Our life as sentient beings is actually more like an unending simulation game than anything else. Being unawakened we continue endlessly in a ‘stream of consciousness’ (viññāṇasota) also called the stream of becoming (bhava-sota) or the wheel of becoming (bhavacakka) in which appearances are always changing but we are forever trapped within the sphere of appearance, what is called the ring pass-not.
What happens to characters who die in a simulation game; is there a heaven or hell for them? (It depends if the heaven or hell is written into the game.) On the same card, as a game player can I play other games going on to be other avatars? The right answer should be obvious. In dealing with illusion usually anything goes.
But there is a catch to this. Once I make the decision I am bound to my decision, especially, if I elect to play in another life simulation game. I think we could call this attachment to playing games.
However, once I break the spell of being trapped within a game, seemingly unable to escape from it, this applies to all games. In other words, I can can overcome the need to play games. Welcome to the Buddha's message.
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