Question to Deepak:
I have some questions on the vow. First, has to do with the mind. What if one has an angry thought, is that violence. Or, if one were to think only for a moment a thought of harm in anger. Then, has the vow been broken?
Second, if one likes to play video games. Lets say something like gears of war. The game depicts violence, obviously, with a title like gears of war. Does, this violate the vow. It is not say violence with emotion or malicious intent but does that violate the vow?
Basically, if one takes the vow then one cannot get angry because that may lead to a violation of the vow, in thought, and unfortunately, but this may often be the case, one may have to give up some things
Answer from Deepak:
Taking the vow of non-violence does not mean that you won’t ever have a reactive angry thought or word sometime. What the vow means is that you are making a conscious intention or commitment to respond to situations with creativity, peace and compassion. If you fall short of that sometimes, it doesn’t mean you have broken your vow. This is not that kind of vow. If you respond to something with an angry or violent thought, it means you have discovered a part of yourself that needs healing in yourself. You can use that information to grow and be in a better position to respond to a similar situation next time with more love.
Regarding the video games of war and violence—I think that violent games, especially first-person shooter games, encourage violent responses to conflict. Choosing violent games as entertainment most definitely does not help us cultivate a nonviolent state of consciousness.
Love,
Deepak
I sat one night when I could not sleep and started to play a video game where I terrorized the streets of Los Angeles. After about 3 hrs I realized that there was a shift in my balance. I had never felt that way before and for me it was not a good feeling. I put the controller down and went to bed. When I first started playing the game it was more or less like making my own violent movie of some sorts. In the end it was pure psychosis. The build up from balance to psychosis was gradual over three hours. But in the end I was killing and destroying everything in sight. I snapped out of it. It was very powerful. The dark side. Tyrants and dictators must feel this same power but onsome other level. My intention is for the world to be at such a state that this discussion will not happen. Total Peace.
Research by Professor Stephen Kosslyn at Harvard University has shown that when we imagine any scene, we activate parts of the brain
What the VOW has done for me is to help make me more aware of my thoughts and much more conscious of them. I have taken my VOW so seriously, and it has changed my life exponentially. I have judgments that pop into my mind, and I watch them, and also immediately substitute them with more positivity whereas before I maybe wasn't doing this as much. I'd been working on this within myself before, but now it has taken on a new urgency. I know that peace begins within, and that in order to create it externally, I need to be it myself internally. I hold compassionate space for myself when I do have theses issues, but again, I intend for these thoughts to eventually never come into play in the first place. They are much fewer since taking the VOW. It has made me a better person and living much more on purpose than before, and I thought I was doing this already, and I was, just not to this extent. THIS VOW ROCKS!!!
In love, light, and PEACE,
Krissy
For me, taking the Vow of non-violence: Ahimsa, has changed the way I think about people and events. I was shocked to realize that judgement in itself is violent. Anything short of love and acceptance is violence against Life.
Its a life altering idea for sure.
Am I may being too strict or rigid in my perception and understanding?
I welcome any comments or feedback.
Thanks
Yvette
I am learning that there is a BIG difference between the emotion, anger, and having violent thoughts, words or actions. I can feel angry…it
Purely from self interest I'd rather formulate my vows tightly enough so I'm conscious of some slight breach rather than sliding down some self-serving sophistic slope.
I know the wake that anger leaves in my own mind, just like I know the pattern of thoughts brought up by games such as WoW. (My personal history predisposes me to those that are more like Gears, actually.) And I can't find them different from what's consequence of violence or scheming violence.
If I breach my vows and maintain an impartial mindfulness then that breach becomes an opportunity to develop all-inclusive compassion. It takes so little to sway me; I slip so easily!
Perhaps self-delusion is not "violent", but it's something that horrifies me … like self-induced madness … taking the Blue Pill … and I just can't choose that willingly.
So I'll consider the flashing flames of anger violent … so that I can tend that fire and lie it exhaust itself before it burns others.
Mere self-interest. *grin*
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I think the idea of the vow is to be mindful that one does not act in violent ways, and that action springs from thought. To be mindful of one's thoughts should reveal when we have an angry thought, and hopefully, help avoid an act of violence. While we are mindful of our angry thoughts, as we become more aware of them, it is also possible to discover their source. If we have an angry thought, we can remind ourselves to not react with violence, then take a moment to reflect on the source of the angry thought. With this examining and inquiring, we can ask ourselves, "Why did that make me angry?" We can also ask if there could have been a more productive, or efficient reaction instead. The more we inquire about the source of our thoughts, the more we become attuned to them. Keep in mind that remaining objective is crucial to discovering our thought's real source. This is the vow in action. Having an angry thought does not violate the vow. Instead it allows us a chance to reflect.
As for video games and violence, I believe that it nullifies the notion that we have the capacity to inflict pain. We separate ourselves, and become a 'me' against 'them'. As we eventually will all discover, there is no separation: we are all one. What you do to me, you do to all, and you do as well to yourself.
I watched a friend's son play a snowboarding game on video. He had gotten quite good at all the various tricks and stunts, so when the weather turned cold, he was exteremly excited about the prospects of strapping on a real snowboard. To say that he became extremely frustrated and agry at the difficulty of mastering a real snowboard is an understatement. With our encouragement however, he did develop some skills, but certainly did not become as proficient as his video game alter-ego.
Playing a video game is not real life, except for the pressing of the buttons, the actions on the screen and the emotions they invoke, and the thought patterns they help to develop. It is a dream world. We risk believing that what happens in the video game can happen in real life, because the game is designed to simulate real life, much like a dream can seem very real. When we conciously decide to participate in this artificial world instead of the real one, we separate ourselves not only from others, but also the notion that our actions have no 'real' consequences. When merely pressing the reset button is all that's required to restore one to full health, then no thought is given to causing harm, and violence not only becomes the norm, it is actually the goal. By more fully participating in reality, we see the reason to practice non-violent thought and non-violent action. When we are the embodiment of peace and love, the feeling of joy far outweighs whatever temporary 'high' we might feel playing a video game. There is nothing to 'give up'. Think of it as a trade, and you get the better part of the deal.