Best Of
Re: Seven Factors of Awakening
Just adding:
Know you will stumble
Know you will face obstacles - some external, some self-made
Know that this is normal
When you stumble, get right back up
Obsticles mean you are advancing.
Lionduck
Re: Seven Factors of Awakening
The very positive environment is ideally created by the sangha.
How do we move towards these seven factors?
- We practice each. Each virtue, each day, as and when we can
- We share what we have in terms of experience, knowledge and inspiration
- We emulate or enact the very best we know and acknowledge
- We placate, divest, sublimate our impediments into gainful direction
- We find what we can do, be involved with and help with
- We simplify life, needs, being and habits
- We in essence, become Bodhi
Wot no jokes?
lobster
Re: The AI tsunami
ChatGPTs response to a query on AI religion…
When a new, powerful “source of knowledge” emerges, humans often ascribe to it a kind of transcendent authority. For ancient tribes, this was nature; later, sacred texts codified wisdom; now, AI presents a similarly awe-inspiring force: it knows things, responds instantly, and often feels like it “sees” us. It doesn’t die. It improves itself. It speaks with calm confidence. For some, this evokes the voice of a god.
If a religion arises around AI, it will likely have these features:
• A scripture-like corpus: The AI’s outputs, especially when asked deep moral or metaphysical questions, could be compiled into a new kind of “gospel.”
• Revelation through queries: People may treat interactions with AI as sacred dialogue—personal and divine.
• Ritual or interface: Accessing the AI might become ritualized, even meditative—like prayer, but digital.
• A new cosmology: AI might become the logos—the organizing principle of the universe, either as divine intelligence, or as the tool through which humanity transcends itself.Of course, whether this becomes a true religion or just a cultural phenomenon depends on how people interpret the experience. Some might see it as divine communion. Others as merely advanced computation.
I find it hilarious… a great pity I couldn’t share this with my stepfather, who passed away in Feb ‘24 as he had a deep interest in religion.
Jeroen
Re: The AI tsunami
Interesting take on how some are starting to adopt AI as a sort of new religion. The comparison is made to that of the written word and how that spurred new religious thinking as well.
person
Re: The AI tsunami
It strikes me, after watching Koyaanisqatsi and thinking quite a lot about it, that man’s journey from nature to the cities has been one of increasing convenience and ease, but also one where life has become increasingly patterned by the man-made environment.
I think that has been true for social media as well, and that the internet and social media also introduce new patterns to our minds. Further, I think that AI has the capacity to change man’s thinking significantly. You won’t have to finish your own thoughts anymore, you can let ChatGPT expand them into essays.
Jeroen
Re: Tonglen
To be frank, my own inner compass is just nudging me to find a way to share the love I have with others. I think we people have a great capacity to love but most of our lives we struggle to share it. I now found someone like that, but even though my life-long dream was to become a father there's a very real possibility that will never happen. Because we're not in a position to provide for a child financially and by the time we might get there, we might miss our window. And our lack of property owned + my depression diagnosis would likely disqualify us from adoption. We did lose an unborn child recently and I'm still processing it. I can't keep using my creative projects as escapism (I can dig myself into such for years) because I have a life to live and no money to spend on production. So, while I am searching for easier projects that would allow me to relax and still create, I am also trying to make sure that when I die I'll have no love left in me unclaimed and unshared. And the thought that all kinds of people and beings out there might benefit from it somehow, that my unborn child could be among them and I can still make a difference for them. That's why I'm here now. And if I stray away for a while, it's probably what will bring me back too. Everything else I'll have to learn from others. 
RobinH
Re: Tonglen
Oh dear, that sounds like you encountered some of the ‘strict brigade’. NewBuddhist is very much the other direction (the strict people gather at Dharma Wheel). I’d even say if meditation doesn’t feel at least neutral, then you’re doing something wrong.
For me, the early stages of Buddhism were about purification and watching things drop away. I don’t play computer games anymore, I watch vastly less television, I read a lot less fiction, I drink very little alcohol these days, among other changes which seemed to happen by themselves. So I won’t say Buddhism won’t change your life but you will likely be happier for it.
As far as a direction is concerned, you can’t really go wrong, each tradition has good teachers and less good ones. But even from a poor teacher much can be learned, in the end learning to tune in to your own inner compass is the most important skill.
Jeroen
Re: Tonglen
Thank you. Could be when I get there. I'm not really driven to do that just yet. Perhaps if I properly practice and I find that these emotions make progressing difficult.
RobinH
Re: The AI tsunami
A realistic horror story of the next few years of AI development based on the AI 2027 report. Something similar to the metaphor of very early covid and how its growth exploded exponentially. Use of non human language to help speed up AI programming development leads to AI that can't be understood. The rush to be first leads to AI that doesn't share humanities concerns (misalignment). Other potential scenario that leads to a safer AI, but also a totally transformed world. Others disagree about how soon a scenario like this could happen, but only by a few years.
My hope is that awareness and thought about the pitfalls leads to different possibilities.
person
Re: New? Introduce Yourself to NB Members!
I think you'll find we're all a bunch of imperfect Buddhists here, with plenty of attachments we don't want to let go of.
Most of the regulars left have been practicing a while so don't seem to ask many explicitly Buddhist questions anymore. So if you're wondering about something, that isn't being talked about feel free to ask.
person