Dilemma of the Dharma (1): Competition
I am a card-carrying dues-paying dragonboater. Been paddling for nine years. I'm also a student of Tibetan Buddhism for over twenty. It's like holding dual citizenship. Both came up for renewal. Applications required me to certify no conflict of interest. For instance, how does a Buddhist dragonboater deal with competition? I didn't want to choose, so I learned to make peace with both. My paddle-meditation epiphany.
It was my third year, the big event of the season at Toronto Island. My team, Sinai Lightning, was to race the superior and stronger Sunnybrook in the Hospital Cup, 640 metres, our most important race. From the start, we paddled well. Two hundred metres, first power series and Sinai rode neck-and-neck with Sunnybrook. Four hundred metres, second power series 3-2-1, twenty strong strokes, and we surged ahead. Our drummer screamed, “WE CAN DO IT!” Called down to race pace, but NOBODY HEARD, and the power series morphed into a finish series. An incredible 200 metre finish series. HOLY!!! Pulling ahead! Lungs screaming! Muscles tightening! … And as I reached out I heard that Buddhist voice: isn't competition a hindrance … what's so important about winning…remember those teachings on non-attachment … causing others' unhappiness at the expense of your win? Not now, I told that voice, not 100 metres from the finish.
And the voice replied: you never thought yourself competitive. Always liked practice; races were dues you paid to get into the boat. However, your ego swells and deflates when winning or losing. How attached you are to results. How important is winning?
Look at it from a Buddhist perspective.
First, competition is healthy. It encourages concentration. Forces you to become more aware of your mind, getting it to stay in the boat, watching it waver, going elsewhere, and bringing it back. Then intently watching your body-- high set-up, twist, reach, catch water, pull.
Competition helps you adjust your attitude. Like when starts get held up and take an extraordinarily long time, instead of moaning, you begin seeing it as just another part of the race. No different from everyday life. Competition helps you stop viewing others negatively, feeling compassion for all paddlers since their experience is much the same as yours: happy winning, sad losing. One day you may race against someone, next day become their teammate, so how could you feel animosity for anyone? Also helps you feel gratitude to paddlers regardless of their team: if they were not competing, you'd have no opportunity to race and test yourself.
Look! Competition and Buddhism support each other. Conflicts are self-imposed. So get back in the race.
It was settled. The voice subsided. All that chatter took only took a split second, believe it or not. I was completely back in the race, back in four-left seat. Pulling ahead! Lungs screaming! Muscles tightening! Unbelievably smoking! Everyone in shock. Ripping through water, waves splitting under our streaking bow…First Place: Hospital Cup. Dual citizenship renewed.
Perspective 3:2003 originally appeared in Dragon Boat World Magazine Summer 2003.
3:2003