Center Court Dhamma
Whit Hornsberger’s journey from aspiring professional basketball player to a spiritual seeker began with his intense identification with the sport. Basketball was not just a passion but a core part of his identity, potentially paving the way for a professional career. However, this path was abruptly altered by a significant injury, leading him into a period of deep self-reflection and questioning of his identity beyond the basketball court. This pivotal moment sparked Whit's spiritual journey, guiding him towards meditation and the teachings of Buddhism, which led to his trip to Myanmar before the military coup, as a means to heal and discover a deeper understanding of himself and his place in the world. Listen to the full interview to hear Whit’s story.
“Imagine if we could get humanity to be in a consistent state of flow, transcending the limitations of the conditioned self that gives rise to all this dukkha.”
When you're in the flow of the game, and you're in the zone, you're not thinking, ‘I'm Whit, the point guard.’ You're in the game. But then in basketball, you have fouls. You get fouled, and the game stops; the flow literally stops, and you go to the foul line. Now, all of a sudden, the construct of self starts to come on online. It starts to remember, ‘Was the last shot, free throw, was it a miss, a remake?’ If you're playing in an opposing gym, the fans are yelling your name, trying to get you to miss.
Maybe the announcer is saying, ‘Whit Hornsberger, to the line for two.’ And that's part of that patchwork quilt, where all of a sudden, you see athletes who could be very good shooters from the field, but then they get to the foul line, and the construct of self comes back online. All of a sudden, their percentage drops way below what it should be for what is called a ‘free throw.’
So, I look at that, and sometimes I say to students, ‘Imagine if we could get athletes to be able to perform, and be, constantly in a transcendental state, in flow.’ And then as I quickly say [that], at the end of the day, who really cares about wins or losses? Imagine if we could get humanity to be in a consistent state of flow, transcending the limitations of the conditioned self that gives rise to all this dukkha. So, I certainly do look at athletics from a different perspective now.