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Steph Curry, "flow state" is a-vitkaka a-vicāra samādhi (mundane version of second jhāna or better)

 

Steph Curry, considered one of the greatest shooters in NBA (professional basketball) history.

watch about 1 min. of this video, starting at 19m:25sec

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_QnFBFPOTE

He estimates he probably has made over 750,000 three point shots (making a basket from at least 24ft away) in his lifetime.

That much repetition in his shooting motion and buildng of sati into his muscle memory, when he gets into a flow state,

his kāya anupassana and 3rd step of ānāpānasati (sensitivity to the sensations in his entire physical body), 

he knows exactly the subtle body sensations of what a correct made shot feels like,

he knows it's going in the basket or not, right after the ball is released.


With the athletic freaks in the NBA  who defend the shooter, flying at them with their world class sprinter speed and their 7 foot wingspan arms swatting at the ball,  

there is no time for the shooter to  think (vitakka and vicāra).

you just issue a volition (cetana) to "shoot", which uses sati to recall the physical memory of the motion. with sub verbal perceptions lucidly discerning the whole process moment by moment (sati & sampajāno, upekkha).

The reason they are successful is because of kāya passaddhi (bodily pacification).

They're super relaxed, smooth, consistent in their shooting motion so they're accurate again and again.

They call that the "flow state"

It's just a second jhāna or higher harnessed for mundane purposes.


People have the misunderstanding that the four jhānas are something so mystical and beyond ordinary comprehension, and they can be at much higher stages, but the first three jhānas are very accessible to everyone who puts in the time and the work. 


samādhi and jhāna are very ordinary and super accessible states, it's just that most people don't train and develop them to be sammā samādhi four jhāna level of quality.


warm fuzzy feelings: demystifying Pīti & sukha from jhāna and 7 awakening factors

http://notesonthedhamma.blogspot.com/2023/07/warm-fuzzy-feelings-demystifying-piti.html



Comments

  1. nicksunAugust 1, 2023 at 6:40 PM

    Dear Frank, I really like your notes and your translation at lucid24.org. Thank you for the efforts. I am follower of Prof. William Chu. I am practising his methods of doing jhāna, which is truly life changing. This is also the reason I want to ask you a question regarding to jhāna - in my understanding, jhāna has a key element which is directing to dispassion/viraga/vossaga; without this element, it is not really the "jhāna" worthwhile to pursue by a yogi who is seeking true liberation.

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  2. frankkAugust 3, 2023 at 4:49 AM

    >> in my understanding, jhāna has a key element which is directing to dispassion/viraga/vossaga; without this element, it is not really the "jhāna" worthwhile to pursue by a yogi who is seeking true liberation.

    Agreed. But keep in mind in the suttas the Buddha also referred to four jhānas and 4 brahmavihāra of pre-buddhist times. And in Snp 5, there are 16 brahmans who could do 4 jhānas before meeting the Buddha. Clearly there are versions of four jhānas that don't lead to nirvana.

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