The Buddhist games list is a list of games that Gautama Buddha is reputed to have said that he would not play and that his disciples should likewise not play, because he believed them to be a 'cause for negligence'. [1] This list dates from the 6th or 5th century BC and is the earliest known list of games. [2]
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 and is in the same order given in the original. [3] The list is duplicated in a number of other early Buddhist texts, including the Vinaya Pitaka. [2] [4]
Although the modern game of chess had not been invented at the time the list was made, earlier chess-like games such as chaturaji may have existed. H. J. R. Murray refers to Rhys Davids' 1899 translation, noting that the 8×8 board game is most likely ashtapada while the 10×10 game is dasapada. He states that both are race games. [6]
The complete list is repeated several times in the Digha Nikaya as part of a passage called 'The Intermediate Section on Moral Discipline' that details ways in which the Buddha and his followers differ in their practices from brahmins and other ascetics.
The full list also occurs twice in the Vinaya Pitaka, once in the Suttavibhanga as part of the criteria for a rule entailing suspension, and once in the Cullavaga as part of a technical discussion regarding the procedure for banishing monks from an area. [4] [7]
An abbreviated version also occurs in at least two other sutras: the Upāli Sutta in the Anguttara Nikaya and the Mahātaṇhāsaṅkhaya Sutta in the Majjhima Nikaya. [8] [9]
The Buddhist games list is a list of games that Gautama Buddha is reputed to have said that he would not play and that his disciples should likewise not play, because he believed them to be a 'cause for negligence'. [1] This list dates from the 6th or 5th century BC and is the earliest known list of games. [2]
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 and is in the same order given in the original. [3] The list is duplicated in a number of other early Buddhist texts, including the Vinaya Pitaka. [2] [4]
Although the modern game of chess had not been invented at the time the list was made, earlier chess-like games such as chaturaji may have existed. H. J. R. Murray refers to Rhys Davids' 1899 translation, noting that the 8×8 board game is most likely ashtapada while the 10×10 game is dasapada. He states that both are race games. [6]
The complete list is repeated several times in the Digha Nikaya as part of a passage called 'The Intermediate Section on Moral Discipline' that details ways in which the Buddha and his followers differ in their practices from brahmins and other ascetics.
The full list also occurs twice in the Vinaya Pitaka, once in the Suttavibhanga as part of the criteria for a rule entailing suspension, and once in the Cullavaga as part of a technical discussion regarding the procedure for banishing monks from an area. [4] [7]
An abbreviated version also occurs in at least two other sutras: the Upāli Sutta in the Anguttara Nikaya and the Mahātaṇhāsaṅkhaya Sutta in the Majjhima Nikaya. [8] [9]