Has Tiger Woods attain Jhana?

A discussion on all aspects of Theravāda Buddhism
User avatar
appicchato
Posts: 1602
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 12:47 am
Location: Bridge on the River Kwae

Re: Has Tiger Woods attain Jhana?

Post by appicchato »

He's about as Buddhist as a statue of the Virgin Mary...and no way does he even know the meaning of the word jhana...
User avatar
Mkoll
Posts: 6590
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2012 6:55 pm
Location: USA

Re: Has Tiger Woods attain Jhana?

Post by Mkoll »

appicchato wrote:He's about as Buddhist as a statue of the Virgin Mary...and no way does he even know the meaning of the word jhana...
:clap:

Well said Venerable Sir!
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa
chownah
Posts: 9336
Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2009 2:19 pm

Re: Has Tiger Woods attain Jhana?

Post by chownah »

appicchato wrote:He's about as Buddhist as a statue of the Virgin Mary...and no way does he even know the meaning of the word jhana...
appicchato,
What percentage of Buddhists in Thailand know the meaning of the word jhana? I think there must be a lot of Virgin Mary statue Buddhists in Thailand.
chownah
User avatar
seeker242
Posts: 1114
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2012 3:01 am

Re: Has Tiger Woods attain Jhana?

Post by seeker242 »

SarathW wrote:I posted the same question, in another Buddhist forum about two years ago without knowing that Tiger Woods was a Buddhist and he was meditating as a very young child. If I am not wrong, I think that he played 18 hole golf at par at the age of five.
I think that most of prominent players win in Olympics, tennis (mainly Abrahamic Religions) must have attain some form of Jhana (keeping aside drug abuse). Even cricket players such as Muralitharan (Hindu religion), Shane Warn may come under this category.
Unfortunately most of these people did not support their attainment with following Dharma. In his public apology to his family Tiger Woods stated that fall of his fame is due to failing to follow the Five Precepts.
What are your thoughts?
I don't think so. He's just good at playing golf. :)
User avatar
Anagarika
Posts: 915
Joined: Thu Sep 22, 2011 11:25 pm

Re: Has Tiger Woods attain Jhana?

Post by Anagarika »

My thought would be that while he has learned through sports psychologists to focus his mind on ball striking (getting in the zone), this is of course not the same as jhana.

Tiger still demonstrates elements of self=centeredness, anger, and inappropriate behavior on the golf course. Some feel he cheats a bit, which is shocking for someone at his level. Were he a jhana practitioner, he might have the equanimity and insights necessary to eliminate these defilements from his conduct. Some years ago, were he a jhana practitioner, his uncontrolled sex drive (that lead to the loss of his family and many supporters) would have been displaced by the sense rewards of jhana.

I'm guessing it's Fred Couples that is a jhana master (tongue in cheek). Perfect rhythmic swing, easy disposition, and universally well liked.
Ananda26
Posts: 171
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2014 2:41 pm

Re: Has Tiger Woods attain Jhana?

Post by Ananda26 »

SarathW wrote:I posted the same question, in another Buddhist forum about two years ago without knowing that Tiger Woods was a Buddhist and he was meditating as a very young child. If I am not wrong, I think that he played 18 hole golf at par at the age of five.
I think that most of prominent players win in Olympics, tennis (mainly Abrahamic Religions) must have attain some form of Jhana (keeping aside drug abuse). Even cricket players such as Muralitharan (Hindu religion), Shane Warn may come under this category.
Unfortunately most of these people did not support their attainment with following Dharma. In his public apology to his family Tiger Woods stated that fall of his fame is due to failing to follow the Five Precepts.
What are your thoughts?
Buddha said that among male layfollowers Hatthaka of Alavi and Citta are to be emulated.

Here is a link to Citta Samyutta, Connected Discourses of the Buddha Chapter 41.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .html#sn41

Attaining Jhana is supported by study and the practice of meditation. I think a similee could be made about how carefully a skilled golf player hits the ball, and how a practicioner practices mindfulness and clear awareness about his actions.

About the apology here is Buddha's formula on accepting an apology. Since you ackowledge the offence and confess it we shall accept it. For he who ackowleges his offence and makes amends as is right by undertaking restraint for the future will grow in the Noble Dhamma and Discipline.
SarathW
Posts: 21183
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2012 2:49 am

Re: Has Tiger Woods attain Jhana?

Post by SarathW »

In this Dhamma talk Ajhan Brahamawamso take the mystery out of Jhana.
According to him we have some form of Jhana even when we watch a god movie.
I am not sure about his story, a man with Jhana taking to the hospital.
Is it a Joke?
Very good Dhamma talk.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MezhRc_8XY
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
SarathW
Posts: 21183
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2012 2:49 am

Re: Has Tiger Woods attain Jhana?

Post by SarathW »

See last paragraph on page 72 some interesting facts relate to OP:


http://ftp.budaedu.org/ebooks/pdf/EN345.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
SarathW
Posts: 21183
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2012 2:49 am

Re: Has Tiger Woods attain Jhana?

Post by SarathW »

The following Sutta address the question raised in OP.

===========
Master Gotama was a meditator and cultivated meditation, and he praised every type of meditation?

“The Blessed One, brahmin, did not praise every type of meditation, nor did he condemn every type of meditation. What kind of meditation did the Blessed One not praise? Here, brahmin, someone abides with his mind obsessed by sensual lust, a prey to sensual lust, and he does not understand as it actually is the escape from arisen sensual lust. While he harbours sensual lust within, he meditates, premeditates, out-meditates, and mismeditates. He abides with his mind obsessed by ill will, a prey to ill will…with his mind obsessed by sloth and torpor, a prey to sloth and torpor…with his mind obsessed by restlessness and remorse, a prey to restlessness and remorse…with his mind obsessed by doubt, a prey to doubt, and he does not understand as it actually is the escape from arisen doubt. While he harbours doubt within, he meditates, premeditates, out-meditates, and mismeditates. The Blessed One did not praise that kind of meditation.

“And what kind of meditation did the Blessed One praise? Here, brahmin, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the first jhāna…With the stilling of applied and sustained thought, he enters upon and abides in the second jhāna…With the fading away as well of rapture…he enters upon and abides in the third jhāna...With the abandoning of pleasure and pain...he enters upon and abides in the fourth jhāna…The Blessed One praised that kind of meditation.”


https://suttacentral.net/en/mn108
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
User avatar
_anicca_
Posts: 345
Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2016 9:44 pm

Re: Has Tiger Woods attain Jhana?

Post by _anicca_ »

All of this is merely speculation.
"A virtuous monk, Kotthita my friend, should attend in an appropriate way to the five clinging-aggregates as inconstant, stressful, a disease, a cancer, an arrow, painful, an affliction, alien, a dissolution, an emptiness, not-self."

:buddha1:

http://vipassanameditation.asia
SarathW
Posts: 21183
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2012 2:49 am

Re: Has Tiger Woods attain Jhana?

Post by SarathW »

_anicca_ wrote:All of this is merely speculation.
Can you elaborate it?
Which is speculation?
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
User avatar
_anicca_
Posts: 345
Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2016 9:44 pm

Re: Has Tiger Woods attain Jhana?

Post by _anicca_ »

SarathW wrote:
_anicca_ wrote:All of this is merely speculation.
Can you elaborate it?
Which is speculation?
The speculation is surrounding if Tiger Woods has attained jhāna or not.

While it is unlikely that he has, we will never know for sure...
"A virtuous monk, Kotthita my friend, should attend in an appropriate way to the five clinging-aggregates as inconstant, stressful, a disease, a cancer, an arrow, painful, an affliction, alien, a dissolution, an emptiness, not-self."

:buddha1:

http://vipassanameditation.asia
User avatar
Lucas Oliveira
Posts: 1889
Joined: Wed Jun 10, 2015 10:07 pm

Re: Has Tiger Woods attain Jhana?

Post by Lucas Oliveira »

Luang Pó arrived in Thailand in July 1977 but this would not be his last visit to the West. In 1979 he made a second trip to England, this time to visit the newly established monastery of Cittaviveka and his abbot, Ajahn Sumedho. After spending some time in England, he traveled to the United States. During his stay there, he taught in various places and the lay community had many opportunities to interact with him. Here is an example of questions posed by Westerners and the answers given by him:

Question: "I say that even if involved with worldly things, but doing it with determination and total dedication, our mind is able to achieve deep samādhi. For example, a musician, when engrossed in the music he is playing, can achieve jhāna, bliss and happiness, mental unification. The only difference is that his focus was not an object of meditation, that's all. "

Luang Pó laughs and says, "No, no. No one can reach jhāna playing music ... only you gringos(foreigners) should get something like that! What jhāna? You do not know what you're talking about! "

http://muditobhikkhu.weebly.com/princip ... os-gringos
I participate in this forum using Google Translator. http://translate.google.com.br

http://www.acessoaoinsight.net/
User avatar
massara
Posts: 26
Joined: Sat May 21, 2016 3:34 am
Location: Brazil
Contact:

Re: Has Tiger Woods attain Jhana?

Post by massara »

Lucas Oliveira wrote:Luang Pó arrived in Thailand in July 1977 but this would not be his last visit to the West. In 1979 he made a second trip to England, this time to visit the newly established monastery of Cittaviveka and his abbot, Ajahn Sumedho. After spending some time in England, he traveled to the United States. During his stay there, he taught in various places and the lay community had many opportunities to interact with him. Here is an example of questions posed by Westerners and the answers given by him:

Question: "I say that even if involved with worldly things, but doing it with determination and total dedication, our mind is able to achieve deep samādhi. For example, a musician, when engrossed in the music he is playing, can achieve jhāna, bliss and happiness, mental unification. The only difference is that his focus was not an object of meditation, that's all. "

Luang Pó laughs and says, "No, no. No one can reach jhāna playing music ... only you gringos(foreigners) should get something like that! What jhāna? You do not know what you're talking about! "

http://muditobhikkhu.weebly.com/princip ... os-gringos

:goodpost:
Post Reply