Gym or no gym

[VinceField]

I think that avoiding the situations that arouse egoistic thoughts and unwholesome attitudes and feelings, such as working out in a gym, is a subpar strategy for defeating or transcending the unskillful habits of the mind. It seems tantamount to running away from one's problems, or trying to conquer a fear by avoiding the thing that arouses the fear.

I believe it would be a far more rewarding and effective strategy to deal with these issues head on. Get into the gym and mindfully watch the arising of these unwholesome states of mind. Look for their causes and experience their effects. Contemplate the Buddha's teachings and apply them to the responses that cause an inflation of ego and sense of self.

I have done this myself and as a result, my mindfulness of my own mental activity and it's consequences has greatly increased and I have been able to let go of a great deal of the beliefs, ideas, and conditioning that had previously aroused unwholesome states of mind in relation to my sense of self while in the gym.

[Nicolas]

I would need to find a sutta reference, but it seems to me that the Buddha teaches the opposite of what you say.
Gandhi slept with naked girls in his bed to prove that he was chaste and could resist the temptation / had no temptation. Why do it in the first place?
Covering the unwholesome with a slice of wholesomeness does not make the former wholesome. It is better to avoid it altogether.

[VinceField]

I would need to find a sutta reference, but it seems to me that the Buddha teaches the opposite of what you say.
Gandhi slept with naked girls in his bed to prove that he was chaste and could resist the temptation / had no temptation. Why do it in the first place?
Covering the unwholesome with a slice of wholesomeness does not make the former wholesome. It is better to avoid it altogether.

I'm not sure that comparison is completely valid. I don't believe there is anything innately unwholesome about going to a gym to exercise, while this cannot be said with sleeping with naked girls.

The point is not to do it to test one's will power to resist temptation, the point is to better understand one's own mental processes and the ways in which one creates the causes of suffering in one's own life, so that one may realize the error in their perceptions and fabrications and discover more wholesome approaches. I am pretty sure this is in line with the Buddha's teachings.

Chances are the defilements that arise while exercising in public will likely manifest in a smaller degree in any other ordinary public situation. Namely, egoism, false sense of self, comparing oneself with others, projecting labels onto oneself and others, one-upmanship, etc. Should one avoid all public situations, or should one do the work to liberate oneself from these defilements? Should one exercise like a hermit simply because they have an unruly mind, or should they face and overcome their issues with mindfulness and skillful effort?

[Nicolas]

You have convinced me, I retract my previous statement

[Herbie]

As I have progressed in my studies I have begun more and more to understand all the distractions and ego that is at the modern day gym. In reaction to this understanding I stopped going to the gym, but now I have started to gain weight and my diet is worsening as well. Should I go back to the gym? If so is the gym not just a way to boost ones ego and become attached to the body? This is a big dilemma for me.

I think that everything arises from the body, so the body should be taken care of at least to the same extent people usually take care of their dog.

[puppha]

Hi daviddasanka,

I stopped going to the gym and exercise at home now. I do a mix of "fitnessblender" on youtube and this book: "you are your own gym".
That's pretty exhaustive, saves time and money, and I don't have to bear with annoying pop music at the gym.

All the best!

Metta.

[Mkoll]

Hi daviddasanka,

I stopped going to the gym and exercise at home now. I do a mix of "fitnessblender" on youtube and this book: "you are your own gym".
That's pretty exhaustive, saves time and money, and I don't have to bear with annoying pop music at the gym.

All the best!

Metta.