Published books

Sometimes everything seems to be in its place and life flows calmly, like a river through a valley. And then something happens — an unexpected meeting, a phone call, a found object, a thought that somehow does not fit that calm. All at once we feel we have strayed from the familiar road, slipped out of the usual pattern, and most likely stepped into a different space: the space of chance, of destiny, of adventure.

The book looks at chance in myths and symbols, games, rituals and divination. It traces chance through science — from probability to quantum physics — as well as through psychology, philosophy, nature and art. It touches on its relationship with the conscious and unconscious, fate and signs, and suggests how those signs might be interpreted. Finally, it also considers gambling and gamblers.

This book is for everyone drawn to chance and the questions that come with it — for those who have felt a flicker of mystery at the moment chance crossed their path. Chance need not be random. It may instead be an aspect of a world in which unexpected connections surface. The book offers readers a view of chance from several angles and invites them to search for connections of their own.

This book is for everyone drawn to self-discovery, chance and play, and curious about exploring their own inner world through a game built on a deeper understanding of chance. Those who already know líla will find expanded commentary on the game board, new rules for more advanced players, and further material gathered over the years. New to this edition are two further artistic versions of the board.

Anyone encountering Líla for the first time can discover an ancient game that arose in India some two thousand years ago. Its original creators — Indian mystics and saints — devised it as an original tool for gaining deeper self-knowledge through play and following one’s own psychological development. Despite its great age, the game’s magic has endured to this day, and Líla still has much to tell us. Its essence, like many experiences and principles drawn from Indian and Eastern philosophy, finds ever more parallels in contemporary psychology and the natural sciences, especially physics.

Líla is a psychological game, a game of chance that follows the tradition of ancient board games. It works both as a solitary and as a social game: one person can play alone, or with a larger group of players. Alongside getting to know oneself and others, it offers an engaging way to reflect on human and moral values. Those who wish will find far more in it than first meets the eye. Its essence, like many experiences and principles drawn from Indian and Eastern philosophy in general, finds ever more parallels in the findings of contemporary psychology and the natural sciences, physics above all. All you need is a die and a small personal object — or even a simple stone — and you can begin to play.

Bhante Y. Wimala was born in Sri Lanka and ordained as a novice at the age of fourteen. He then spent seven years in traditional Buddhist education and received higher ordination at twenty-one. Buddhist monks are usually encouraged to continue with formal study, which puts academic knowledge first; Bhante Wimala, however, chose a more practical path. Over the past fifteen years he has travelled the world, lecturing and bringing Buddhist teaching to people of every background and walk of life. He also visits the Czech Republic regularly, where, with the help of friends, he founded the Lotus Buddhist Centre.

“So many people come to listen to him because he can present the Buddha's teaching, more than 2,500 years old, as though it were meant for the needs of people today.”

From the foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

This book is for everyone drawn to self-discovery, chance and play, and curious about exploring their own inner world through a game built on a deeper understanding of chance. Those who already know líla will find expanded commentary on the game board, new rules for more advanced players, and further material gathered over the years. New to this edition are two further artistic versions of the board.

Anyone encountering Líla for the first time can discover an ancient game that arose in India some two thousand years ago. Its original creators — Indian mystics and saints — devised it as an original tool for gaining deeper self-knowledge through play and following one’s own psychological development. Despite its great age, the game’s magic has endured to this day, and Líla still has much to tell us. Its essence, like many experiences and principles drawn from Indian and Eastern philosophy, finds ever more parallels in contemporary psychology and the natural sciences, especially physics.

Have we lived before? Is there life after death, and what might it look like? Are you curious about past lives — when and where you lived, what you did, and what that might mean for the life you are living now?

How did our distant ancestors see these questions, and how does contemporary science answer them?

You will find some of the answers in this book — and something more besides. You will read, for instance, what well-known figures such as artists and politicians may have been in a past life. There is other material here too that we hope you will find interesting.