- Happy times with Zebras in Bolivia (because the British call crosswalks "zebra crossings" and traffic is a problem in densely populated Latin American capital of La Paz)
Showing posts with label chat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chat. Show all posts
Monday, April 27, 2026
AI Chatbots: Last Week Tonight (HBO)
Sunday, June 15, 2025
Dhamma Q&A live from Birken (Ajahn Sona)
Live from Birken: Dhamma Q&A with Ajahn Sona
Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Trump's war plans chat exposed
Republicans play "war plan" semantics as more damning texts released | The Daily Show
Trump officials lie and defend dumbest group text, hypocrisy runs wild, and VP Vance disagrees with Daddy Don
Team Trump’s text chain disaster gets worse, “war plans” lies won’t stop, very dangerous boom mics
(Jimmy Kimmel Live) March 26, 2025: The story of high-level Trump officials accidentally putting a reporter/magazine editor on a text chain continues to get more interesting, they can’t seem to just admit that they screwed up, drunkard Pete Hegseth is taking issue with the phrase “war plans,” the question about why this wasn’t handled in a secure location on secure devices remains, the guy who actually started the text chain Michael Waltz sat for an unbelievable interview with Laura Ingraham, the MAGA Media is working hard to ignore the story or focus their outrage on the reporter, Maria Bartiromo and James Comer of Fox Business decided this was a good time to dig into the reporter that accidentally bumped Trump with a boom mic, Marjorie Taylor Greene is doing really important work in Congress, and Florida establishes new rules for students visiting on Spring Break.
Friday, May 26, 2023
Ajahn Brahm on the necessity of jhanas
Daniel Aitken (dharmachats.com); Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Ajahn Brahm and the necessity of the jhānas
Thursday, January 19, 2023
AI on loving-kindness: ChatGPT poem
Pa Auk Sayadaw American Theravada Buddhist monk Ven. Subhuti (American Buddhist Monk: Life with Buddha Dhamma Sangha, 1/17/23); Dhr. Seven, Pfc. Sandoval (eds,), Wisdom Quarterly
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| This is actual artificial intelligence (AI) generated art for this post (Ven. Subhuti) |
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What does AI think of loving-kindness? Here's a poem.
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| Bhante was authorized to teach? |
I asked open ai ChatGPT to write a Buddhist poem on loving-kindness (metta) in the style of Dr. Seuss. This is what I got:
With open hearts and open hands,
We spread loving-kindness across the lands.
Like ripples on a pond, it starts with one,
But soon it touches everyone.
With each kind word and thoughtful deed,
We plant the seeds of love, in hearts to breed.
For in this world of joy and pain,
Love is the balm to ease all strains.
So let us be like candles bright,
Shining our love into the night.
For in this world of dark and cold,
Love is the warmth that makes us bold.
With love in our hearts and peace in our minds,
We’ll walk the path of enlightenment to find.
For in this world of birth and death,
Love is the guide that leads us to our best.
Another [dis]asterpiece
Here's another "Buddhist poem" written by artificial intelligence (AI). It was posted by someone who commented on Facebook about the subject. Curiously, these poems only took about 3 to 5 seconds to generate.
The path to enlightenment
Is like a winding road
Through mountains tall and valleys low
With each step, we shed our load
The mind is like a monkey
Jumping from thought to thought
But with mindfulness, we can tame it
And reach inner peace, we’ve sought
Let go of all desires
And attachments will fall
Embrace the present moment
And hear the Buddha’s call
For in stillness and serenity
We’ll find true liberation
And our hearts will be filled
With boundless compassion. More: americanmonk.org
COMMENTARY
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| Is he awakened after 20 years? |
Thursday, January 17, 2019
Vegan potluck, Dharma discussion (Jan. 19)
VeganSpirituality.com (facebook 470552256808163); Ananda, Crystal Q., Wisdom Quarterly
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| A vegan potluck is full of flavor, compassion, and diverse tastes (123rf.com) |
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| Leading Sanskrit blessing at Vegan Thanksgiving Potluck 2018, Rancho Park, Los Angeles |
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| Krishna was kind to the cows. |
FREE: Join Vegan Spirituality (Facebook event) for a potluck and Dharma discussion with Native American (Tongva) urban shaman Seven.
We begin the new year by getting back to basics, back to the root of Buddhist terms translated as "meditation" and "mindfulness" and the three fundamentals of the Buddhist Path of Purification.
We'll enjoy a night of food, sweets, Dharma discussion, guided serenity meditation, mindful movement, universal loving-kindness, Sanskrit chanting, and open group-sharing.
We begin the new year by getting back to basics, back to the root of Buddhist terms translated as "meditation" and "mindfulness" and the three fundamentals of the Buddhist Path of Purification.
We'll enjoy a night of food, sweets, Dharma discussion, guided serenity meditation, mindful movement, universal loving-kindness, Sanskrit chanting, and open group-sharing.
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| What are the healthiest ways to eat? |
VEGAN POTLUCK: bring a vegan (plant-based, raw, or cooked foods free of all animal products) potluck dish to share, plates/cups/utensils. Be mindful to bring a dish versus a snack or drink so we have plenty of food for everyone.
- Vegan Spirituality
- Saturday, Jan. 19th, 2019, 6:00-9:00 PM
Monday, February 20, 2012
Thai Forest Buddhist Meditation (video)
Wisdom Quarterly
The pursuit of happiness, the way to freedom from unhappiness, is Buddhist meditation. It is immediately effective (timeless) not because unhappiness ends but because, in the present moment, everything is all right.
Unhappiness (dukkha, disappointment, woe, suffering) is not due to impermanence alone, but by the very threefold nature of "things." Conditioned phenomena are unsatisfying by their very nature.
Buddhism is the path to seeing the true nature of things directly. This opens up the possibility of liberation from all unhappiness. Practice, not theory, is essential. These Western monks, early students of Ajahn Chah, returned to the West and took up the monastic life to benefit the world.
(WanderWolfProject)
The pursuit of happiness, the way to freedom from unhappiness, is Buddhist meditation. It is immediately effective (timeless) not because unhappiness ends but because, in the present moment, everything is all right.Unhappiness (dukkha, disappointment, woe, suffering) is not due to impermanence alone, but by the very threefold nature of "things." Conditioned phenomena are unsatisfying by their very nature.
Buddhism is the path to seeing the true nature of things directly. This opens up the possibility of liberation from all unhappiness. Practice, not theory, is essential. These Western monks, early students of Ajahn Chah, returned to the West and took up the monastic life to benefit the world.
(WanderWolfProject)
Learning to meditate according to the Thai Forest style is much easier in America than Thailand where clear English is hard to come by. But the difficult accommodations, heat, mosquitoes, lack of suitable food, and other hardships make it an experience one never forgets. Here Ajahn Luangta Michael explains breathing meditation according to tradition.
Basic Instructions
( I visited Wat Pah Nanachat (and Ajahn Chah's other temple Wat Nong Pah Pong) in 2011. It is a great place. There were only a few monks about, so I walked around shooting video. I stayed overnight and found that the Australian monk in charge, a young guy maybe 28, was way too engrossed with getting chores done and having a big result from it. He was kind of like a military drill instructor. He was completely stressed out about some new people who had just arrived.
) I feel fortunate to just be a layperson with enough conviction and wisdom (which I hope lasts) to keep practicing the Noble Eightfold Path alone, with only the Internet for guidance. I'm not sure I could survive life in a forest monastery! But I believe it would be a wonderful opportunity for intensive training and practice for anyone strong enough to undertake it.
() Seems like there are politics everywhere, even in a Buddhist Monastery, in all traditions. And it's no better in Western Dharma centers.
- One of the best and most accessible books ever written on the subject is What the Buddha Never Taught by Canadian journalist Tim Ward.
- Keeping the Breath in Mind by Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo (translated and distributed freely by the eccentric American monk Ven. Thanissaro) is a very helpful "how to" guide.
Basic Instructions
- Place right foot on left leg, right hand on left.
- Eyes closed, "look" at the breath with the mind's eye.
- Bhutto means Buddha. When breathing in, think "bhu."
- When breathing out, think "tho."
- Do this all the time.
- Have a feel (sensation, awareness) when the breath touches the nostril or upper lip.
- Know the breath when breathing in and when breathing out, slowly, comfortably.
- Do it for 10 minutes every day at first, and build up to one or two hours.
- Practice every day 10, 15, 20, 30 minutes and more.
- Up the level of meditation until, like a battery, it is charged, intensified, and concentrated (samadhi).
- When it is full, it can be of use for insight (vipassana) to know what things are true by heart, which is far better than normal thinking.
( I visited Wat Pah Nanachat (and Ajahn Chah's other temple Wat Nong Pah Pong) in 2011. It is a great place. There were only a few monks about, so I walked around shooting video. I stayed overnight and found that the Australian monk in charge, a young guy maybe 28, was way too engrossed with getting chores done and having a big result from it. He was kind of like a military drill instructor. He was completely stressed out about some new people who had just arrived.
) I feel fortunate to just be a layperson with enough conviction and wisdom (which I hope lasts) to keep practicing the Noble Eightfold Path alone, with only the Internet for guidance. I'm not sure I could survive life in a forest monastery! But I believe it would be a wonderful opportunity for intensive training and practice for anyone strong enough to undertake it.
() Seems like there are politics everywhere, even in a Buddhist Monastery, in all traditions. And it's no better in Western Dharma centers.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Discussion and More: E-Sangha
Free live chat events, with a difference. This Electronic-Sangha ("community") offers a forum for practical advice, revelation, and maybe even a taste of enlightenment. Ask any relevant question, of whatever Buddhist tradition, and this self-supporting message board service will facilitate a discussion. As of last count, E-Sangha's own statistics show a total of 970,182 posts from 26,029 registered members. Find everything you need from a community:
- News/Announcements
- Buddhist Traditions
- Health -- vegetarianism, yoga, martial arts
- Family matters
- Academic issues
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(Dharmathai) I agree with Ven. Dhammavuddho. I was ordained in a Thai temple full of Thai monks, and the same kind of unhelpful unfriendliness was evident. The Western monks seem to have a much better grip on what a bhikkhu (Buddhist monk, recluse) in the Buddha's Dispensation should represent through actions and speech. However, what Ven. Dhammavuddo says about the lack of stress on meditation is now also true: Many practitioners get lost in rules (vinaya) and dogma and no longer seem to focus on the practice and knowing the real heart.