PLAY: An Exploration Using Buddhist Texts

Abstract

Playing is a rich, meaningful aspect of our lives—a vital component, in fact, to a life well-lived. Playing is not a luxury nor a privilege; all of us can and should have elements of play in our lives. In this paper, play and playfulness are broadly defined as doing creative things often with the body or with stories. I use the body wisdom modality InterPlay as a prime example of playing, and I demonstrate playing with stories by creatively interpreting Buddhist texts. Playing is good for us because it can help us feel more grounded in our bodies and more connected to others around us. In addition to the embodied and relational aspects of play, I explore the connection between playing and spiritual practice. Playing can be a complement to other spiritual practices, such as meditation, by serving as an antidote to the staleness that can inevitably arise at some point in our spiritual lives. Also, playing can itself do some of the work that spiritual practices such as meditation accomplish. Because playing involves imagination and discovery, it makes new things possible. Playing can help us cultivate insights, just as meditation does, leading to deeper understandings of ourselves, our relationships, our communities, and our world. In this paper, I closely read—and play with—canonical Buddhist texts alongside the “reasons to play” that I present. I use these Buddhist texts, known as suttas or discourses, to shine light on playing, and I use the wisdom of playing to illuminate the text.