Buddhist Golf

As I get older, it seems more and more people I know are turning to golf as a way of pretending that they are going out and exercising. Over the past several years I’ve watched many people set out to play a relaxing round of golf only to be reduced to a naked ball of quivering frustration and anger, and I must admit here that I have been one of those on one or two occasions.

So when I read about Tiger’s Buddhism at his media event on Friday, it struck me that this might be a way to golf salvation. Close your eyes and Imagine if you will, your favorite golf course inhabited by mellow foursomes of brightly robed happy Buddhist golfers enjoying the game for what it is and not what they want it to be. Now imagine yourself as a member of one of these foursomes and being able to enjoy every moment of the game and the day.

So the first step towards playing Buddhist golf is to remain calm and play the game as it comes, not as you want.

The following evening I came across a documentary on one of the HiDef channels about a Buddhist monastery in Thailand that has 17 tigers living among the monks and the other animals. According to the show, man is not the only animal that can reach enlightenment – Buddhists believe that horses, cows, water buffalo, elephants and tigers can also attain this state and so are spiritual fellow travelers who deserve to live and wander around the monastery.

So eventually, to play truly enlightened golf, we’d need a course which we could share with some of the other spirit traveling animals, and perhaps have little places to meditate at each tee before our tee shots. As I ponder this a bit more, I start to realise that perhaps what is required to make this happen is the establishment of a Buddhist Golf Association (BGA), and as a first step in this direction I am thinking about starting the Saskatchewan Branch of the Buddhist Golf Association (SBGA). The trouble is that I keep getting sidetracked into thinking about what Buddhist golf apparel would look like.

Therefore I need to take a time out and think about this – perhaps it will keep me occupied until spring comes and I can play outdoors. But if you’re still really bored and need something to ponder, what would the little meditation stations look like?