How Do Athletes Train Their Mental Faculties? (Section on Mental Training)

During competitions, athletes rely entirely on the skills and functions of the manas. For instance, in various competitive sports—competing in speed, technique, reaction, and strength—they must be fully focused, with their energy highly concentrated and their minds free of distractions. In such moments, is there any time to use the conscious mind (consciousness) to deliberate over each movement or each response to an opponent? Absolutely not. Otherwise, the moment one begins to think about how to respond, the opponent’s move would already be executed, and one would instantly be defeated. Time is the most precious resource on the field; it determines victory or defeat. If one relies on the conscious mind to deliberate countermeasures, the opponent will not grant the opportunity to wait—striking first ensures victory, surpassing you instantly.

Since athletes lack the time for conscious deliberation, all on-the-spot responses are manifestations of the manas’ function. The manas operates silently, imperceptibly, and systematically, executing each movement and responding to each unexpected attack or challenge entirely based on the conditioned reflexes formed through habitual training. All conditioned reflex activities in any living being are reactions of the manas, leaving no room for the conscious mind to intervene. Conditioned reflexes are the habitual tendencies of the manas, a mechanism formed through long-term habituation and conditioning. The conscious mind neither understands this nor can it do anything about it; it can only submit and comply entirely.

How does the manas form conditioned reflexes? It is the result of rigorous, habitual training. Through training, actions become ingrained, almost like muscle memory. Any movement or technique can be executed without passing through the conscious mind—directly and immediately. This means that the path of conscious deliberation is bypassed. In such moments, the conscious mind is not used for thinking; it merely guides the manas, directing it to a specific place or object. Simultaneously, the mind maintains only a state of knowing—nothing more. All other activities are superfluous, unnecessary, and utterly unusable. To use them would lead to failure and delay, guaranteeing defeat in competition.

Only when training is inadequate or experience is lacking does one resort to the conscious mind to deliberate strategies, tactics, or responses. But is there even time? It is like being on a battlefield with enemy weapons pointed directly at you—could you afford to scratch your head pondering countermeasures? The analytical thinking of the conscious mind is only useful after the match or battle, during post-event reflection. It is scarcely useful even during training itself. Once you understand how to train, simply follow the method and train. Only after becoming proficient through training, after mastering the technique, can you participate in competition. Success in competition relies on the skills honed through training—on the proficiency of the manas—not on luck, improvisation, or thinking up strategies on the spot.

So, does the manas engage in mental activity during intense responses? Of course, it does—and very rapidly and silently at that. Not only are the five universal mental factors (pañca-sarvatraga) interlinked, but the five object-determining mental factors (pañca-viniyata) also follow closely, appearing constantly. The most prominent among them are the mental factors of concentration (samādhi) and wisdom (prajñā). Without concentration—without unwavering focus—the slightest distraction or stray thought causes movements to become disordered, allowing the opponent to exploit the opening and leading to defeat. In such moments, the wisdom of the conscious mind is largely ineffective; it relies entirely on the wisdom of the manas. If the manas lacks wisdom, one becomes flustered and unable to respond effectively to various situations—what kind of competition would that be?

The same applies to our actual practice of contemplating and realizing the Dharma. The conscious mind directs the manas to the object of contemplation, maintaining an awareness of that object and fixing it upon the Dharma. Everything else is the manas’ direct perception. For example, when observing a flower, simply focus on observing it—just look. There is no need for the conscious mind to analyze or imagine: the flower’s species, origin, form, color, whether it is beautiful, whether it will bloom again, whether it can still grow, what would happen if it were given to someone, and so on. All such miscellaneous thoughts must be extinguished and eliminated. Moreover, do not forcefully impose learned theories to subjectively conclude: “This flower is impermanent, illusory, empty; it is manifested by the Tathāgatagarbha; it is produced by the Tathāgatagarbha using the four or five great elements; it arises dependent on such-and-such conditions.” Without even observing, how can you draw conclusions? What benefit is there in all this busyness?

Simply use the manas to observe. Observe whatever is present without imagining, inferring, or analyzing. Only when you have clearly observed the phenomena of birth, abiding, change, and cessation of the observed object, and when the Dharma before you loses all sense of reality, will samādhi arise, and you will realize emptiness and selflessness. At that point, how potent is the wisdom of the manas? Is it still the “inferior wisdom” manas? How could an inferior wisdom observe and realize? How could it know the birth, abiding, change, and cessation of dharmas? How could it realize the path? At such a moment, the presence or absence of the manas’ mental factors should be clear, shouldn’t it?