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Buddhism and Videogames
Hello fellow buddhists,
One of my favorite ways to pass time is to play videogames, often violent ones. Whenever you play a first person shooter game, it is difficult to not have thoughts such as "I have to kill that player", "I have to murder this or that, blow up this or that". In fact this is getting worse by the day as more and more games rely on the act of killing others in the game in order to progress, be it an RPG game, strategy game, or even games more oriented to children such as Mario where you have to step over mushrooms to kill them.
Although some may argue that videogames aren't real and that they are simply pixels on a screen, I don't agree. First of all the way we see the universe as humans itself is not "real" as we have not reached enlightenment and our perceptions of the universe are distorted. Hence the pixel argument can be used in this case too, branching to say that it doesn't matter what harm we do in the world because this is not the "real" way the universe is. This is ever more apparent as the borderline between real and unreal becomes difficult to discern as photorealistic games become a commonplace.
Also, I believe that the thoughts we have when conduct an act of violence in a game might be genuine too. Most of us gamers would say that is just nonsense and that they are not really thinking of actually putting a bullet through someone's head when they shoot humanoid polygons in Modern Warfare 2, However, I believe that most of the times we are, even though it may happen subconsciously. When we shoot someone in the game say in MW2, the intent to kill them is there, even though it is to score points.
What worries me is that by playing violent videogames, we are constantly acting out and experiencing negative situations, attaching ourselves to negative feelings and enjoying them.
Hence, do you believe playing videogames are a bad and brews an ego of aggressive nature, perhaps even creating bad karma?
One of my favorite ways to pass time is to play videogames, often violent ones. Whenever you play a first person shooter game, it is difficult to not have thoughts such as "I have to kill that player", "I have to murder this or that, blow up this or that". In fact this is getting worse by the day as more and more games rely on the act of killing others in the game in order to progress, be it an RPG game, strategy game, or even games more oriented to children such as Mario where you have to step over mushrooms to kill them.
Although some may argue that videogames aren't real and that they are simply pixels on a screen, I don't agree. First of all the way we see the universe as humans itself is not "real" as we have not reached enlightenment and our perceptions of the universe are distorted. Hence the pixel argument can be used in this case too, branching to say that it doesn't matter what harm we do in the world because this is not the "real" way the universe is. This is ever more apparent as the borderline between real and unreal becomes difficult to discern as photorealistic games become a commonplace.
Also, I believe that the thoughts we have when conduct an act of violence in a game might be genuine too. Most of us gamers would say that is just nonsense and that they are not really thinking of actually putting a bullet through someone's head when they shoot humanoid polygons in Modern Warfare 2, However, I believe that most of the times we are, even though it may happen subconsciously. When we shoot someone in the game say in MW2, the intent to kill them is there, even though it is to score points.
What worries me is that by playing violent videogames, we are constantly acting out and experiencing negative situations, attaching ourselves to negative feelings and enjoying them.
Hence, do you believe playing videogames are a bad and brews an ego of aggressive nature, perhaps even creating bad karma?
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I must admit that I too play violent multiplayer games like Halo, and I have thought deeply about the effects of this on the mind. It is exactly as you say - even though we may not actually be taking someone's life, we are acting out and indulging negative thoughts. In the past I thought it was better to act these out in a game rather than in real life, but is it really doing us any good? Some may say that by acting out these impulses we water the seeds of anger, violence, and separation within us.
[Side note: Perhaps we could say that when a player respawns, they are reincarnated? :crazy:]
From one point of view it can be a fun game to play with friends - my buddies and I like to play around and have a laugh by blowing up each others characters. Does this continue to feed negativity? Maybe it depends on the situation, on the way you approach these games. If you are working on transforming negative emotions perhaps it would be best to avoid them.
Of course playing video games is pretty much a useless distraction, and disturbs the mind far better to spend time in concentration ( Not on getting that perfect headshot ) on profound subjects
I think trying to label it as completely 'good or bad' for us isn't really that helpful. Rather, look at how playing the video games impacts what you're going through.
When I have played video games, I noticed that playing PvP type games really hurt my sense of compassion for others. I would become agitated, angry, competitive and other complex and unhelpful emotional and mental struggles. That made it obvious to me that for me, those are unskillful. Puzzle games, co-op PvE, RPG and so forth rarely if ever disturbed my mind, although when I would play them too often, I would find my stillness away from the game disturbed. Dreaming of the game and general shortness of my patience was the most common.
I wonder, though, if perhaps you could find more of a sense of enjoyment from helping others, rather than sitting around and mashing buttons and seeing pretty explosions and blood splatters. At the end of the day, which do you think you would find more fulfilling?
With warmth,
Matt
I do not feel that video games are a violation of non-harming, because the sprites you kill are not beings. As others have said you can observe yourself how the game affects your mental state.
I am disabled and I play cooperative PVE (sacred 2) with a community of people. It is great for a disabled (or retired) person, because a person needs to have some type of activity. Effectively sacred 2 has become my occupation. I can do it from my own home and if I am too sick to play I don't need to explain it to a boss.
Do you feel the violence is an issue?
The purpose of a good videogame is to fool the mind and perceive the game like reality.
So, in my opinion if someone have pleasure kiling people playing in videogames it must have something wrong in the deepest areas of the mind
I don't think that's ever been the purpose of any game or any game maker. Video games are a simple activity, a pass time, just as with any other type of game.
Indeed. Why I could snap at any moment.
yes, i agree with this completely. i play an online game similar to WoW, except free. i used to play as a wizard but have since switched over to cleric for this very reason. there are many opportunities for PVPs and i did get pretty wrapped up in destroying the other person, lol. it's the point, you know? but as a cleric, i enjoy the game a lot more because i am able to remove the anger. my character pretty much sucks at attacking, but my defense is high and i can help my fellow party members. the only problem i notice now is that the game is a complete and utter waste of time, haha. i'm pretty good at time management though, unlike some people who get completely wrapped up in mmorpgs.
but other than that, i mostly play zombie games. resident evil being my favorite. i detest other first person shooters like the call of duty games because they sort of disturb me. i don't support war and even destroying a fictional person/character sort of bothers me. games like halo and unreal tournament seem only fun to me when i'm not playing online with other players for this very reason, although most disagree with me. i just get so upset when i'm PKed, so i don't like causing others to have the same feelings. it's stressful and ultimately stupid, lol. i don't like getting upset about something that doesn't matter.
somehow, killing the undead zombiefied remains who's sole purpose is to eat my flesh, doesn't make me feel so bad... hah. house of the dead is also pretty great for blowing off some steam.
geeze, i think reading over this... my nerd is really showing, haha. :buck:
if it is so important to play
consider bad guys you want to kill or destroy are your own bad qualities like anger, envy, pride etc.
and
scoring points are your own good qualities like kindness, compassion etc
try this for a while and see what happens
She would explain that the reincarnation is not something that is forced, it comes by naturally. Being reincarnated to one of the 3 lesser paths are not punishment for your actions, but simply a natural process. Your ego naturally goes sways to the path which it most identifies with and feels at home. And in hindsight, the emotions and feelings most violent videogames brew are negative ones, such as aggression, jealously and anger. Hence most players of violent games would be accustomed to gore and violence, often taking joy in it. Perhaps this would influence the outcome of their reincarnation if they do not reach enlightment.
I believe that even though games are not "real", the reason we enjoy them is because they are so close to reality thus we can easily connect to this alternate reality. We enjoy games, books and movies because we can relate to them, even if it is on a small degree. For example, why do people cry in a movie when a scene of deep sadness plays? Why are we crying to pixels on a screen? Is that "real"? Yet the emotions we feel are real. This is not restricted to movies, and we relate to videogames too. What worries me is that whereas the content of books and movies are set in stone, in videogames, we are to certain degree, responsible for our actions.
I believe we have to step out of the frame of a gamer and think of this in a neutral way or else we'll always try to find an excuse to explain our actions. If we were a bystander who knew nothing about videogames and listened to the conversations we have as we play games, they would most likely assume we were some sort of brutal serial killers who found killing fun and funny. "Boom Headshot", "Kill him dude", "f*** you, I'm gonna blow your head off and teabag you" etc and its variations.
That's an interesting approach to take. Good one though.
I think he plays way to much Fallout 3 good Karma or bad karma
On another side to this topic, yes these virtual people are not sentient beings, anyone can clarify that. But I think you could go quite deeply into the way the mind works here and look into it in some detail. The buddha stated that having negative actions such as violence and causing harm is obviously a bad thing, but simply having the intention is also very bad for your well being and karma. You could go as far to say that the simple act of thinking you want and or need to kill someone in a game is actually having an effect on the mind.
Yes it may be a way to vent some anger or tension, but I would suggest meditation is a far more efficient way to relieve tension. As for anger, yes it is in our nature ot become angry, but it is possible and more beneficial to in fact be rid of this one emotion all together I think.