How to stop being obsessed with video games?

Q&A with Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, Deer Park Monastery, California, October 2013.

(Bell)

(Bell)

For the past few years,
I've been obsessed with video games,

playing for 8 hours a day

and I need suggestions to stop
this obsession of playing video games.

(Sr. True Dedication):
Dear Thay, dear sangha,

a young friend just shared
that for the last few years

he has been playing
a lot of computer games.

About 8 hours every day
he plays computer games

and it has become an obsession.

He would like any help, any ideas

how he can stop this obsession
with playing computer games.

The young people may already have
a lot of suffering in themselves.

Their parents do not know
how to help their children to suffer less,

to transform the suffering in them.

That is why both, parents and children

try to cover up the suffering inside
by entertainment:

music, books, films,
electronic games and so on.

This is not really enjoyment,

it is just trying to run away
from the suffering inside.

As the time passes,
the suffering inside continues to grow.

Because the items that we consume

in order to forget about our suffering

can bring more toxins, poisons,

anger, distress, to us.

This is not living.

That is running away from life.

What the West calls
the Kingdom of God

in Buddhism is called
the Dharma body.

The Buddha has the Buddha body,

but he also has a Dharma body.

When the physical body of the Buddha
is no longer there,

his Dharma body continues
to give Dharma talks.

When you contemplate a flower

or when you listen
to the wind in the willow

with mindfulness and concentration,

you hear the Dharma talk given by
the Dharma body of the Buddha.

So the Buddha is always alive
giving Dharma talks.

If you contemplate the Moon,
the cloud, the blue sky,

the river, the rising tide,

then everything is teaching the Dharma.

The Dharma body is equivalent
to the Kingdom of God.

We know that
the Kingdom of God is there.

Every flower, every tree
belongs to the Kingdom of God.

They speak to you
about the Kingdom of God

that is here and now.

So if you know how to go home
to the here and the now,

you have the Kingdom of God with you.

It will nourish you, make you happy.

You don't have to run away
and take refuge in electronic games.

When you breathe in mindfully,
you bring your mind home to your body.

When mind and body are together,
you are truly alive.

If you get lost in your computer,

your body and your mind are separated.

You are not truly alive.

You are wasting your live.

You don't profit from your life.

Nature has given us a life.

Every second, every minute is a jewel.

If you can stay in the here and the now,

you can enjoy the Kingdom of God
in the here and the now.

That is the best kind of enjoyment.

There is an image in the Gospel.

A peasant, a farmer,
discovers a piece of land

with a treasure in it.

He goes home and sells everything
in order to buy that small piece of land.

Because it has a treasure in it.

And that treasure
can make him happy all his life

and in the next life also.

So if you have the treasure,
the Kingdom of God,

you don't need other things,

including money, fame,
power, sensual pleasures

and electronic games.

That is why
parents should practice

in order to be able
to enjoy the Kingdom of God

in the here and the now.

In that way, they can teach
their children to do the same.

And they will not run away

and take refuge in electronic games

and got addicted to them anymore.

Because if you continue,

your body will have a lot of problems
and your mind also.

That has proved to be exact.

If you spend too much time
with your computer,

your electronic games,

you are addicted to new technologies,

then you don't have any time left
to enjoy the wonders of life,

the Kingdom of God that is available
in the here and the now.

This is not only an answer
to a young person,

but to all of us,
especially parents and teachers.

Thank you for asking a question.

(Bell)

(Bell)