Ouyi Zhixu; Buddhism; china; karma; games; play; ritual; seventeenth century
摘要
Religious games have inspired some of the most popular board games of the modern era, but they have only recently garnered the attention of scholars of religion. This article examines a seventeenth-century Buddhist board game called Selection of Buddhas that was originally designed in response to the popular Chinese board game Promotion of Officials. The Buddhist game oriented its players towards becoming a Buddha instead of a government official, and it was meant to appeal to a broad range of players, providing beginners a means of learning religious practices in a low-stakes environment and advanced practitioners an alternative form of entertainment to secular games focused on gambling, status, and fame. Because it embedded religious practices within a game, blurring the boundaries between ritual and play, Selection of Buddhas garnered both praise and criticism. The article focuses especially on the complex understanding of karma reflected in the Buddhist game: while the board suggests a mechanistic operation of karmic cause and effect as players progress from the first square to the ultimate attainment of Buddhahood, the roll of the dice inscribed with the name of Amitābha Buddha implies that karma can be miraculously transformed if one appeals to Buddhas and bodhisattvas with sincere devotion.
目次
Abstract 5 Promotion of Officials 7 Selection of Buddhas 9 The Rules of Play 13 Playing with Karma 16 Ritual and Play: A Slippery Slope 18 Religious and Secular Games 22 Appendix: Glossary of Chinese Text 24 Notes and References 25
