Check it, gamers — via Vice comes the story of “totalitarian [former] Buddhist” and Koyaanisqatsi fan Vincent Ocasla:
Vince guy spent four years wallowing in equations and graph paper building a totalitarian Sim City hellscape called Magnasanti, racking up a population of six million and claiming to beat an otherwise unbeatable game. Watch this and get scared:
Even if it weren’t somewhat sinisterly inspired by the Buddhist Wheel of Life, this is still something to see.
Read the rest over at Viceland.
This one also comes from the mighty Konchog Norbu. Seems that Yuttadhammo, the monk behind Truth is Within, has left Second Life for greener dharmic pastures online. Hence, his new “Buddhaverse.net” You can see a sneak preview of it here.
BTW: Yuttadhammo writes: “If you are interested in helping to build the platform, either on the 3D grid or in some other way (we also need web designers, programmers, etc.), please let us know. If you are interested in teaching or facilitating some sort of Buddhist practice and think that our platform can help, please let us know as well.”
Reader Ben H writes:
“I was playing the demo for Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 over the weekend and fought this boss at the end of the game. Thought it’d make a tasty Dharma-Burger.”
Good lord, it sure does. Thanks, Ben!
We originally told you about this on Jan 2 of this year, but the new videogame Uncharted 2 , which “takes place in war-torn Tibet” is out as of midnite last night.
Hmm…Another “find Shangri-la” video-adventure?
A good friend writes to say “It is an exclusive PS3 game that is set in Nepal, Tibet, and Shambhala and is absolutely loaded with Buddhist art and imagery. It is already being touted as one of the best games ever.”
He says he’s picking it up today. Maybe he’ll provide a review here? Or, maybe you will?
UPDATE: note the “Phurba Dagger Artifact” that comes with the “Fortune Hunter” edition of the game. (Thanks to reader Michael, who left this in the comments for this post.) If you don’t know what a phurba is, here‘s a Wiki-answer for ya.
You gamers (and “evil Buddhists”) might wanna check out this report on Shambhala SunSpace about “Cursed Mountain,” a new game for the Wii that, according to IGN.com:
repurposes Tibetan Buddhism to fuel its survival horror premise. …Cursed Mountain puts players at the control of Eric Simmons, an explorer who takes to the Himalayas in search of his younger brother Frank. Naturally, as Eric he ascends the mountain he’s pulled deeper and deeper into a supernatural world, haunted by the dispossessed as they perpetually linger in a state of Bardo, victims of a curse on the region and in limbo between this life and the next.
Sounds like fun. (And I’m only half-kidding.)
Big thanks to reader Scott A.M. for this one:
“Hey there WH… I have not yet played the new Simpsons video game. And I only just recently saw that it is now available on the Wii (where one can also meditate for points, as you know). But as I was browsing around on the game’s website, I clicked on ‘Features’ for various family members. Lisa, the Simpsons’ token Buddhist, has the following powers:
- Hand of Buddha – Look for special meditation ports where Lisa can summon the Hand of Buddha. She can use this mighty hand to lift things and decorate the environment to her liking.
- Hand of Buddha Flick – Lisa can use the Hand of Buddha to flick enemies into each other, into objects, and all the way across the screen if she so desires.
- Hand of Buddha Ice Attack – How cool is this? Lisa can use the Hand of Buddha to freeze her foes into big blocks of ice and then pick them up to use as weapons.
- Hand of Buddha Lightning Attack – When the going gets real tough, Lisa can cry like a baby, or she can summon the almighty Hand of Buddha to unleash a venomous lightning strike.
“This, too, may be a sign of the Kaliyuga. But I for one really want to use the Hand of Buddha lightning attack!”
Well, who wouldn’t?
Thanks, Scott.
…and speaking of games…
Two new articles on the Karmapa for y’all, one from the Times Online UK, and the other from the Houston Chronicle. A surprising mini-revelation leads off the latter one: “he likes to relax playing war games on his PlayStation.”
(Sorry, this was previously posted without the links. That’s now been fixed!)
Will it never end? (Nope, not any time soon anyway…) Thanks to reader George R, for sending the Dharma-Burgery ZenBev, “a sleep aid that I saw in a healthy lifestyle type magazine. It’s a vitamin drink mix to help with anxiety and insomnia.”
George also sends this video for what might be the finest Zen/Dharma-Burger collision, “Zen Burger.” It’s been covered here before, but, as George writes: “This advert talks more about vegetarian being healthier and better for the environment and not so much to do with meditation, Buddhist practice or enlightenment. Although they do throw in a shot of the Zen Burger mascot doing a lame version of what seems like a yoga pose but looks more like the Karate Kid crane kick. Hope you enjoy.”
Thanks, George!
And thanks also to the mighty Yoga Dawg who sends a link to yet another one of these Zenny grid-based games, “Zen Gems.”
