Buddhist leader calls video games 'emotional therapy'

17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje

(Credit: Karma Kagyu Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism)

Ogyen Trinley Dorje--the only senior Buddhist leader recognized by China, Tibet, and India--was recently interviewed during a visit to Delhi, India, where he gave his views on politics, hip-hop, and video games.

While certainly not your average 24-year-old, he's clearly in touch with how video games can make us all feel better. He's also apparently a Mac fan.

Well, I view video games as something of an emotional therapy, a mundane level of emotional therapy for me. We all have emotions whether we're Buddhist practitioners or not, all of us have emotions, happy emotions, sad emotions, displeased emotions and we need to figure out a way to deal with them when they arise.

So, for me sometimes it can be a relief, a kind of decompression to just play some video games. If I'm having some negative thoughts or negative feelings, video games are one way in which I can release that energy in the context of the illusion of the game. I feel better afterwards.

The aggression that comes out in the video game satiates whatever desire I might have to express that feeling. For me, that's very skilful because when I do that I don't have to go and hit anyone over the head.

I wonder what games he plays? Maybe I should friend him on Facebook and setup a challenge?

[Police_States_of_America]

its funny how china manages to be less evil than tibet despite having so many human rights issues themselves. the tibetan dali lama wants a return to the monk class where monks treated citizens worse than chinese officials do. the tibetan dali lama calls homosexuality evil, the chinese tibetan dali lama supports technology, go figure...

[joiwind]

@ Police_States_of_ America :
are you sure you really know what you are talking about ?

[Police_States_of_America]

what? a free tibet isnt as happy go lucky as people would have you believe? its all documented in the history books. do some research.

[sharmajunior]

C'mon, did you have to mention that he was a Mac fan?

Just another way to start the flame war. It's ON!!!

[Kev-LG]

Games have long evolved from something "to take your anger out on" - games like Flower are showing the new emotional range of games, without having to resort to cliched notions of power ups and big bosses.

[ChristaPho]

It doesn't have to be "power ups and big bosses" to be useful as a emotional vent. Not everyone wants to blow **** up when they are upset or angry. Some people just like to be immersed in an activity that allocates all of one's concentration and thoughts into the single purpose of having some fun. In fact, games like Flower seem to have a lot of meditative utility.

[karmamule]

An interesting additional part of the interview cnet quotes from, when the interviewer follows-up on the use of video games as an outlet:

Interviewer: But shouldn't meditation take care of that?

Karmapa: No, video games are just a skilful method.

[zxx017]

i'am a chinanese,you funt