Buddha games list
Encyclopedia
The Buddha games list is a list of game
s which it is reputed that Gautama Buddha
said that he would not play. As such it dates back to the 6th or 5th century BC and is the earliest known list of games.
There is some debate about the translation of some of the games mentioned, and the list given here is based on the translation by T.W. Rhys Davids of the Brahmajāla Sutta
(Digha Nikaya
1, translated in Dialogues of the Buddha) and is in the same order given in the original. It is also given in a number of other Buddhist works, including the Vinaya Pitaka
.
H.J.R.Murray 'History of Board Games other than Chess' page 35 refers to Rhys Davids 1899 translation. Murray notes that the 8x8 game is 'Ashtapada' while the 10x10 game is 'Dasapada'. He states that both are race games.
Same sutta known as Brahmajala sutta
gives a list of things that Buddha would not watch.
Dancing, singing., music, shows, recitations, hand-clapping, brass-instrument-playing, drum-playing, art exhibitions, playing with an Iron ball, bamboo raising games, rituals of washing the bones of the dead, elephant-fights, horse-fights, buffalo-fights, bull-fights, goat-fights, sheep-fights, cock fights, quail-fights, fighting with quarter-staffs, boxing, wrestling, military tattoos, military reviews, route marches and troop-movements.
List of things Buddha wouldn't wear;
using mirrors, painting eye-lashes dark, decorating (oneself) with flowers, applying powder and lotion to the body, beautifying the face with powder and lotion, wearing bangles, tying the hair into a top-knot, carrying walking sticks or ornamented hollow cylinders (containing medicinal herbs) or swords, using multi-coloured umbrellas or footwear (with gorgeous designs),
wearing a turban or hair-pin set with rubies, carrying a Yak-tail fan and wearing long white robes with fringes.
Samana Gotama abstains from such embellishment and adornment.
Game
A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...
s which it is reputed that Gautama Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
said that he would not play. As such it dates back to the 6th or 5th century BC and is the earliest known list of games.
There is some debate about the translation of some of the games mentioned, and the list given here is based on the translation by T.W. Rhys Davids of the Brahmajāla Sutta
Brahmajala Sutta (Theravada)
The Brahmajala Sutta is the first of 34 suttas in the Digha Nikaya . The name comes from 'brahma' and 'jala'...
(Digha Nikaya
Digha Nikaya
The Digha Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the first of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...
1, translated in Dialogues of the Buddha) and is in the same order given in the original. It is also given in a number of other Buddhist works, including the Vinaya Pitaka
Vinaya Pitaka
The ' is a Buddhist scripture, one of the three parts that make up the Tripitaka. Its primary subject matter is the monastic rules for monks and nuns...
.
- Games on boardsBoard gameA board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
with 8 or 10 rows (note that ChessChessChess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
as we know it was not invented at this time, though earlier Chess-like games such as ChaturajiChaturajiChaturaji is a four player chess-like game. It was first described in detail circa 1030 by Biruni in his India book. Originally, this was a game of chance: the pieces to be moved were decided by rolling two dice...
may have existed). The name appears in Pali canon is Asta padam (Asta - eight, Padam - literally means legs). In Mahaparinibbana Sutta, it was translated into 八道行成 by ancient Chinese. - The same games played on imaginary boards (Akasam Astapadam - Akasam is sky or Astapadam played in sky), same game played in moon shaped chess boards
- Marking diagrams on the floor such that the player can only walk on certain places.
- Using nails to place or remove pieces from a heap with the loser being the one who causes the heap to wobble (similar to the contemporary games JengaJengaJenga is a game of physical and mental skill created by Leslie Scott, and currently marketed by Parker Brothers, a division of Hasbro. During the game, players take turns to remove a block from a tower and balance it on top, creating a taller and increasingly unstable structure as the game...
and Pick-up sticksPick-up sticksPick-up sticks is a game of physical and mental skill. A bundle of 'sticks,' approximately 6-8 inches long, are held in a loose bunch and released on a table top, falling in random disarray. Each player, in turn, must remove a stick from the pile without disturbing the remaining ones...
). - Throwing diceDiceA die is a small throwable object with multiple resting positions, used for generating random numbers...
- Hitting a short stick with a long stick (there is still some debate about the translation of this line). This is similar to the Indian game of Gulli-danda or Russian GorodkiGorodkiGorodki is an ancient Russian folk sport whose popularity has spread to Karelia, Finland, Sweden, Ingria, Lithuania, and Estonia. Similar in concept to bowling and also somewhat to horseshoes, the aim of the game is to knock out groups of skittles arranged in various patterns by throwing a bat at...
. - Drawing a figure on the ground or wall after dipping a finger in lacLacLac is the scarlet resinous secretion of a number of species of insects, namely some of the species of the genera Metatachardia, Laccifer, Tachordiella, Austrotacharidia, Afrotachardina, and Tachardina of the superfamily Coccoidea, of which the most commonly cultivated species is Kerria lacca.The...
, red dye, flour or water, and having the other players guess what the picture is going to be (a guessing gameGuessing gameA guessing game is a game in which the object is to guess some kind of information, such as a word, a phrase, a title, or the location of an object.Many of the games are played co-operatively...
similar to PictionaryPictionaryPictionary is a guessing word game designed by Robert Angel and first published in 1985 by Seattle Games Inc. The game is played with teams with players trying to identify specific words from their teammates' drawings.-Objective:...
). - Ball gameBall gameIn American English, ball game refers specifically to either a game of basketball, baseball or American football. In British English ball game refers to any sport played with a ball....
s. - Playing with toy pipes made of leaves.
- Ploughing with toy ploughPloughThe plough or plow is a tool used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting. It has been a basic instrument for most of recorded history, and represents one of the major advances in agriculture...
. - SomersaultSomersaultA somersault is an acrobatic exercise in which a person does a full 360° flip, moving the feet over the head. A somersault can be performed either forwards, backwards, or sideways and can be executed in the air or on the ground...
ing. - Playing with toy windmillWindmillA windmill is a machine which converts the energy of wind into rotational energy by means of vanes called sails or blades. Originally windmills were developed for milling grain for food production. In the course of history the windmill was adapted to many other industrial uses. An important...
s. - Playing with toy measures.
- Playing with toy carts.
- Playing with toy bowsBow (weapon)The bow and arrow is a projectile weapon system that predates recorded history and is common to most cultures.-Description:A bow is a flexible arc that shoots aerodynamic projectiles by means of elastic energy. Essentially, the bow is a form of spring powered by a string or cord...
. - Guessing at letters traced with the finger in the air or on a friend's back.
- Guessing a friend's thoughts.
- Imitating deformities.
H.J.R.Murray 'History of Board Games other than Chess' page 35 refers to Rhys Davids 1899 translation. Murray notes that the 8x8 game is 'Ashtapada' while the 10x10 game is 'Dasapada'. He states that both are race games.
Same sutta known as Brahmajala sutta
Brahmajala Sutta
The Brahmajala Sutta is the first of 34 suttas in the Digha Nikaya . The name comes from 'brahma' and 'jala'...
gives a list of things that Buddha would not watch.
Dancing, singing., music, shows, recitations, hand-clapping, brass-instrument-playing, drum-playing, art exhibitions, playing with an Iron ball, bamboo raising games, rituals of washing the bones of the dead, elephant-fights, horse-fights, buffalo-fights, bull-fights, goat-fights, sheep-fights, cock fights, quail-fights, fighting with quarter-staffs, boxing, wrestling, military tattoos, military reviews, route marches and troop-movements.
List of things Buddha wouldn't wear;
using mirrors, painting eye-lashes dark, decorating (oneself) with flowers, applying powder and lotion to the body, beautifying the face with powder and lotion, wearing bangles, tying the hair into a top-knot, carrying walking sticks or ornamented hollow cylinders (containing medicinal herbs) or swords, using multi-coloured umbrellas or footwear (with gorgeous designs),
wearing a turban or hair-pin set with rubies, carrying a Yak-tail fan and wearing long white robes with fringes.
Samana Gotama abstains from such embellishment and adornment.