GO

© MMXIV V.1.0.0
by Morley Evans

a Go ban

The most popular game in Japan is a board game called Go (ご). This game came to Japan from China centuries ago, like most things. Unlike chess, which is complicated, Go is very simple. Yet, devotees in Japan can spend their entire lives studying and playing Go. A most interesting feature of Go is instantaneous reversals of fortune. A player who apparently is winning can lose everything with one move.

Empires can disappear in just this way. Poof! Tibetan monks spend months creating enormous beautiful and elaborate sand mandalas which they destroy after they are finished to remind themselves that all things are impermanent. All things must pass.