Welcome, Kings and Queens!

If you still don’t know BuddhaChess, this is a site where we decided to bring a Buddhist view of aspects of life that can be well understood with examples of the game of chess.

Chess is played on a board with 64 squares and 16 pieces on each side: eight pawns, two rooks, two knights, two bishops, a queen and a king. The objective is to checkmate the opponent’s king, that is, a threat of capture in which the king cannot escape or protect itself.
There is a hierarchy of value between the pieces, according to their power on the board, with the queen being the most valuable piece and the pawn the least valuable.

However, there is an interesting rule in the game: although the pawn is this piece with the lowest value, if it manages to reach the last row of the board, it will be promoted to queen. This is a fact that, when it occurs in a match, it usually generates a power boost so big that victory is almost always certain.

Buddhism similarly approaches the live conditions of ordinary people. According to Buddhism, all people have the potential for Buddhahood. Shakyamuni Buddha (Sidhartha Gautama) attained enlightenment after persevering in his Buddhist practice, achieving a life condition of great wisdom, insight and happiness.

This condition is not a privilege of the few, but an inherent condition in the life of all people. Ordinary people can go a lifetime without knowing Buddhahood (just like most pawns are not promoted to queen). Buddhist practice guides us on the path to this enlightenment. Thus, to reach the last line of the board, the pawn overcomes several obstacles and threats, but in the end the reward is worth it.

Can you imagine transforming your life condition – power, reach, influence – from pawn to queen? We can all develop this same grandiose condition of life of infinite wisdom, happiness and benevolence.

If you want to know more about Buddhism and Chess, download our BuddhaChess app, which brings daily encouragement quotes from chess masters and about Buddhism.