In his public apology, Tiger Woods stated, “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.”
Regardless of whether Tiger lost track of what he was taught or instead walked away from it in willing rebellion, the golfer’s prescription for looking only within himself to try to repel outward cravings opposes the true functioning of our heart. Looking within leads to the failure of self-attempted morality. The answers to reducing desires are not pieced within us awaiting assembly. Our hearts are passion vacuums, seeking meaning from outside of self. Our heart, by design, will always be a passion pursuer. A wrong desire or habit is not expelled from our lives by telling ourselves it is not to be desired. We will not give up a previous passion until a new passion is in its place that has a greater satisfaction to empower us to release the first. Tiger might have been able to self-medicate his sin, or as he calls them mistakes, if his escapades had curtailed his greater passion to be great golfer. Since his escapades seemed to not impinge upon his greater passion of winning tournaments, he allowed both to exist. It will be most difficult for him to release his sexual addiction until he finds a newer, more powerful passion–even than golf or maintaining his “brand” which failed him– to sustain his recovery.
What we learn from all of this.
The cessation of a all desire means the cessation of what it means to be human, despite the claims of Buddhism. Instead of denying that we should have cravings or calling the fact we have desire wrong, we should instead find a higher satisfier of our passions. Something that draws us so deeply that we gladly abandon our previously wrong cravings for the satisfaction of the new passion. Their are differing levels of passion that each outward object or pursuit generates within us. us. Objects with higher levels of pull can displace older ones. To find the highest “object” worthy of our passion should be our life’s pursuit. The highest object of passion that fills our heart’s vacuum is God, known fully through His Son Jesus Christ. Having this proper and good passion allows us to release lesser passions that are temporal and fail to truly satisfy.
One of the best writers on this is Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847) in his work, The Expulsive Power of a New Affection. I am almost finished with a modernization on this which I will post this week. It is a great reading.
mmm… my parents were devout Buddhists, and still have traditional roots hinged on Buddhism. Part of my life before Christ was to isolate those passionate traits, and kill those cravings. Obviously that didn’t work. I enjoyed reading that article, and he definitely needs Christ in His life if he, Woods, ever finds it in his current sojourn.
It’s so sad how many public figures today (and regular “Joe’s” we don’t always hear from)so often profess those desires to find peace and passion within themselves. Seems like every time I see a commercial for Oprah, it’s about some new self-help fix… well, if it’s a fix how does it a new one always comes along shortly after??? So my question is… how can we, who have experienced our passions and peace to the fullest thanks to Jesus Christ, encourage others we know who are continuously seeking that thing, that fix to try Jesus without sounding corny, cliche, or whatever adjective so many denying the Christian way of life might throw in there? When you’ve invested in someone, you know their story, you love them despite very opposite views of God, and yet they cringe every time you bring up church or God… where do you draw the line of standing up for Jesus for someone else’s benefit whom you care for, and remaining quiet to keep them in your life and hope that one day they can somehow at least accept Christ in you as you accept He is not in them?
Missy,
I think first and foremost our lives must exhibit our satisfaction that is found in Christ. They must see us when we should be most disappointed and rocked from our moorings have a deeper satisfaction. This doesn’t mean we are the fake happy sappy person. It means we exhibit a steadfastness about us where we don’t freak, sway our behaviors or speech, and press forward. Only after this observation can we be most effective in sharing with them the root of this new and greater affection that does away with previous poor affections. No?
Absolutely! Authenticity is key in every situation. Thanks for your insight.