.”

I’m here to say it has to be both. I also want to stress that more time has to be spent on the weaknesses than strengths because our practice flies like a bird, both wings working in unison. Flying is hard or impossible with a weak wing.

So, if you like to meditate but don’t much like to study the Buddha’s teachings, start studying the Buddha’s teachings. One day at a time, and find someone qualified to answer your questions.

If you like to read books about Buddhism but don’t meditate regularly, start meditating. Make a space in your place just for this. Find a regular time to do it each day and stick to it. Start with 5-10 minutes but do it everyday. It will grow.

Your study really blooms during meditation and your meditation goes deeper because of your study.

Working on your weaknesses will bring greater balance to your practice and your life. Then it’s just a matter of strengthening both wings together, each supporting the other. Just like basketball.