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frederic

Virtual reality and video games

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Human beings are accustomed to projecting qualities and existence onto objects which have no true existence on their side... Indeed, there is nothing that really, absolutely exists like we think!!! Where we think there is a tractor, there is nothing, except for this absolutely wrong belief projected by our mind onto a mere assembling of several other empty parts and objects. So, where is the tractor? Only in our minds... On the side of the tractor, there is no tractor, there is nothing, it's empty, it doesn't exist like we think it does. Ultimately, it's not there!!! Because it is the same for all things and beings, emptiness is the essence of all... On the side of the Ipod, there is no Ipod, Ipod is a label put on the assembling of empty parts, and then our minds make it exist, our minds think that on the side of the ipod, there is ipod, but there's nothing... Just like human aggregates trick our minds into believing that on the side of us, there is ego, when in fact there is nothing... Nothing at all... The conclusion is that we fight at nothing, we grab at nothing, we create and control nothing, etc. Without qualities of heart and dedication to selflessly serving others and loving all mother beings, we waste our empty, yet so precious human lives in, basically nothing !!!

 

The empty problem nowadays is that our empty minds can get so wrapped up into these empty objects, almost absorbed by them because that's why they have been created (Virtual reality, video games, Internet, etc), so when they break, our minds are so disturbed, so disatisfied, everything in "contemporary" samsara can be compared to a drug for the mind! Just look at how popular video games have become in our societies, kids just want to get away from uninteresting day to day reality and prefer hooking up on the Internet and playing war games and such, which are exacerbing their negative mind traits and negative karmic seeds already there... I sometimes wonder what is the amount of negative karma created when a human being consciously decides to wipe out his virtual ennemy???

 

Best regards,

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Tashi Delek, Frederic.

 

I sometimes wonder what is the amount of negative karma created when a human being consciously decides to wipe out his virtual ennemy???

 

I`ve been discussed about this with two real kids. They said that when they wipe out a virtual enemy, they don`t perceive this act as a "taking someone`s life", yet as a defeating an obstacle. When they wipe out a virtual enemy, they become happy in order that they are not being stuck. The motivation is to fulfill the task, which was brought by the game.

The negativity of the virtual game is that someone is absolutely free in playing his/her own "personal pattern of life" without any consequences and by the time these kids become really good in it. Last time I met someone of such kids, yet already adult, on the road. He was driving his car like a crazy towards the car, I was driving. I nearly saw how he crashed in my car and already screamed, but then at last he "SOMEHOW" managed to avoid my car.

It was about the centimetres.

And there is also one positivity about playing the virtual game. Someone can learn to master the skill of the reflex. Which sometimes can save someone`s life.

 

 

Best regards,

 

Simona

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Last time I met someone of such kids, yet already adult, on the road. He was driving his car like a crazy towards the car, I was driving. I nearly saw how he crashed in my car and already screamed, but then at last he "SOMEHOW" managed to avoid my car.

It was about the centimetres.

 

"Funny", the same thing happened to me a couple of days ago, in a low visibility turn I thought I was going to be hit by a young man and his friend who were driving right in the middle of the road, I had to brake to full stop and he swerved just a few centimeters from me. A close call...

 

And there is also one positivity about playing the virtual game. Someone can learn to master the skill of the reflex. Which sometimes can save someone`s life.

 

True, video games are known to develop hand/eye coordination...

 

 

Warm regards,

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Tashi Delek,

 

I`ve been discussed about this with two real kids. They said that when they wipe out a virtual enemy, they don`t perceive this act as a "taking someone`s life", yet as a defeating an obstacle. When they wipe out a virtual enemy, they become happy in order that they are not being stuck. The motivation is to fulfill the task, which was brought by the game.

 

At the moment, I can't agree with this completely. I know children psychologists claim similarly, but how much they know about how mind works? And children, how much they can discern one obsticle from another? If there would be fire to put out, or saving drawning beings from an overflowing river or stopping enemies from ruining houses or beings or different objects, yes, but killing symbolizes killing. Aggression. And, I think, getting too much into that, cannot be good. I don't think we have a ''vanish' button in our minds. This energy created during playing this games must leave some imprints. I think.

All the very best,

Pamo

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Tashi Delek, dear Pamo.

 

I`ve got the same doubts as you. The act of killing is an extreme by itself, someone can not be killed more or less. Yet, it is a difference between killing an alive sentient being or some image, who does not live. There is also a question of purposness of such act. Is it maybe an attachment to the self? People, who are attached to the self in real life usually don`t break the laws, even we could see that sometimes they write them. But they all have got the same characteristic- they are obsessed with making the others think their way by imposing their thoughts, statements, etc.

 

Best regards,

 

Simona

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Tashi Delek dear Simona,

:hello:

 

it is a difference between killing an alive sentient being or some image, who does not live.  

 

Above you were in a conversation how mind is the creator of the reality, be it virtual or whichever can be the other. So, generally speaking, does it matter then, for what the destructive attitude is being constructed....if it will repeat itself when triggered whenever triggered, with some image, worm passing by, cat sitting beneath the car or a human being not giving what asked (or demaned) for?

Such are my thoughts with this now...

 

I wish you all the very best,

Pamo

:*

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Tashi Delek,

 

I've given some thoughts about that as well. I have come to the conclusion that you do not really create negative karma when you kill a virtual character, because in order to create negative karma, you first need the negative intention, then to accomplish the actual harmful act, and then your victim must have actually gotten hurt by your act. But virtual characters, and correct me if I'm wrong, have no consciousness so they do not really get hurt, so you do not actually create negative karma... But I wonder if, in a way, this does not contibute to accentuating the negative tendencies which are already inscribed in your karmic patterns, and probably makes you more at risk of becoming, in this human life or the next, a highly deluded person...

 

Best regards,

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Tashi Delek,

 

From personal experience (not much), playing video games has one definite result: over-excitement of the mind. :evil:

 

But the consequences might be more serious. We know His Holiness said once that it is quite possible there will be hungry ghosts caught inside computers in near future... :(

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Tashi delek,

 

Indeed, we do create negative karma by body, speech, and mind...

 

If someone in the dark get afraid of what is looking like a mouse, build the intention to kill that animal, take tool and hit the shape... By getting used to darkness, the eyes see it's just a rope. Meanwhile, that person has accumulated the negative karma of wishing to kill a mouse, and acting for it!

 

Now, regarding computer games, it is very unfortunate that most children do generate negative emotions when fighting whoever/whatever on the screen, generate anger, and even sometime hatred!

In some games, the goal is to be a bad person! The worst you become the better chance you have to win the game. Unbelievable!

One of the very popular games nowadays is: "Grand Theft Auto". The explanation starts with: "The games allow the player to take on the role of a criminal in a big city, typically a lowly individual who rises in the ranks of organized crime over the course of the game.".

What kind of habits it gives when a child enters this role several hours, every day or often, in a period of his life where his psyche is still in creation??

Worst, the serie of this game named “San Andrea” (which became the best seller of PC and console games) received particular attention by the public when an unused sex minigame was discovered in both the console and PC versions of the game! (more details following this link: Hot coffee mod).

 

People who are making such games are not innocent. They know what they are doing. And it is not for the good of the children.

Now, parents who allow such games should know what they are allowing (what most of the time they don’t seems to) and investigate a little before to agree.

 

Furthermore, deeper we are going into the virtual reality, more this virtual looks real, and greater the confusion will become, more emotions children will generate when playing, and… more karma they will accumulate.

From a psychological point of view, I’m afraid such games might also favors schizophrenia.

 

There are indeed some nice games, in which your role is to save, rescue, or just to drive a car or a plane. These might be good for developing ‘psycho-motoric’ skills, and to generate better emotions (and consequently better karmas).

 

The parents who are allowing blindly their children to play any game at home, or any game when they go to their friend’s home to wear a part of the responsibility and karma! They should explain in length “why” they disagree about such games. Of course, it shall be part of an “ethical life-style”, an educational pattern. If you start to discuss ethical issue when the child is already ten years old, it will be more difficult (but not impossible if you become a good example yourself).

 

All the best, Gelong T. Shenphen

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I have come to the conclusion that you do not really create negative karma when you kill a virtual character, because in order to create negative karma, you first need the negative intention, then to accomplish the actual harmful act, and then your victim must have actually gotten hurt by your act.

True, the negative karma of a murder is not accumulated when you kill a virtual being in a computer game, but the heavy negative karma of getting angry and wishing to destroy and kill, and rejoicing of it, is indeed accumulated!

 

At the least, if I can say so, as Khyenrab mentioned, video games, in an obvious way, do disturb the mind, "over-exciting" it. This can be observed easily if you have a child or have time to watch children in front of video games.

 

All the best, Gelong T. Shenphen

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Then, if you add some soda brown-and-very-sweet (to do not name it) that children drink in front of video games, or sweets with lot of colorant, the result is that they are so over-excited that they are brough to doctors, and declared "hyper-active"! On which, they get treated with drugs such a Ritaline (Death from Ritalin or other ressources)

The loop is closed :(

 

Thank you.

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Tashi Delek,

 

About 10 years ago I got some "innocent" :twisted: computer games (hockey, football, basketball). I played them for two weeks or so, which is not that much :v .

 

Conclusions: during and immediately after playing the mind gets agitated :-v and it becomes more and more difficult to keep concentration for a longer period. This can also be noticed with children watching a lot of tv: attention periods get shorter and shorter - fact abused and incouraged by modern movies. Secondly, playing increases attachment and can probably turn it into an addiction quite quickly :what!: . Thirdly, your head gets filled with completely obsolete data - at that time I knew the names of all of the hockey, football and basketball players by hard :oops: .

 

Improvement of eye-hand coordination is probably negligible compared to all of the negative effects. Also, there are many other "natural" ways to increase these kinds of skills. Especially, if you consider that many children, who spend a lot of time playing computer games, wear out their wrists and fingers and end up with permanent damage equalled to old people, who used their hands for 80 years or more :cry: .

 

After two weeks or so I deleted all the games off the computer and since then I never missed them {-|-} .

 

Best regards,

 

Draftsman

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True, the negative karma of a murder is not accumulated when you kill a virtual being in a computer game, but the heavy negative karma of getting angry and wishing to destroy and kill, and rejoicing of it, is indeed accumulated!

 

Thank you for opening my eyes to that, venerable Lama Shenphen.

 

All the best,

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But the consequences might be more serious. We know His Holiness said once that it is quite possible there will be hungry ghosts caught inside computers in near future...  :(

 

perhaps this has nothing to do with it, but anyway ... I had a very disturbing dream a couple of years ago. I lived in a world, obsessed with video-games, everybody was playing them, kids did nothing else, nobody did anything else, it was like this was the way of life. nobody cared for the environment anymore, for old people who were dying in their beds alone ... it was horrible. then there were few of us who believed something has to be very wrong with the world and this computer addiction ... and my friends kept missing, one by one. I suspected it had something to do with computers so I decided to enter one of the video-games. but the trick was - once you had entered the virtual space, the energy was being "sucked" from your body and your mind "on earth", even though you could not notice that in the virtual world. when all the life-energy was "sucked in", you simply dropped down and died in both worlds. (reminds me a bit of the movie Matrix, but I had this dream some years before I saw the movie)

another danger was proposed from the side of people who were playing the video-games and did the virtual killings. from the point of view of the virtual world, the killings were very real. virtual beings were dying due to the shots. and among them were those people who decided (from whichever reason) to enter the virtual world. so there was death all over (which was, of course, not visible from the "outer world").

so I had to be very careful avoiding all the dangers and I knew I had very little time. my friends from "earth-world" were hurrying me out and then at the last moment I saw my friend, the one I came for, she was lying in a corner and bleeding, almost lifeless. I quickly picked her up and "transported" her back to earth. then I did the same for myself as the last seconds of my life were ticking.

 

almost a science fiction movie I had.

 

I woke up with mixed feelings about this and the virtual world.

 

could it be that those hungry ghosts, captured inside the virtual reality world, could look like that?

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Tashi Delek Mavrica,

 

That's quite a scary dream you had, or should I say nightmare? It really reminds me of some of the nightmares I have had, your description is very vivid and resembles some of the surrealistic scenarios I have dreamt about, not necessarily about virtual reality but... Very dark and disturbing, where people or friends and relatives are being killed and you feel as if things accelerate uncontrollably, you always try to escape from someone that's crazy and save someone from him also, I always wake up from those with a feeling of being lost, scared to death and out of breath, until the impression wears off...

 

Well anyways, it could be that hungry ghosts caught up in computers will have these type of experiences, but I really deeply hope and pray that it will not be as terrifying as this!! :((

 

Best regards,

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...I sometimes wonder what is the amount of negative karma created when a human being consciously decides to wipe out his virtual ennemy???

 

Hello, new here, so hope I'm not speaking out of turn...

 

I have played a lot of video games in my time: I have been watching their development since they were invented, and with every large leap in technology, I check out the changes.

 

When the first generation of first-person 3D-world games - so-called virtual reality such as Doom and Duke Nukem - I was hooked, and played until the early hours in the morning, followed by fitfull sleep with vivid nightmares. I was studying for my first degree, in English literature, at a respectable university, as well as practicising a variety of daily meditations.

 

I am not sure I was consciously trying to escape anything: my life was generally greatly improved at that time, and I was genearlly happy. I do not think the virtual shootin was the key point of the game, it was more the discovery of a virtual world. Yes, it was disappointing that it was not as impressive as the landscapes my own mind can conjure (modesty!), but it was new and interesting for that alone.

 

Over the next few years, the shooting became a challenge - but it was certainly not a *conscious* concentration on death at all, rather the aquisition of, an admittedly useless, skill.

 

A very interestin phenomena began to emmerge - that of online collaborative play. People who were, in the game design, encourage to shoot eachother for points, did actually team up to aid eachother. So marked was this phenomena, that team games such as Capture The Flag Unreal Tournament emmerged, and became very, very popular.

 

Here's the rub: when the Collenbine massacre took place, my friends and I at once recognised a virtual reality "shoot 'em up" scenario in the scene -- a whole two years before the authorities acknowledged that indeed the child murderers had been playing such a game obsessivly, to the pont of modelling their school in such a game.

 

Of course, such people are likely to have serious and potentially murderous problems in any case, but it cannot be denied that video games add a strong strand to the unconscious in the same way that advertisments, films, and all other media. The karmic impact of all of this is quite apparent, I think: the greater and more frequent the exposure to the media, the greater the dissatisfaction with the world-without-the-media -- a cyclic addiction.

 

On the other hand, replacing the shooting with something more positive would probably not solve all video-game-related problems. As you say, that so many people feel their reality so poor, or just plain boring (as I presumably did), that they need to escape it is the bigger problem.

 

Lee

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In a way, playing video games can be a lot like practicing martial arts -- not necessarily incompatible with Buddhism.

 

Hey, Lee! Nice to meet you here, too!

 

Thanks, Simona! Just looking around - the good Lama teaches near my new home (though I'll miss his next trip). Seems like a good place!

 

Love & Peace!

Lee

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