Tibetan Buddhism’s Insights Into Virtual Reality
During a recent tour of Buddhist monasteries in Sikkim and Bhutan, I found myself reading Ray Kurzweil’s The Singularity is Near, a whopper of a book about the imminent fusion of biological and technological intelligence.
Along with his description of what would essentially be a new species of being, Kurzweil also talks about the onset of a virtual reality that would be essentially indistinguishable from what we currently call reality — i.e. a direct access to our inner fields of perception (via our brain) from inputs other than the external phenomenal world we live in.
Between my sessions of reading about this visionary high tech future (on our rickety old bus traveling down monsoon-soaked, single-lane, cow/goat/monkey-sharing, cliff-dangling, so-called “roads”) our group would periodically dismount and swarm (like a small group of bees) into some of the most awesome and impressive Tibetan style Buddhist monasteries in the world. They were replete with stunning wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling representations of the pantheon of Tantric Deities, said to be representations of our own layers of consciousness, but also readable as an alternate and parallel “virtual” reality of its own.
Huge blue and red and green rupas (statues with multiple arms, heads, ornaments), thangkas (paintings) and mandalas (symbolic representations of different Buddha fields) seemed to invite the viewer to step through a portal in his/her own mind into a sensuous, vivid and somewhat other-worldly realm in which enlightened beings with their full manifestation and retinues are completely present and manifest.
Buddhists who practice these disciplines (increasingly available in our modern Western culture) can spend hours a day and weeks or months on retreats conjuring visual (visualizations) and audio (mantra) of these environments, and at some point begin to recognize that the world which we take to be flat, ordinary, confusing, painful and uninspiring is actually the playground of these deities, and that we ourselves are in fact actual embodiments of them. Talk about virtual reality!
On our trip, I wondered about the future of our species, the nature of the singularity (near or far), and the future of a Buddhist country like Bhutan (whose 28-year-old leader is empowered as a Buddhist chogyal — dharma king — and who is a Harvard graduate). Technology is present in Bhutan (even the monks have cell phones) but many traditional methods of agriculture, crafts and daily life are still in place. In some sense Bhutan has the potential to work out a balance of social concerns, ecology, spiritual practice and material well being that could well be a model for future civilizations on this planet.
My hat is off to Ray Kurzweil for having the audacity to back up his ground-breaking vision of the future with considerable scientific and mathematical data. His view is something that at least every geek and nerd on the planet should be aware of, and should be of considerable interest to the rest of us ordinary folk, whether we buy into it or not.
And my hat is off to the people of Bhutan who were lovely, cheerful and very hospitable. They are also “keeping the faith” for Tibetan Buddhist practitioners worldwide.
May all beings, before and after the singularity, whether “actual” or “virtual,” be safe, happy, healthy and at ease!
And hey, if you want to meet non-virtually, Cyndi and I are teaching Yoga Body Buddha Mind 2 (The Heart of Enlightenment) up at Kripalu Nov. 19-21. Blogging is great but we would love to meet some of you in the flesh!
Follow David on his website, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
[...] Tibetan Buddhism’s Insights Into Virtual Reality [...]
what an interesting juxtaposition — reading that book while in the midst of exploring monasteries! made me think of a couple dharma quotes i have stuck on my desk:
regard this phantom world
as a star at dawn, a bubble in a stream,
a flash of lightning in a summer cloud,
a flickering lamp – a phantom – and a dream.”
~Vairacche dika 32; Diamond Sutra
since everything is but an apparition,
perfect in being what it is,
having nothing to do with good or bad,
acceptance or rejection
you might as well burst out laughing!
~Longchepa
I like this article, but I think it misses another possibly interesting insight when thinking about the conceptual boundaries between “virtual reality” and Buddhism.
That is that ALL experience is “virtual”. Our naive experience of “the world out there” is a product of our own function as observing organisms reacting to energy patterns that impinge on our sensory organs. Anyone who knows how our sensory nervous system works knows that our experience is a construction based on limited data. We don’t have direct experience of a “chair” : we create within ourselves a hallucination of an external object called a “chair” based on the integration of a large number of sensory inputs. That’s just basic cognitive science.
And in that sense, the “reconstruction” that our mind creates of a “world out there” is no more “real” in “actual reality” than it is in “virtual reality.” In that sense, all experience is virtual because experience itself is a property of the observer, not of the observed.
We see, hear, taste, smell and feel gross energy, but at the same time we can experience subtle energy. There is a limit to our senses and this boundary marks the experience of gross life because the subtle energy fields are out of our ordinary range of experience . Technology has shown us that there are subtle levels in our world, which we are not aware of because our senses are limited to the gross strata only. In order to experience the finer energies of life, it is necessary to improve our sense of being by aligning with the subtle energies. The techniques mentioned help us do this. Thank you
Soma — Thanks for your comments.. . I think definitely this is another way of looking at the process… . my teacher, Trungpa Rinpoche, used to say to his students — “there are sights that you haven’t seen, sounds that you haven’t heard … etc.” I think he was also referring to refining and attenuatin g our “subtle” senses…. . Sending best regards, David N.
David,
I don’t know if you should be looking towards the future so eagerly. Personally , I think the modern innovation s of the internet & virtual reality are making us human beings less and less capable of fixing our attention on any object for a long time.
Browsing the internet is probably the closest opposite for meditation !
People who are addicted to these chaotic lifestyles – flipping the remote on TV, flipping the hyperlinks on the browser, panicking about their posts and updates on social websites – they feel more agitated and frustrated than usual.. Not surprising ly. People have already stopped writing long letters, and many people have stopped reading poetry or reading long books. We are evolving into a twitterver se populated with people having microscopi c attention spans.
What happens with continued evolution of the internet & VR technologi es is that this frustratio n would only increase. I find myself partially guilty because I am working on making these technologi es happen.
In such a future, achieving the stillness or Nirvana through meditative practices will be harder and harder. But may be, we humans will find a way out. We are, after all, creative beings.
I could barely handle watching a football game the other day. Non-stop jumping around. There is no need to pay attention to anything for more than a second or two. Non stop graphics, replays and commercial s.
I have been in Informatio n technology for 40 years. I started at 19. Technology has only evolved to a better way to make a buck.
4000 years ago the knew more because the observed nature more. They had lots of time.
I sore through astro space, but not with technology . Maybe a scientific technique, but I would not call the technology . With technology we travel faster, but we go no ware they did not go 4000 years ago. We still are on earth. Faster material movement does not open up the universe that lies within each atom. Why travel when the truth is within all things
I have similar concerns. I work with young children and see more and more of them unable to focus their attention on any one thing for any length of time, attention deficit disorder would be the more extreme version of this. I think there are a variety of factors that contribute however, I do wonder how technology will impact the ability to think clearly and reason effectively. I grew up in a different generation and am still able to lose myself for hours at a time reading or working on a project. I find it increasingly disconcerting to have my attention pulled in a hundred different directions , I am not equipped for that kind of sensory overload. However, I have to admit I love using the internet because I can control what I am being exposed to and can spend as much time as I like on any particular subject. It will be interestin g to see how technology from television watching to cellphones will affect how the brains of young children are wired.
Vakibs, in Zen, a ‘dead void heretic’ is one who believes that the result of meditation is ‘stillness ‘ (or peace, or happiness) . Actually, the ‘final’ realizatio n is that ‘nothing is real’ or ‘all is relative’. The end result of this ‘concentration’ through ‘sitting’ is a mind that does NOT stay fixed on anything– and is thus by-passed. ‘Modern innovations’ and virtual reality are actually bringing about the result of ‘sitting’ practices in folks who think they are just texting on their cell phones. Thus, most of the world will soon be ‘in’ a new ‘state’ as semi-enlightened ‘masters’. Most will go ‘crazy’ as a result, but a few will recognize the state for what it is and will ‘evolve’ permanently into this new ‘matrix’ (non)reality.
I would say this “physical dimension / virtual reality” is a playground for the soul. In this virtual reality one is able to practice both virtue and vice. If one practices virtue it will lead them to a greater understand ing of the true nature of reality and transcende nt wisdom. If one practices vice it will lead them to rebirth and continued suffering. The pantheon of trantric deities represents the virtues that one must attain in order to expand their awareness and reach a state of nirvana.
Also well said…. thanks MIchael… . I think the deities represent the virtues, and they are also, quite literally, the “embodimen t” of those…. they are symbolic representa tions and the thing itself at the same time. Best, DN
I am hopeful that VR and AI will make yogic mind states more accessible to more people. However the intricacie s of Tibetan cosmology and symbolism would predictabl y be in danger. These representa tions of the manifestat ions of the mind were embellishe d over hundreds and hundreds of years. The VR world that we have imagined so far is very much less rich and deep.
Just as in terms of ecological diversity, I hope we manage to preserve the abundance and diversity of buddhist metaphors.
Yes I think that is the problem with all technology (like voice activation etc.) is that sometimes we have to dumb down the human experience to get the computer to understand what’s going on…. Syd Alonso (who developed the Synclavier ) was really concerned that voice activation was going to get us humans to degrade the subtlety of our language and communicat ion so the machines could “get it” and be useful…. . it may be a real issue going forward… you are making a good point here…
You are welcome! DN
Great article — I love how Bhutan essential seems to be a theocracy, but this is to the betterment of their and other societies.
Anyway, I don’t want to be argumentat ive, just trying to understand :
Since Buddhism sees all reality as being ethereal, does anyone think it sees VR as just another ethereal realm, or something entirely different?
There are a multitude of sectarian difference s in Buddhism, as in any philosophy /religion/ viewpoint. I am NOT positionin g myself as an expert, I am merely an observer. IMHO, niggling over definition s/argument s of terms like “ethereal” or “reality” or “creation of the (whatever) ” is beside the point for Buddhists.
“All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgivenes s the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives.”
Dalai Lama
This is a great article, David. I think the analogy with virtual reality is very apt (and though I will check out the book you mention, I don’t think I’m going to feel very inspired by its vision).
Still, I have spent a certain amount of time (i.e. too much time!) reading–a nd sometimes participat ing–in some of these online discussion s of religion. And it seems to me that very few people who are not Tibetan Buddhist practition ers, or at least are very sympatheti c to Tibetan Buddhism, will accept what you are saying. They will say that it is the Vajra world that is the virtual reality, that all this stuff about the world as a playground of the deities is just superstiti on and fantasy.
Now, of course, in one sense it doesn’t matter what such people say; if one has had a taste of the kind of thing you’re talking about, such skepticism just seems like narrow-min dedness. But at the same time it does raise questions about communicab ility or expressibi lity. How can one express any of this even as a possibilit y in an environmen t where the kind of practice and experience you describe is very rare?
It will be interestin g to see what sorts of responses this article gets.
I imagine there will be NO SHORTAGE of “enlighten ed scientific minds” coming around with the usual knee jerk dismissal of anything spiritual. Westerners take things too literally, often misunderst anding allegory. Many atheists and deists are unclear on the concept that Buddhism is not about a god, but is more a philosophy . It is easy to get so hung up on the trappings (ritual, chant, symbology) that the core belief system is forgotten or dispensed with: kindness, universal compassion , living deeply in the moment (and so forth).
I agree with what you’re saying to some extent. But I’m not so sure I would call the rituals, prayers, mantras, etc. “trappings “–as if these are dispensabl e. These are core aspects of Tibetan Buddhist practice, and as such could be considered means to the larger goals that you list.
Also, the idea that Buddhism is just a “philosoph y” is problemati c. Philosophy in the Western tradition is, at bottom, an attempt to describe reality. But Buddhism is not a ultimately a descriptio n of the world, a set of claims to be judged true or false. The basic problem is that Buddhism simply doesn’t seem to neatly fit into any of our usual categories of “philosoph y,” “religion, ” or what have you.
Agreed — what too many people don’t know is that “religion” is a broad term for a set of beliefs addressing the purported origin and meaning of life and one’s place in the universe. Usually, it has a set of practices and guidelines for adherents in private and public life.
But that’s about it. No deity has to be involved, although most religions address what can be called the supernatur al.