Can, will and should Buddhism change and modernize even more, leaving behind many ancient superstitions and fables ...
... tossing out the dubious bathwater, but keeping the Baby Buddha?
At the same time, will future technologies help some of the most fantastic claims and miracle stories of Buddhism become real?
Does it matter whether miracles happen through a Buddha's powers, or through scientific and medical discoveries which bring about the hoped for results?
From my book:
Can Buddhism change in the future, yet preserve its timeless Wisdom?
I believe that it can.
In truth, Buddhism has been changing and evolving through the centuries, renewing every time it entered new cultures and social settings, as human beings creatively invented and developed new teachings and interpretations (and even new visions of “Buddha”) not quite found in the formulations of earlier places and times. Nonetheless, there are certain core teachings and beliefs that I hope to introduce in this book, principles which are shared by most Buddhists, though we come in many flavors. These core tenets remain as wise and practical today as they have throughout the centuries. I see no reason that they need be lost even into the far, far future, right to the end of time. Many of these essential teachings can mold and direct the course of that future. It is merely the presentation and surrounding wrappings and trappings that may require slight change.
I suspect that some of Buddhism’s more fabulous claims and fantastic beliefs may prove ultimately untenable as we discover more about the universe in the future. No, the earth is not flat as many Buddhists once believed. On the other hand, science may help many truly fantastic tantric visions come to life: Today we fly in the air, see and talk to each other across vast oceans, voyage to the moon, employing powers that miracle workers alone once claimed. In the years to come, many extraordinary and fabled facets of Buddhist belief will become just as realizable, even ordinary.
As but one example, many modern Buddhists (I am one) hesitate to chant so-called Dharani chants, finding them beyond what can be credibly believed, smacking of abracadabra. These mysterious and typically unintelligible phrases are intoned by priests to bring health and business success, appease evil spirits, make it rain, prevent earthquakes and otherwise halt disasters or make wishes come true. Nor do I personally believe in the literal existence of superhuman Bodhisattvas and other fanciful creatures that read minds, walk through solid walls and fly through the air. Many other Buddhists do believe in such things, and that is their lovely way. Others of us do not.
However, if what matters is result, not outer forms, then we can now start to speak of ‘Data Based Dharani’, our new science charms: Terrible diseases are being cured by advanced medical magic, psychological demons of the mind are slowly being tamed by psychiatric miracles, earthquakes will be better anticipated, “force field” walls walked through, and the weather better forecast and controlled. We might learn to make it rain, and we already fly through the sky. Bodhisattva-like virtues can be enhanced in our DNA, brought to life in our bodies, and even mind reading is no longer a dream. The desired outcomes attained, we might then chant traditional Dharani together, just because the sound resonates in our hearts, or just for tradition’s sake, or simply in celebration of their sheer musical beauty.
Gassho, J
stlah
In today's news, the following was just announced. Is it really possible to predict such complex systems so far in advance? The Buddhist "sidi" power to predict the future comes true ...
The "mind reading" reference is to technologies such as these: AI is learning to read minds, literally ... AI-ESP
... tossing out the dubious bathwater, but keeping the Baby Buddha?
At the same time, will future technologies help some of the most fantastic claims and miracle stories of Buddhism become real?
Does it matter whether miracles happen through a Buddha's powers, or through scientific and medical discoveries which bring about the hoped for results?
From my book:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Can Buddhism change in the future, yet preserve its timeless Wisdom?
I believe that it can.
In truth, Buddhism has been changing and evolving through the centuries, renewing every time it entered new cultures and social settings, as human beings creatively invented and developed new teachings and interpretations (and even new visions of “Buddha”) not quite found in the formulations of earlier places and times. Nonetheless, there are certain core teachings and beliefs that I hope to introduce in this book, principles which are shared by most Buddhists, though we come in many flavors. These core tenets remain as wise and practical today as they have throughout the centuries. I see no reason that they need be lost even into the far, far future, right to the end of time. Many of these essential teachings can mold and direct the course of that future. It is merely the presentation and surrounding wrappings and trappings that may require slight change.
I suspect that some of Buddhism’s more fabulous claims and fantastic beliefs may prove ultimately untenable as we discover more about the universe in the future. No, the earth is not flat as many Buddhists once believed. On the other hand, science may help many truly fantastic tantric visions come to life: Today we fly in the air, see and talk to each other across vast oceans, voyage to the moon, employing powers that miracle workers alone once claimed. In the years to come, many extraordinary and fabled facets of Buddhist belief will become just as realizable, even ordinary.
As but one example, many modern Buddhists (I am one) hesitate to chant so-called Dharani chants, finding them beyond what can be credibly believed, smacking of abracadabra. These mysterious and typically unintelligible phrases are intoned by priests to bring health and business success, appease evil spirits, make it rain, prevent earthquakes and otherwise halt disasters or make wishes come true. Nor do I personally believe in the literal existence of superhuman Bodhisattvas and other fanciful creatures that read minds, walk through solid walls and fly through the air. Many other Buddhists do believe in such things, and that is their lovely way. Others of us do not.
However, if what matters is result, not outer forms, then we can now start to speak of ‘Data Based Dharani’, our new science charms: Terrible diseases are being cured by advanced medical magic, psychological demons of the mind are slowly being tamed by psychiatric miracles, earthquakes will be better anticipated, “force field” walls walked through, and the weather better forecast and controlled. We might learn to make it rain, and we already fly through the sky. Bodhisattva-like virtues can be enhanced in our DNA, brought to life in our bodies, and even mind reading is no longer a dream. The desired outcomes attained, we might then chant traditional Dharani together, just because the sound resonates in our hearts, or just for tradition’s sake, or simply in celebration of their sheer musical beauty.
Gassho, J
stlah
~ ~ ~
In today's news, the following was just announced. Is it really possible to predict such complex systems so far in advance? The Buddhist "sidi" power to predict the future comes true ...
New Machine Learning Model Can Accurately Predict Events Like Tornadoes and Hail Eight Days in Advance
As severe weather approaches with potential life-threatening hazards such as heavy rain, hail, or tornadoes, early warnings, and precise predictions are crucial. Weather researchers at Colorado State University have provided storm forecasters with a powerful new tool to enhance the reliability of their predictions, potentially saving lives in the process. ... Led by research scientist Aaron Hill, who has worked on refining the model for the last two-plus years, the team recently published their medium-range (four to eight days) forecasting ability in the American Meteorological Society journal Weather and Forecasting. ... The model is trained on a very large dataset containing about nine years of detailed historical weather observations over the continental U.S. These data are combined with meteorological retrospective forecasts, which are model “re-forecasts” created from outcomes of past weather events. The CSU researchers pulled the environmental factors from those model forecasts and associated them with past events of severe weather like tornadoes and hail. The result is a model that can run in real-time with current weather events and produce a probability of those types of hazards with a four- to eight-day lead time, based on current environmental factors like temperature and wind.
https://scitechdaily.com/new-machine...mug0InB2b56820
As severe weather approaches with potential life-threatening hazards such as heavy rain, hail, or tornadoes, early warnings, and precise predictions are crucial. Weather researchers at Colorado State University have provided storm forecasters with a powerful new tool to enhance the reliability of their predictions, potentially saving lives in the process. ... Led by research scientist Aaron Hill, who has worked on refining the model for the last two-plus years, the team recently published their medium-range (four to eight days) forecasting ability in the American Meteorological Society journal Weather and Forecasting. ... The model is trained on a very large dataset containing about nine years of detailed historical weather observations over the continental U.S. These data are combined with meteorological retrospective forecasts, which are model “re-forecasts” created from outcomes of past weather events. The CSU researchers pulled the environmental factors from those model forecasts and associated them with past events of severe weather like tornadoes and hail. The result is a model that can run in real-time with current weather events and produce a probability of those types of hazards with a four- to eight-day lead time, based on current environmental factors like temperature and wind.
https://scitechdaily.com/new-machine...mug0InB2b56820
From brain waves, this AI can sketch what you're picturing
Researchers around the world are training AI to re-create images seen by humans using only their brain waves. Experts say the technology is still in its infancy, but it heralds a new brain-analysis industry.
--
Zijiao Chen can read your mind, with a little help from powerful artificial intelligence and an fMRI machine.
Chen, a doctoral student at the National University of Singapore, is part of a team of researchers that has shown they can decode human brain scans to tell what a person is picturing in their mind, according to a paper released in November.
Their team, made up of researchers from the National University of Singapore, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Stanford University, did this by using brain scans of participants as they looked at more than 1,000 pictures — a red firetruck, a gray building, a giraffe eating leaves — while inside a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine, or fMRI, which recorded the resulting brain signals over time. The researchers then sent those signals through an AI model to train it to associate certain brain patterns with certain images.
Later, when the subjects were shown new images in the fMRI, the system detected the patient’s brain waves, generated a shorthand description of what it thinks those brain waves corresponded to, and used an AI image-generator to produce a best-guess facsimile of the image the participant saw.
The results are startling and dreamlike. An image of a house and driveway resulted in a similarly colored amalgam of a bedroom and living room. An ornate stone tower shown to a study participant generated images of a similar tower, with windows situated at unreal angles. A bear became a strange, shaggy, doglike creature.
The resulting generated image matched the attributes (color, shape, etc.) and semantic meaning of the original image roughly 84% of the time. ... Researchers believe that in just a decade the technology could be used on anyone, anywhere. “It might be able to help disabled patients to recover what they see, what they think,” Chen said. In the ideal case, Chen added, humans won’t even have to use cellphones to communicate. “We can just think.” ....
Like many recent AI developments, brain-reading technology raises ethical and legal concerns. Some experts say in the wrong hands, the AI model could be used for interrogations or surveillance.
“I think the line is very thin between what could be empowering and oppressive,” said Nita Farahany, a Duke University professor of law and ethics in new technology. “Unless we get out ahead of it, I think we’re more likely to see the oppressive implications of the technology.”
She worries that AI brain decoding could lead to companies commodifying the information or governments abusing it, and described brain-sensing products already on the market or just about to reach it that might bring about a world in which we are not just sharing our brain readings, but judged for them.
“This is a world in which not just your brain activity is being collected and your brain state — from attention to focus — is being monitored,” she said, “but people are being hired and fired and promoted based on what their brain metrics show.”
“It’s already going widespread and we need governance and rights in place right now before it becomes something that is truly part of everyone’s everyday lives,” she said.
SHOWN BELOW IN RED: Singapore results compared to original images ...
Researchers around the world are training AI to re-create images seen by humans using only their brain waves. Experts say the technology is still in its infancy, but it heralds a new brain-analysis industry.
--
Zijiao Chen can read your mind, with a little help from powerful artificial intelligence and an fMRI machine.
Chen, a doctoral student at the National University of Singapore, is part of a team of researchers that has shown they can decode human brain scans to tell what a person is picturing in their mind, according to a paper released in November.
Their team, made up of researchers from the National University of Singapore, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Stanford University, did this by using brain scans of participants as they looked at more than 1,000 pictures — a red firetruck, a gray building, a giraffe eating leaves — while inside a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine, or fMRI, which recorded the resulting brain signals over time. The researchers then sent those signals through an AI model to train it to associate certain brain patterns with certain images.
Later, when the subjects were shown new images in the fMRI, the system detected the patient’s brain waves, generated a shorthand description of what it thinks those brain waves corresponded to, and used an AI image-generator to produce a best-guess facsimile of the image the participant saw.
The results are startling and dreamlike. An image of a house and driveway resulted in a similarly colored amalgam of a bedroom and living room. An ornate stone tower shown to a study participant generated images of a similar tower, with windows situated at unreal angles. A bear became a strange, shaggy, doglike creature.
The resulting generated image matched the attributes (color, shape, etc.) and semantic meaning of the original image roughly 84% of the time. ... Researchers believe that in just a decade the technology could be used on anyone, anywhere. “It might be able to help disabled patients to recover what they see, what they think,” Chen said. In the ideal case, Chen added, humans won’t even have to use cellphones to communicate. “We can just think.” ....
Like many recent AI developments, brain-reading technology raises ethical and legal concerns. Some experts say in the wrong hands, the AI model could be used for interrogations or surveillance.
“I think the line is very thin between what could be empowering and oppressive,” said Nita Farahany, a Duke University professor of law and ethics in new technology. “Unless we get out ahead of it, I think we’re more likely to see the oppressive implications of the technology.”
She worries that AI brain decoding could lead to companies commodifying the information or governments abusing it, and described brain-sensing products already on the market or just about to reach it that might bring about a world in which we are not just sharing our brain readings, but judged for them.
“This is a world in which not just your brain activity is being collected and your brain state — from attention to focus — is being monitored,” she said, “but people are being hired and fired and promoted based on what their brain metrics show.”
“It’s already going widespread and we need governance and rights in place right now before it becomes something that is truly part of everyone’s everyday lives,” she said.
SHOWN BELOW IN RED: Singapore results compared to original images ...
)
I believe others in the West are not attracted to our practice because it seems foreign. Others embrace the Japanese look and ways.
), some stripping that away almost completely. 
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