If you live in the United States, you know that “Super Bowl Sunday” is practically a religious holiday. It’s inescapable. As Buddhists, it’s easy to dismiss the American football championship game as “superficial” and “violent” but there is a place for sports in Buddhism. Modern sports developed out of the gladiator fights of the Roman Empire. The emperors used them to distract the public from government malfeasance, but the gladiator battles required the loser to be killed. Yikes! Thankfully, sports today are non-lethal but still act as “release valves” for society. But, is American football too “violent” for Buddhists?
Consider this: The Sanskrit definition of non-violence literally means, “non-injury.” The intention of American football isn’t to “injure” the other player(s) but rather score points. Sometimes, players do get injured but injuries and violence is not the point of the game. Any...
