One had to wonder, after all the hubbub, if Tiger Woods’ much-publicized post-scandal media statement today would address his Buddhist practice. Well, yes, it did:
“I have a lot of work to do, and I intend to dedicate myself to doing it. Part of following this path, for me, is Buddhism, which my mother taught me at a young age. People probably don’t realize it, but I was raised a Buddhist, and I actively practiced my faith from childhood until I drifted away from it in recent years. Buddhism teaches that a craving for things outside ourselves causes an unhappy and pointless search for security. It teaches me to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint. Obviously, I lost track of what I was taught. As I move forward, I will continue to receive help, because I’ve learned that that’s how people really do change.”
Update: Tida Woods, the golfer’s mom, had this to say about her son’s rededication to Buddhist practice: “Buddhism teaches you to go deep inside your soul and look through from himself, and correct the bad thing to be a good thing. When he realized, he said okay, and went back to practice Buddhism and that will make him a much better person.”
Update: CNN has posted a new piece (featured on its homepage as of Saturday morning): Tiger Woods’ apology brings new attention to Buddhism
Update: And here’s The New York Times/AP weighing in.
Click here for more on Tida Woods.
More/timeline:
Tiger Woods: Should he ditch Buddhism for Christianity? FOX’s Brit Hume thinks so. (Jan 3, 2010)
Video: The Daily Show, Don Imus, Dan Savage, and Howard Stern weigh in on Brit Hume’s view of Buddhism (Jan 5, 2010)
Brit Hume-and-Buddhism update(s): New WTOP interview; Daily Show #2 (Jan 5, 2010)Tiger Woods’ addresses his Buddhism in media statement: “I lost track of what I was taught” (Updated) (February 19, 2010)
“Mindful Divorce” judge on Tiger Woods: Buddhism can help (February 20, 2010)
9 Comments
Jamie McLeod comments via Facebook: Nice work, Tiger. Without even using the Words "Brit Hume" or "Christianity," Tiger neatly flicked away Hume's ignorant assumptions about Buddhism and wht it does or doesn't offer. I hope he meant what he said, and I wish him well.
Wow, your comments about Hume and about his understanding of Christianity are presumptive and condescending, and I wonder what's behind your "ignorant assumptions" about Hume and his remark.
oh, be nice….
Please note that these werent my comments you were commenting on… As for the Hume/Woods affair (and all the kinds of comments left) see here: http://www.shambhalasun.com/sunspace/?p=13838 (and elsewhere)….
Tiger perfectly flicked away Brit Hume's assumptions of buddhism period (did you see Hume's comments on TV?). Nothing ignorant or condescending in saying that his assumptions were squashed. Note that noone said "Buddhism is better than Christianity, etc." Simply – it was nice to see buddhism relayed as an equally useful, spiritual, and redemptive path for one's own good or good of others.
Nothing presumptive about it stilt, did you see Brit Hume's comments in December? They were chock full of presumption, especially when his big mouth says Buddhism doesn't offer forgiveness and redemption.
Whether you like Tiger or not, whether you understand his commitment to the path he has chosen or not it still took a tremendous amout of courage to stand up and make statements as he did on Friday. I commend him and wish him well. Deep down inside of us all we want happiness. Each and every one of us knows what it takes to make ourselves and others happy and peaceful.
To fix a situation you can not go back and undo what's been done. You need only find the path you strayed from and get back on it. Tiger is right, we only have to "believe" in him for the path he is now taking, not forgive him for the path he was on.
More via Facebook: Judy Worth Friedsam: "no one is exempt from losing track, making mistakes, etc…..if he wasn't a public figure, people would be more sympathetic, more compassionate I think. I think he has learned his lesson….I look forward to him returning to the PGA Tour and reuniting with his beautiful family."
Hazel Borg: "Don't the late night comedians and tabloids cover this topic well enough ? I think the media has most of us wrong – I have no cravings for news about this person. The meeting of the Dali Lama and Obama would be more interesting and pertinent to discuss. "
What did the terms good and bad mean for Buddha?
Why is cheating on your wife immoral according to Buddha?
Isn't the suffering he caused just the product of the his wife's disordered desire?