One of the monks of the Siriyana Monastery in China transforms into a Malayan Tapir after 16 hours of playing Tetris on Game Boy Color.

HADAPALA, TIBET– After 12 or more hours of playing Tetris on continuous mode, the Buddhist monks of the Siriyana monastery in China have reported spontaneously reaching new spiritual pinnacles of awareness in which they can experience reincarnations from previous lives, out of body teleportation and even the exalted state of pure “lotus” joy.

Barawn Ghi, the sect’s leader, received the first Tetris game and a Game Boy in 1992 from an unnamed mountaineer who was on his way to climb K2, the world’s second tallest peak. After hearing that the climber had fallen off a cliff during his assent, Barawan began playing the game.

“I felt a connection to his karmic soul when I played,” Barawan explained through his interpreter. “It felt as if I was guiding him to a safe destination.”

Barawan found that he required a steady flow of cash to pay for the batteries he was consuming so for a period of five years he became a porter for mountaineering expeditions. Flush with cash, he returned to the monastery and began teaching the other monks about the transcendental qualities of playing Tetris. Over the years it became the normal practice for acolytes to work as porters for several years to bring in enough money to supply the sect with batteries, additional Game Boys and copies of Tetris. After 17 years, the sect is thriving; it has diversified its financial activities to include yak rides for tourists and a factory that produces licensed Tetris-themed prayer wheels and snow globes. Today, the monks play Tetris on a myriad of platforms including mobile phones, laptops, and the Nintendo DS. Barawan, however, still plays on his ancient Game Boy. “Every time I play, I think of the frightening fall of the mountaineer, and I try to bring his soul gently to rest, perfectly aligned among the blocks.” — Cremella Ling