Explaining Buddhism through Einstein

The Triple Gem and Einstein

Oh, Buddha and wife Mileva, what is the A?

What if I, Ven. Subhuti (americanmonk.org), were to explain the Three Jewels (Triple Gem) to Westerners who know very little about Buddhism but do it in an unconventional way?

What if I were to use an analogy to understand what the Buddha (Teacher), the Dhamma (Teaching), and the Sangha (Taught) really mean?

• That might work, Bhante ("venerable sir"). Let's give it a try.

Westerners respect Real Fly Science Guy Alby Einstein and the laws of physics. The Buddha — The Awakened One — discovered the Path to Awakening. If I were to talk about the Buddha, I would say he’s a great scientist, but not just any great scientist. He’s the Alby Einstein of scientists.

Einstein has a physicist wife who gets no credit

The Buddha discovered (rediscovered because others in ancient times also awakened and taught the liberating truth) the laws of the spiritual (metaphysical) universe, the Dhamma, just as Einstein discovered (rediscovered) some laws of physics. All of these laws existed before, during, and after these discoveries. Neither the Buddha nor Einstein created them, of course. They are always there to be found.

Of course, the comparison is imperfect. Einstein is talking about the world we see and touch, whereas the Buddha goes far beyond to the unseen and hard to grasp. If one is worldly, the other seeks to go beyond. Beyond? Beyond the beyond, as the Heart Sutra claims. What is the use of worldly science to get beyond the world?

Do people understand that the Buddha’s realization was about ultimate truth? It’s not just counterintuitive, it’s timeless, beyond time, reaching universal laws of nature.

The Dhamma — The Liberating Truth

Dependent Origination (Brahm)

The Dhamma is the Truth, the Law, the Norm, the Regularity of thing, like E = mc² — a universal truth that does not depend on faith, belief, or even understanding. If no one understood, it would be no less true. (If no one entered nirvana, nirvana would remain just the same; like the ocean, it is neither increased nor decreased as rivers pour into it).

The Dhamma exists. It precedes things, succeeds them. It was existing before the Buddha realized it and continued just the same after him. But what truth could be true, unchanged, before and after?

For one thing, there’s the truth of suffering. Disappointment exists. It arises dependent on conditions. Three other more hopeful things are also true. Suffering has a cause. It has an end. And there is a path leading to the end of all suffering. This overview is known as the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path.

India gave us great math.

These are not ideas, not mere hypotheses, but truths to be tested, each person for oneself. There is no need of acceptance or faith -- except the faith (saddha, confidence) to come and see, to investigate, to test the path for oneself.

Natural laws govern the mind, body, and life itself. When one understands these deeply, so deeply that they have been penetrated, one awakens. The Truth is that close. How to approach it for optimal results, that only a supremely awakened teacher can point out.

The Saṅgha — Those Who Understand

Who hears the Buddha? The Sangha.

How to explain the spiritual community of practitioners, the Saṅgha, whether taken as the entire community of practitioners of Buddhism, the accomplished Noble (Aryan) Community, or the elite researchers, the Monastic Community?

Anyone can study physics, but only a few reach the research level, where they truly see the laws at work. Likewise, anyone can hear the Buddha's Teaching, the Dhamma, and attempt to practice it.

However, only the Noble Community (Ariya Saṅgha) — those who have already directly realized it, penetrated it, and therefore entered the four stages of enlightenment — truly know-and-see it. Between the average practitioner and the accomplished practitioner, there are the avid practitioners, the monastics.

That’s why it is said that "going for guidance" (sarana) to the Triple Gem or Three Jewels is not just going to any community. It is approaching the Noble Saṅgha — the four pairs and eight individuals who have attained realization (bodhi) and directly glimpsed nirvana (nibbāna).

The Poster on the Wall

Oh, Alby, what is the right equation?

I once met a physicist who said he didn’t "believe" in religion. He said that many elite physicists do not believe either. Instead, they follow another religion of faith ("Scientism" or "White Labcoatism"). They think that when we die, that’s it, we’re dead and nothing happens.

• This is the materialist, annihilationist wrong view the Buddha warned about, which is as much in error as the spiritualist, eternalist wrong view. He cautioned to avoid both extremes, following the Middle Way that explains all phenomena in terms of Dependent Origination, so that what does not make sense and seems to be a binary, a dichotomy, resolves into a very rational and impersonal explanation of things in line with ultimate truth.

Orthodox Theravādins might think of the Buddha in similar terms. While an average person is subject to old age, sickness, death, and [incessant] rebirth, a fully enlightened person (arahant) and a supremely enlightened Buddha has gone beyond all suffering and is no longer subject to this painful cycle known as samsara (the Wheel of Life and Death).

When one passes away, there is no more the arising of the rebirth-linking-consciousness in the very next mind-moment as there is with everyone else.

A physicist who is an atheist might have a large poster of Einstein on the wall. When stuck on a problem, that research physicist might look at it and may at times say, “Help me, Einstein!”

One doesn’t believe Einstein is listening — yet feels inspired by approaching, bring to mind Einstein, and directing attention towards him to renew confidence and inspiration. "Einstein" lives on through the laws he discovered and made known and through those who continue to explore and realize the truth of those laws of physics.

The Buddha's life as allegory: the heroic journey

That’s exactly how the Buddha “lives” on through the Dhamma, the Teaching, the things made known through his great awakening.

The Buddha himself said, “Whoever sees the dhamma [the truth of phenomena] sees the Buddha.” So when someone knows and practices the Teachings, the Dhamma, that Dhamma is alive in that person, and that person knows the Buddha in that way and to that extent — not as a being abiding somewhere else but as that wisdom itself.

As long as Einstein’s physics are made known and kept alive, we may also say that Einstein also lives on.

Going Beyond Mind and Matter

In the end, all that arises — the Five Aggregates clung to as self, the mind and body — pass away.

When one truly knows Dhamma, that knowing leads beyond mind and matter. That’s nirvana: the complete cessation of ignorance and suffering with no more new arising of mind and matter.

So may this reflection help those on the path to develop right view so as to see clearly into the true nature of reality and reach the peace of nirvana safely and quickly.

Summary poem

The Buddha saw the timeless law

Pure, unwritten, free of flaw

Like Einstein beholding light of form

Knowing the effects of atom torn

The Dhamma lives when Truth is known

The Saṅgha walks a path of wisdom grown

Not in realms unseen at which angels gnaw

The Buddha lives by Dhamma's awe

• Bhante, Ven. Subhuti (americanmonk.org), Oct. 8, 2025; edited by Dhr. Seven and Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly

Life isn't just suffering (Ven. Thanissaro)

American Tibetan Buddhist nun Pema Chodron

Tan Geoff tells this story about the first noble truth: "He showed me the brightness of the world."

That's how my teacher, Ajahn Fuang, once characterized his gratitude to his teacher, Ajahn Lee [Dhammadaro, student of Ajahn Mun]. His words took me by surprise.

I had only recently come to study with him, still fresh from a school where I had learned that serious Buddhists took a negative, pessimistic view of the world.

Yet, here was a monk who had given his life over to the practice of the Buddha's Teachings speaking of the world's brightness.

Of course, by "brightness" he wasn't referring to the joys of the food, arts, travel, sports, family life, or any of the other sections of the Sunday paper.

The happiest couple in the world...and the most miserable. I want a divorce! - Oh yeah? 💩

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He was talking about a better and deeper happiness that comes from within us. As I came to know him, I gained a sense of how deeply happy he was.

He may have been skeptical about human pretenses, but I'd never describe him as pessimistic or negative. "Realistic" would be closer to the truth.

Yet, for a long time I couldn't shake the sense of paradox I felt. How could the pessimism of translated Buddhist texts find embodiment in such a solidly happy person?

Only when I began to look directly at the early sutras did I realize that what I thought was paradox was actually irony.

Ironically, Buddhism, which gives such a positive view of a human being's potential for finding true happiness, could be branded in the West as "negative and pessimistic."

Ouch.  Ouch. Ouch.

There's a rumor that, "'Life is suffering' is Buddhism's first principle," the first noble truth, according to the Buddha. It's a rumor with good credentials. It is spread by well-intentioned and well-respected academics and Dharma teachers alike. But it is a rumor, nonetheless.

The truth about the Four Noble Truths is far more interesting.

The Buddha taught four ennobling (enlightening) truths — not one — about life:

1. There is suffering (disappointment, pain, stress)
2. There is a cause of suffering
3. There is an end of suffering
4. There is a path of practice that puts an end to suffering.

These truths, taken as a whole, are very optimistic. They're practical. It's a problem-solving approach — the way a doctor approaches an illness (pain), a mechanic a faltering engine. Identify the problem and look for its cause. Then put an end to the problem by eliminating its cause.

What's special about the Buddha's approach is that the problem he approaches is the whole of human (and deva) suffering. The solution he offers is something humans (and devas) can do for themselves.

Just as a physician with a surefire cure for measles is no longer afraid of measles, the Buddha isn't afraid of any aspect of suffering. Having experienced pleasure and happiness free of all conditions, he's intrepid.

He's not afraid to point out suffering and disappointment inherent in places where most of us would rather not see them — the conditioned pleasures we cling to.

He teaches beings not to deny suffering and disappointment, not to run away, but to stand still and face them, to examine them carefully. That way — by understanding them — we can discern a cause and put an end to it, a total end. How confident can one get? More

• Ajahn Geoff (aka Geoffrey DeGraff, Thanissaro Bhikkhu), "Life Isn't Just Suffering," accesstoinsight.org; edited by Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

Planting Karma Seeds: a Meditation Journey

Planting Wisdom: Karma Reflections and a Meditation Journey

Man, it would be so cool to learn meditation.

Here's a story about reconnecting with my first meditation teacher after nearly two decades.

The focus is on the seeds we plant continuously through our karma (deeds). What kind of seeds are we planting right now?

• VIDEO: The Seeds from Long Ago (YouTube)

Beat poet Jack Kerouac

I remember when I first learned how to meditate [by being mindful of] my breath some time in 1990, during my university years.

Back then, meditation was not as well known. The Beat Generation’s Zen trend in the 1960s had died out with disco in the 1970s.

Barnes and Noble had maybe only a few shelves in a single bookcase labeled with “Eastern Philosophy” that covered all Eastern religions, including Buddhism.

Ram Das’s cryptic book Be Here Now was the only book I had read prior to reading my World Religions book, which included a chapter on Buddhism for a class I took.

Be Here Now (Ram Dass for Neem Karoli Baba)

It was different in the early 1990s. There wasn’t a World Wide Web, Google, or even a digital Yahoo. We didn’t have Idiot or Dummy books back then. While there were books out there, you really had to explore a subculture, and you had to know someone in order to know what the subcultures were and where to find them.

Luckily, I had a friend who was into Zen, and he was considering becoming a Catholic priest at the time. He recently transferred from UC Berkeley, not far from San Francisco, which might be called the subculture mecca of the United States, certainly for the "weird" things like meditation. I asked him to teach me. I thought it would be good for me to learn from him.

He agreed and came over to my apartment one night to teach me a lesson I would never forget. I remember we were sitting on the floor of the living room during the lesson. I was thinking about TV’s depiction of meditation and what should be happening. Then I said, “Should I light a candle?” He said, “If you want to, you can.”

“Should I light an incense stick?”

Mindfulness of Breathing, Four Elements Meditation

“If you want to, you can. You can have representations of the Four Elements.”

He explained it to me, but I did not really know what he meant, so I lit a candle and an incense stick to fit my world view of what "meditation" should be like. Before we started, he gave me a little bit of a lesson on the story of the Buddha and how he became enlightened.

He then told me some things about the sitting posture and to press my tongue against the roof of my mouth and to swallow a lot in a natural way. “They say it is good for you,” he said.

Then he taught me how to count my breaths “Zen style.” I would silently and inwardly count the exhales of my breaths one by one until I got up to ten. Then I would count backwards back down to zero. Then up to ten again, and then back to zero. I would repeat these cycles until it was time to stop. If I lost my count, I would just start all over again from “one.”

After our session was over, he left and that was more or less “The Lesson.” After that, I do not know why, but I continued with this practice and other forms of meditation almost every day, more or less for the rest of my life (with some exceptions of course).

Twenty years later, in 2010, I visited Ulpathkanda, Hantanna (Spring Hill Monastery) near Kandy, Sri Lanka, where I was able to use the Internet for the first time in a very long time. I sometimes joked about how I was doing an “Internet retreat” from my full-time life as a forest monk in Na-uyana.

Nevertheless, I was still at a high mountainous jungle forest monastery. I looked up my old friend, my meditation instructor, on the Internet. When we were in college together, he had changed his major from philosophy to whatever one needs to become a Spanish teacher.

It looked as though he had really lived the Spanish lifestyle and moved all over the globe to Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries. The Internet kept track of all the different countries he lived in. It is true that “Big Brother is watching,” just like George Orwell warned, so I could now watch with an Internet connection.

After all of that globetrotting, he settled down in a Connecticut town not too far from where he originally taught me how to meditate. I picked up the monastery phone, dialed the phone card codes, then I dialed his number. The phone rang, and a woman’s voice answered the phone. “Hello?”

“Hello, my name is Bhikkhu Subhūti, and I was wondering if a Brett [J.] lives here?”

“Yes, he does.”

“May I speak with him please?”

“Uh, okay,” she said in a cautious voice to the stranger on the phone. Perhaps I was a telemarketer to her. They did not know what to expect. There were muffled voices coming through the phone’s speaker, then eventually the phone was passed to Brett.

“Hello, this is Brett.”

I instantly recognized his voice, which had stayed the same all these years.

Hello, this is Bhikkhu Subhuti (Jeremy Glick)

“Hello, this is Bhikkhu Subhūti. You once knew me as Jeremy Glick from Central. Do you remember me?” (Central is a shorthand name for Central Connecticut State University).

“Yes, I remember you, Jeremy.”

I continued, “A long time ago, you came over my place and taught me how to meditate and how to count my breaths. With a few exceptions, I practiced nearly every day, and my practice grew and grew, and eventually I decided to become a Buddhist monk in 2001. Now my name is ‘Bhikkhu Subhūti.’ I looked you up on the Internet so I could call you and say, ‘Thank you.’”

But, hey, um, hello! I'm Jiminy Glick (Martin Short)

There was a long pause. It was five or six seconds of delay before he spoke, so it seemed long. He finally broke the silence and said, “You know, we never know what will happen to the seeds we have planted long ago.”

I did not expect him to still be a teacher of mine, but those were words of wisdom. We caught up on some old times. He was indeed a Spanish teacher and married a woman from Spain. His brother, who was an electrical engineer, quit the industry and now counts caribou in Alaska for a living.

I told him that I never went into teaching, which was expected at college, so I became a computer programmer instead for about six years before leaving all that behind me.

Times have changed and so did the both of us. I told him that I had my brother make me a Facebook account (with two friends), and although as a schoolteacher he was against Facebook, he thought I might be able use it to do something worthwhile for other people. I did not do much with social networks until last year, but I kept his thoughts in mind.

We talked some more and then we parted. If you ever have a chance to thank someone who has affected your life, I highly recommend it. Often, we do not think we make a difference, but we do, positively and, unfortunately, negatively. We always plant seeds in ourselves and others. Some germinate, while others do not.

Sometimes we believe they are trivial sprouts, but some can grow into towering redwoods. It can change a whole person’s destiny. So always plant happy seeds because, “We never know what will happen to the seeds we have planted long ago.”

• Ven. Subhuti (americanmonk.org, Feb. 11, 2024, originally 2014, reposted | American Monk: Life with Buddha, Dhamma and Saṅgha); Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

Exposition on Karma (American Monk)

Ven. Subhuti (Jeremy Glick), Pa Auk Monastery, Burma; Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

This begets more of this, as we sow so we reap, what comes around goes around, do unto others

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What is the Pa Auk training?

Planting Wisdom: Reflections on the "Lesser Exposition on Karma Discourse" or "Shorter Analysis of Deeds Sutras" (Cula-kamma-vibhanga Sutta, MN 135) is the name of today's talk by Western Buddhist monastic Bhante Subhuti (AmericanMonk.org).

Ven. Subhuti is a long-time American Theravada Buddhist monk and student of the famous enlightened Burmese Meditation Master Pa Auk Sayadaw. Here he gives a cursory review of a significant sutra with the astounding tale from the Commentary on the rebirth story of Todeyya and Subha, a rich stingy man reborn as a pet dog in his former house, who becomes a close companion of his son.

Todeyya: I was a millionaire, but I was stingy.

The Buddha informs Subha that the dog in a former rebirth was his father, which comes as a massive insult. To prove it, the Buddha asks if his stingy father didn't by any chance leave inheritance money ungiven. He did. He died suddenly without revealing where he kept his treasure, which caused hardship to the family. The Buddha advises him to feed Todeyya the dog a rich meal until he's drowsy and then ask him to go to the treasure. The dog, still stingy, goes to take a nap over the spot her buried the money. This convinces Subha that the Buddha knows what he's talking about and that karma and rebirth are real phenomena. So he becomes a student and practices the Dhamma (Sanskrit Dharma, the Buddha's Teachings on Awakening).

• Meditation - Pa-Auk Tawya (paaukforestmonastery.org)
• Pa-Auk Meditation Centre, Singapore (pamc.org.sg)

Can I meditate in the forest, too?

PaAukForestMonastery.org, edited by Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

He is named after the monastery

The system of Buddhist meditation taught at Pa-Auk Tawya (Pa Auk Forest Monastery) is based on the instructions by the historical Buddha as found in the Pāli language canon and its commentaries.

The system taught is called the Threefold Training:

1. strict observance of precepts (sīla),
2. developing stillness (samādhi), and
3. as a basis for attaining wisdom (paññā).

It is further subdivided into the Seven Stages of Purification, which provide a step-by-step formula for systematically purifying one’s karma (deeds) of body (physical actions), speech (verbal actions), and mind (mental actions) of defilements in order to realize nirvana in this very lifetime.

Use the breath or Four Elements

In brief, the main practice is to begin with samatha (stilling, tranquilizing, making the mind content and joyous) meditation, which is to develop the meditative absorption called jhānas.

A yogi (Buddhist meditator) is free to choose any of the 40 serenity-meditation subjects as taught by the Buddha. At Pa-Auk Tawya, most yogis develop the absorptions or jhānas using mindfulness-of-breathing (ānāpānassati).

Having developed stillness (samma-samadhi or samatha), a yogi may proceed to practice insight (vipassanā) meditation.

There's also Pa Auk in Georgia

As an alternative, a yogi may omit the development of the absorptions, which a subtle and difficult for many who are not naturally inclined (from past life practice of the jhānas).

One will be taught instead to develop the less powerful "access concentration" with the serenity-meditation subject of Four Elements Meditation, prior to the practice of insight meditation.

In either case, the stillness/concentration attained by a yogi produces the "light of wisdom" or "sign" (nimitta) of progress in practice. More

• Like cures like is the homeopathic saying. Is it true for our actions and their results? Giving little begets getting little. Having chosen an action in response to a situation, I can expect that kind of result from the world for a long time. Just one act of stealing, because it occurred over so many mind-moments (which are laid down like seeds in consciousness), will result in exponentially more of that. A good choice -- giving, being friendly, being possessed of right view -- will result in reaping exponentially more happiness than we've sown. It may seem unfair, but it's "lawful," that is, working out in some rule-bound way, according to universal law, in accordance with the nature of the world. Or else all that we did would come to nothing, mean nothing, and be merely random events happening to us with no rhyme or reason, nothing to learn, nothing to improve, no aha moments when it all makes sense and everything is just as it is supposed to be (given what we chose and did previously). The hope is that we can NOW do something different and begin, eventually, to get pleasant, welcome, wished-for results.

Sillness+Insight @ Empty Cloud Monastery

Abbot Ven. Sudddhaso and guest monk; Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

(Buddhist Insights @ Empty Cloud) Sangha Panel: Samādhi (stillness, calm, concentration) and vipassana (insight, wisdom, liberating-knowledge) are two topics of utmost importance in early Buddhism.

This panel was streamed live on April 5, 2023. The Sangha ("Monastic Community") at Empty Cloud discusses samādhi and vipassana, which can be taken up in earnest every week on the lunar observance or uposatha day. This was highly recommended by the historical Buddha -- daily practice with weekly intensive practice, staying overnight in the monastery to make a concerted effort at attainments in calm and insight, book understanding and actual firsthand practice.

Death of U.S. monk: "Arahant" Vimalaramsi

"Enlightened" Delson Armstrong, Dhamma Sukha MC, Missouri; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly 

Bhante V has passed away

(TWIM - Dhamma Sukha Meditation Center) June 29, 2023. Accomplished student Delson Armstrong remembers American Theravada monk Ven. Vimalaramsi's life and reveals some amazing stories -- without indicating why and how he thinks, believes, or knows any of this.

Bhante Vimalaramsi passed just after midnight on June 27th, 2023, after everyone left his room at the nursing home at 11:00 PM.

He seemed very peaceful and uplifted. Delson Armstrong talks about Bhante's life and reveals some untold stories of their past lives.

It is possible to attain enhanced psychic abilities by practicing tevijja (abhijñā). This is the "triple knowledge." It is the way the Buddha himself attained full awakening according to the sutra texts.

This is a self-proclaimed remembrance of alleged past lives, seeing people in other realms and seeing how they go there until finally attaining awakening.

Anyone can develop the divine eye as did the great monks Anuruddha and Moggallana. It is possible. Bhante V taught this to select students who were able to succeed in the practice -- but only the most advanced ones.

Hey, everyone, look at me! Only I understand

Bhante V background and how he claims he re-discovered the Path

(TWIM - Dhamma Sukha Meditation Center) June 26, 2010. Bhante exalts himself and dismisses other, talking about his background and the story about what happened before he left for the airport to go to Asia to become a monk. He didn't make it. He talks about how an errant monk [Ven. Punnaji] told him to only regard the sutras [and forget about the invaluable commentarial material] and try to re-read the discourses from a different perspective.

Psychic powers sutra

"If one wants, one recollects manifold past lives [lit., 'previous homes'], that is, one birth, two births, three births, four, five, ten, 20, 30, 40, 50, 100, 1,000, 100,000, many aeons of cosmic contraction, many aeons of cosmic expansion, many aeons of cosmic contraction and expansion, [recollecting,] ‘There I had such a name, belonged to such a clan, had such an appearance. Such was my food, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such the end of my life. Passing away from that state, I re-arose there. There, too, I had such a name, belonged to such a clan, had such an appearance. Such was my food, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such the end of my life. Passing away from that state, I re-arose here.’ Thus, one remembers one’s manifold past lives in their modes and details. One can witness this right there whenever there is an opening" (dhammatalks.org/suttas/AN).

• Retreat June 22-July 2 DSMC Delson Armstrong
• dhammasukha.org
• delsonarmstrong.info

Where: Dhamma Sukha Meditation Center (dhammasukha.org) A complete guide to the meditation the way [Ven. Vimalaramsi says] the Buddha taught: thepathtonibbana.com.

How to practice Metta/TWIM Meditation dhammasukha.org/beginner-... What are the "6 Rs" (dhammasukha.org/the-6rs). Donate: Help pay the expenses of Delson Armstrong and visiting monks (dhammasukha.org/shop-donations...)

Catholic jokes w/ Friar + Jim Gaffigan (video)

Best CATHOLIC jokes compilation

(jimgaffigan) 8/30/20. Here is a compilation of Jimmy Gaff's best Catholic jokes. Pale Tourist is now streaming on Amazon.

JOKES: 0:29 - "The Bible & Rules" 1:00 - "Shiite Catholic" 2:39 - "Confession" 2:57 - "Memorization" 3:08 - "Adam & Eve" 3:26 - "Catholic Mass" 4:09 - "Catholics & Protestants" 4:25 - "Big Families" 5:38 - "Pope" 6:54 - "Saints" 10:12 - "Opening for the Pope" 16:25 - "Holy Grail" 17:18 - "Future Pope" 18:12 - "Reading in Church" 19:09 - "Six Kids Catholic" 20:13 - "Barely Catholic"

10 hilarious Catholic jokes

(Breaking in the Habit) June 5, 2020. Do we need a laugh? Are we comfortable laughing at ourselves and not taking life too seriously? Here are ten Catholic jokes -- told by a real friar (Catholic monk) -- that are sure to produce a chuckle.

Don't bury the lede, don't read a list. Get to the mortal sins and contrition.

SOCIAL MEDIA: Blog: goo.gl/QuB4ra. Facebook: goo.gl/UoeKWy. Twitter: goo.gl/oQs6ck. Instagram: goo.gl/ShMbhH. Podcast: goo.gl/xqkssG. INTERESTED IN BECOMING A FRIAR? Holy Name Province: goo.gl/MXKb2R. Find a Vocation Director: goo.gl/2Jc52z. SUPPORT THE MISSION: Order my books: amzn.to/386QDpR. Donate monthly: goo.gl/UrrwNC. One-time gifts: goo.gl/eKnFJN. MUSIC Epidemicsound.com.

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

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.

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.

- Composed by ChatGPT

• Guided meditation at Princeville Center, Hawaii

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

Is he awakened after 20 years?

(WQ) What to make of it? Is AI "conscious"? Does it pass the Turing Test? Seems like a bunch of hogwash in the media except for the fact that the powers that be do not release timely information to the public but wait many decades. So what we see now has been perfected and in use -- and is now much more advanced when we're first hearing about it -- so that we are always kept in the dark about what is really going on. Hollywood's predictive programming does more to tell us what is really going on than the latest in "science" reports and press releases. So it is safe to imagine much more AI is going on than we are told, as Microsoft Corporation showed during recent layoffs and restructuring to accommodate our AI futures.

Bhikkhu Bodhi: Religion or Science?

Bhikkhu Bodhi, Two Paths to Knowledge (Buddhist Publication Society); Ed., Wisdom Quarterly

American (New York, California) Theravada scholar-monk Bhikkhu Bodhi (aka Jeffrey Block)

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Religion: OBEY, you meaningless speck of dust!

Many of the formidable social and cultural problems we face today are rooted in the sharp divide that has split Western civilization between science and religion.

Science claims invincible knowledge based on the empirical investigation of the natural world. Religion can do little more than call for faith in supernatural creeds and obedience to codes of ethics that require restraint, self-discipline, and self-sacrifice.

Since religion, as traditionally understood, often rests on little more than promises and pompous threats, its appeals to our allegiance seldom win. The ethical ideals it advocates stand hardly a fighting chance against what TV, radio, and billboards are telling us: Enjoy life to the hilt while you can!

As a result, a vast portion of humankind has become alienated from religion as a meaningful guide to life. We are left with no alternative but to plunge headlong into the secular "religion" of consumerism and hedonism. It's time to shop, and time to [get down and get funky].

Too often, those in the religious camp, sensing the threat secularism poses, feel driven toward an aggressive fundamentalism. This is a desperate bid to salvage traditional values and loyalties.

The quest to establish a sound basis for conduct in today's world has been made difficult because one consequence of the dominance of the scientific view of the world has been the banishment of values.

You're actually a small speck of dust, friend.

Many scientists, in their personal lives, are staunch advocates of such ideals as world peace, political justice, and economic equality. But the worldview modern science promotes grants values no objective grounding in the grand scheme of things.

From this perspective, their basis is purely subjective. They bring the qualities the notion of subjectivity suggests: being personal, private, relative, even arbitrary.

The overall effect of this divide, despite the best intentions of many responsible scientists, has been to give a green light to lifestyles founded on the quest for personal gratification.

It also supports a power drive aimed at the exploitation of others.

In contrast to the classical Western antithesis of religion and science, Buddhism shares with science a common commitment to uncover the truth about the world. More