Technology

How many "yous" do you have? We'll look at how our online lives, as well as the rise of AI, help reveal to us the ancient Buddhist truth of non-self.

Modern media are tailored to grab and hold our attention in ways that are not entirely healthy. The early Buddhist technique of guarding the sense doors can be a useful antidote. We'll discuss the syndrome of doomscrolling and the…

Communication is a critical life skill, particularly in the contemporary world of 24/7 social media. We'll look at what the Buddha had to say about skillful speech and apply it to communication more broadly. We will also look at examples…

How can we practice Right Speech in Buddhism? We'll consider the four aspects of Right Speech as well as several important nuances suggested by the Buddha's own example that we should consider when putting them into practice in our daily…

Can our understanding of AI chat technology help our meditation practice? I'll answer a viewer question on dealing with internal dialogue by first delving into how large language model AI works, and how its structure may help us to…

A recent article claims researchers have created an artificially intelligent Buddha app for your smartphone. We'll consider what this means, and turn to the deeper question. Is an enlightened AI a possibility? If so, how? (Note: this…

What does artificial intelligence have to tell us about the central Buddhist teaching of non-self? We'll delve into some of the recent advances in AI, focusing in particular on the chat programs ChatGPT (GPT-3 -- recorded before the…

Is Buddhism nihilistic? We'll consider whether an early Buddhist argument for non-self implies there is "no anything", by looking at a short online critique by philosopher Rick Repetti.

We live in an age of vast technological change, much of it for the good. However this change brings along great dangers. We will look at some of those dangers, consider ways to frame them appropriately, and then turn to solutions. We will…

How does Buddhism help us to deal with negativity? Negativity can be a real drain on our energy and efforts. We will look at some elements of the early teachings that help us to put negativity in its proper context and learn to escape its…

We live in a world of increasing information that threatens to overwhelm our attention. We will see how a 1971 paper foresaw the rise of what has come to be called the "attention economy", and how some of its recommendations may point us…

The Buddhist ideal of right speech counsels us to avoid harsh or divisive speech, but sometimes when pursuing social justice we may need to speak out. We will also look at the related topic of so-called "tone policing" online and how it…

How do Buddhist right speech and ideals of free speech interrelate? We will look at a little of the history of free speech in the West, in particular how aspects of speech are not really free. We will then compare that to right speech,…

It can be difficult to find reliable information about early or secular Buddhism on the Internet. I'll discuss some places we can look, and find both good translations of early texts and reasoned articles or discussions relating to them.

If we misuse the dharma it can come back to bite us: this is the upshot of one famous sutta. We will look at this sutta and consider some of its implications for our approach to the Buddha's teachings both online and in person.

What might the Buddha have thought about secular approaches to Buddhism? We will take a look at arguments found in a couple of early texts, the Apaṇṇaka and Sandaka Suttas, as jumping-off points. Our trip will take us through perhaps the…