Aloka wrote:This is a spin-off from another thread about Ajahn Brahm, because it wasn't really relevant to that topic.
Is it possible for practising Buddhists to have fun ? I'd be interested in reading other peoples comments about this.
Thank you.
i find this to be a complicated question. when one is having fun is one distracted from their practice of the dhamma? i know i am not being very mindful when i'm blathering on at work about random nonsense and laughing with co workers. or if i'm playing a video game i can feel my mindfulness lapse (this one is odd since really one is being VERY mindful of the game, for some reason it doesn't work).
then again, dhamma is supposed to lead to non suffering and happiness. it's supposed to be good in the beginning, middle and end. so in the end nibbana surely is fun! but what about the beginning and middle? perhaps all the fun we need should be found in the dhamma?
even further, if one is looking for and engaging in fun, isn't that falling into tricks of the mind? seeing fun as fun instead of as just another temporary mind state is wrong, right?
seriously i have no freaking clue. i struggle with the same question. usually in the other end of the spectrum: should a practicing buddhist every NOT be having fun (or rather should one ever be sad?)?
if one is really good at the dhamma shouldn't sadness just melt off immediately or should it be countered with meditation or metta?
finally i'll say: what about the suttas? do the monks within have fun? i've seen a couple of suttas where the buddha is talking negatively about monks having fun,
tickling each other, horsing around, and laughing and so on. as far as i can tell the higher ups in the sangha were very reserved. surely their very existence was pure fun since they were mostly arahants and so they needed no outwardly obvious forms of fun.