True to Buddhism's long history of openness and ready adaptation to foreign cultures, the on-line Buddhist community is embracing the new digital-etheric network most enthusiastically. There are probably more active Buddhist servers on the Internet than any other religious denomination
No doubt one reason Buddhists
feel so at home in the invisible realm of the Internet is the
Buddhist understanding of the ephemeral nature of the material
world. Long before nuclear physicists confirmed that matter is
actually energy, and that energy in turn is no thing, Buddhists
were meditating on the non-substantiality of existence, also
known as Sunyata and often translated as "void." Cyberspace
is no more real or unreal, important or unimportant, than the
"reality" we inhabit all the time. It is another loka,
a level of temporary psychological incarnation. Just like the
human and heaven and hell realms, it can delude or liberate,
depending on one's insight and intent.
Buddhism and modern nuclear physics hold some remarkably similar,
quantum views of creation, in which unfathomable numbers of sub-atomic
concentrations of energy generate matter by their tendency to
exist or not, in and out of the present time/space continuum.
The Buddha spoke of the smallest possible discrete unit of time
(astakalapa). All of manifested creation is said to be repeatedly
projected and "un-projected" within this unimaginably
finite period. The resulting blur from this hyperspeed oscillation
is what we usually perceive as "reality." Nirvana-the
timeless, un-manifest state of pure awareness-fully permeates
and inter-exists within samsara, the illusion of objective, concrete
reality. Enlightenment is the direct perception of the mind,
moments between world-projections.
But if Cyberspace is so spiritual, what about the commercialization
and superficial sexploitation of the net? A practiced Buddhist
meditator is no more surprised by the Samsara on-line than she
or he is about the rampant greed and delusion in the "real"
world. All the predictable mind factors are present in all possible
regions that human consciousness can pervade, including the modern
market place and the media of TV, radio, film and print. Computerized
communications is simply the next manifest extension of the collective
mind, reflecting the worst and best of human capacities and endeavors,
our past as well as our potential. What is most intriguing is
the possibility of using this new transpersonal, omni-dimensional
intellisphere to swiftly facilitate large-scale improvement in
the human condition, just when time has become so critical to
our collective survival.
The question of cyberspace having Buddha nature (or spirit) is
not just a quaint koan suitable for personal reflection. The
prospects for the universal dissemination of truth and Enlightenment
transcend merely religious or political concerns. Faced with
overpopulation, dwindling resources, and the specter of unprecedented
military and environmental destruction, it just may be the most
significant issue of our age. As the 21st century dawns, it is
time for the mundane and the metaphysical to be seen as one.
If life on earth is to survive, nothing short of a world-awakening
will suffice. How can the traditional sangha (the community of
compassionate spiritual practitioners) contribute to this much
needed global transformation? One way is by going on-line.
Given our tradition of purposeful concentration, it is fitting
that Buddhists choose to seize the opportunity for instant global
communication presented by the Net to preserve and propagate
the precious teachings (Dharma), to counter ignorance and unnecessary
suffering (Samsara and dukha), spread loving-kindness (metta),
and contribute to the general liberation (moksa) of all sentient
beings.
In a public talk, the Dalai Lama spoke eloquently about the need
for global participation:
"Today, we are faced with many global problems such as poverty,
overpopulation and the destruction of the environment. These
are problems that we have to address together.
No single community or nation can expect to solve them on its
own. This indicates how inter-dependent our world has become.
The global economy, too, is becoming increasingly integrated
so that the results of an election in one country can affect
the stock market of another.
"In ancient times, each village was more or less self-sufficient
and independent. There was neither the need nor the expectation
of cooperation with others outside the village. You survived
by doing everything yourself. The situation now has completely
changed. It has become very old-fashioned to think only in terms
of my nation or my country, let alone my village. Universal responsibility
is the real key to overcoming our problems."
In his book, Violence and Compassion (Doubleday, 1996),
His Holiness elaborates on the vital union of religion and science:
"We need a new concept, a lay spirituality. We ought to
promote this concept, with the help of scientists. It could lead
us to set up what we are all looking for, a secular morality."
One working metaphor for the Great Matrix of Cyberspace is the
universal sensorium known in esoteric traditions as the Akashic
Records. In this metaphysical realm, unlike in material, "atom-based"
repositories, once information is impressed into memory, it "lives"
virtually forever. (Sort of like the mind of God.)
It is now apparent that the omnipresent, instantaneously interactive
electronic super-structure of the Internet, the World Wide Web,
and the commercial information services-along with the mega-databanks,
digital cellular/fiber-optic satellite-relayed telephone networks,
plus TV, FM, AM and ham radio, citizens bands, and all other
electro-etheric connections-collectively comprise the evolving
nervous system of the planet, what author Peter Russell calls
the Global Brain. Cyberspace is our emerging planetary super-consciousness.
The multi-dimensional link-up we are undergoing amounts to nothing
less than the next step in the evolution of human consciousness
and the emerging world self-awareness.
This is cause for optimism and enthusiasm. We may soon be seeing
the first moment in history when most people, most of the time
realize their underlying unity with everyone else and the world,
and begin to behave accordingly. To quote a June 1994 issue of
Scientific American, "Computer networking offers the soundest
basis for world peace that has yet been presented. Peace must
be created on the bulwark of understanding. International computer
networks will knit together the peoples of the world in bonds
of mutual respect; its possibilities are vast, indeed."
ENLIGHTENMENT ON-LINE
CHILD OF THE CYBER-SANGHA
The question "Can a person become Enlightened by going on-line?" becomes a koan in it's own right. As Chao-chou might respond, "Mu," yes and
no, as the click through links provided by the above red, underlined ENLIGHTENMENT ON-LINE sub-title might attest. This is not a treasure hunt in the sense that "the truth
that sets you free" can be located on some specific server
and acquired like another market commodity. That's just the electronic
equivalent of what the Trogyam Trungpa Rimpoche called "spiritual
materialism."
As in traditional pilgrimages, the essence is in the journey
as much as the destination. In fact, there is no "place"
there, which, again paradoxically, is one of the enlightening
aspects of the virtual world: it's everywhere and nowhere. It
is an altogether different, but omnipresent dimension that we
experience only by venturing beyond ourselves.
Let's define some terms. "Information," in the most
complete sense, means traces of intelligence, from cave drawings
to computerized databases. Today's electronic information base
includes all the keyed-in, scanned, recorded and transmitted
messages, all satellite signals, all music and video recording,
stored images, the knowledge contained in all on-line libraries...
this mushrooming digitized, interactive meta-mind is intrinsically
and inextricably linked to human consciousness in ways which
we can now only begin to imagine. Hopefully, one of those is
the Enlightenment of humanity.
"Information" becomes "knowledge" whenever
it enables us to see more clearly and understand ourselves and
the Universe. Ultimately, knowledge leads to wisdom, through
which the living Spirit expresses itself in the world.
But just what is "spiritual," anyway? How do we recognize
it in the vast full/emptiness of cyberspace? Is there not even
more room for pseudo-truth and self-deception out there in the
etheric foam of the digital sea? Of course, this is to some degree
a subjective call: one man's spirituality may be another man's
blasphemy. That's what's so remarkable about the Internet approach
to the quest: it is at once universal, democratic and personal.
You're not limited to any preprogrammed package of goods or anyone
else's idea of what you should know or believe. All religions,
sects, texts, and teachers await your consideration.
The price of this on-line eclecticism is the potential for more
dilettantism, delusion and confusion. But as they say, a fool
who persists in his folly will eventually become wise. The saving
grace of cyberspace may be that it can greatly accelerate the
learning process. And who among us would say there is such a
thing as too much religious freedom?
This much we know: true spirituality is not an appearance, no
matter how brilliant; or a position, no matter how venerable.
In cyberspace as in life, we should know the genuine article
unequivocally, by its effects: What good is it?
Quite simply, something (or someone) is spiritual if his/her/its influence actually reduces human suffering and increases freedom: not only freedom from fear, ignorance, shame, guilt, hunger, and pain, but freedom for growth. It's not enough for a teacher (or teaching) to sound good. If it's authentic, by definition it benefits people and the planet. If it's Enlightening, the soul stirs and the spirit soars from the contact, as if lifted by angels.
What is "Enlightenment?" In a personal sense, it is the only alternative to the neurotic prison of the personality, the container of all our fear and greed and pain. In society, enlightened consensus and policy will bring about equal opportunity and stem the tide of violence in our cities, schools, and homes. And enlightened action within a global/historic context is our best chance of stopping military warfare and averting environmental catastrophe.
Enlightenment is not something you can get from someone or some place. Yet certain people and places can definitely contribute to the requisite spiritual context, and be conducive to its realization, like fertile soil to a dormant seed. So it is not the content of cyberspace alone that liberates (although we may deliberately chose "spiritual" sites), but the actual participation in the phenomenon itself. If we could but fully experience and realize the true significance of the "World Wide Web," theoretically it wouldn't matter if we were reading the electronic Tao Te Ching, tracking our stock market portfolio or viewing naked bodies on porn sites... it's all Samsara (illusion), which is just another form of Nirvana (Enlightenment). Wherever we go, there we are!
In a complex interactive feedback process between creator and creation, the knowledge-base of the digital realm is also continuously being downloaded into human consciousness. How will this affect our precarious collective destiny? The early, formative stages of the blossoming of the cybersphere are when we have our greatest leverage on the future. What shall we do with this information-age equivalent of the atomic bomb? Accumulate so much trivia and babble that we go into psychic meltdown? Or create a Web of Wisdom that enlightens us and not coincidentally saves the world?
For the first time in history, we have the option of deliberately manifesting and participating in this dynamic fabric of mutually-interactive intelligence for the benefit of all. The result of connecting up the network of awarenesses is synergetic: far more than merely the sum of its parts. When a critical mass of complexity and connections are achieved within the system, a flash-over phase transformation occurs, like carbon under pressure becoming diamond. We participate in and become the larger awareness, the evolving self-consciousness of Gaia, the emerging super-intelligence of the Earth herself. To update the exhortation of the psychedelic age, we need to turn on, tune in, and wake up!
CHILD OF THE CYBER-SANGHA
Before the super-fast age of computers with instant messages, cell phones, and e-mails there was a much slower time of regular hand delivered mail --- the so-called snail mail. During those snail mail days a number of entrepreneurs used the postal system to establish mail order businesses --- in a sense predating similar efforts as presented today through the net. Replicating what might be found on the net today, an American of great spiritual Attainment by the name of Alfred Pulyan established a sort of mail order sanga. It is said his success rate for those reaching a full reward in a Zen-like fashion was 70%. To my knowledge nothing remotely close to that percentage has transpired exclusively through the use of the internet. I know of only one example of success claimed through such means and it is found in the following paper:
"One could very well say that I am a
Child of the Cyber-Sangha. I have never actually met another Buddhist or spiritual seeker in my real life (at least not that I am aware of), but fortunately I have met many on the internet. Some were Enlightened, some were not, but all of them helped me in one way or another. Looking back, I can see just how tremendously beneficial it was to have friends on the path, to spur me onwards, and to help me look deeper into myself and what I considered to be 'me'. The newsgroups I subscribed to enabled me to engage in conversations about the path and to challenge my own views, uprooting many attachments to my own ideas and beliefs. It was not always beneficial (there were many times I was being misguided), but the friends I have gained from posting to these newsgroups are all people who have contributed much to my progress and whom I am deeply grateful for meeting, as I have gained much from their experience. The internet was also my prime source for reading, as my local library only had very few books on Buddhism. Thus I was fortunate that so many Buddhist teachings existed on the internet."
RECOUNTING A YOUNG BOY'S NEARLY INSTANT TRANSFORMATION INTO THE ABSOLUTE DURING HIS ONLY DARSHAN WITH THE MAHARSHI
ZEN CAN BE FOUND IN ANY ACTIVITY
AWAKENING 101
Fundamentally, our experience as experienced is not different from the Zen master's. Where
we differ is that we place a fog, a particular kind of conceptual overlay onto that experience
and then make an emotional investment in that overlay, taking it to be "real" in and of itself.
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