By Raymond Lam
The Buddhist world celebrated Vesak earlier in May, and from 28 May to 28 June, the Vajrayana Buddhist community is celebrating Saga Dawa. After volunteering at my local Buddhist center (which hosts a wonderful community of Theravada Buddhists, many of whom are from South Asian countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka), I found a beautiful poem commemorating the Blessed One for the Tea House blog. Buddha in Glory, or Buddha in der glorie in its Austrian original, is by the Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke, and it is a powerful, moving elegy to the centrality of Shakyamuni Buddha to every tradition, school, and Vinaya transmission that endures and carries on to the present day. And one can even discern some symbolism of Vairocana, the Great Sun Buddha (and Dharmakaya embodiment of Shakyamuni), or, if one is more inclined toward the ineffable, the unborn, non-dual Dharmakaya of Vajradhara/Samantabhadra.
Buddha in Glory
Center of all centers, core of cores,
almond, that closes tightly in and sweetens, —
all this world out to the farthest stars
is the flesh around your seed: we greet you.
Look: you can feel how nothing any longer
clings to you; your husk is in infinity,
and the potent juice now stands there pressing.
And from outside a radiance assists it,
for high above, your suns in their full splendor
have wheeled blazingly around.
Yet inside you now, secure and growing:
what lasts beyond the suns.
Buddha in der glorie
Mitte aller Mitten, Kern der Kerne,
Mandel, die sich einschließt und versüßt, —
dieses Alles bis an alle Sterne
ist dein Fruchtfleisch: Sei gegrüßt.
Sieh, du fühlst, wie nichts mehr an dir hängt;
im Unendlichen ist deine Schale,
und dort steht der starke Saft und drängt.
Und von außen hilft ihm ein Gestrahle,
denn ganz oben werden deine Sonnen
voll und glühend umgedreht.
Doch in dir ist schon begonnen,
was die Sonnen übersteht.
As Saga Dawa unfolds, it seems appropriate to take stock of global developments that have led our website to celebrate our 30th anniversary this year with an upcoming conference focused on AI. “Nourished and Steered by Dharma into the Future: Buddhistdoor as a Disseminator and a Catalyst in the Contemporary World” will be held from 3–4 September. To discuss the progress, pitfalls, and consequences of AI is to actually reflect on how far Buddhism has come in this 21st century of full-throated technological acceleration, from the complete dominance of social media to the digitization of everything.
Overall, the picture is a mixed bag. On one hand, Buddhism has become a truly global religion since the end of the Second World War, with many Buddhist luminaries becoming household names and a remarkable synergy developing between Dharma leaders and scientists and psychologists. But as many Buddhist writers and senior monastics have observed, there has been something fundamental, even epistemic, conceded in the rush to present Buddhism as a scientifically compelling alternative to Abrahamic traditions, especially in the Global North. As Buddhist demographics continue to decline across the board, and the past generation of household names grows increasingly older (with some like Thich Nhat Hanh having passed away), it is clear that Buddhism needs urgent and bold new strategies for the “technological age,” with, in my assessment, the most urgent questions swirling around three rubrics: AI, social media, and green tech.
In this spirit, the selection of recommendations in this postcard provides a window into how our writers and contributors are thinking about our technological age, while also highlighting how, from museology (in an interview with Dr. Yannick Lintz, president of France’s Guimet Museum) to photography (in Mandala Butterfly columnist Rebecca Wong’s interview with Tabo Monastery photographer Peter Van Ham), how tech advancements can go hand in hand with Buddhist goals. Buddhism has never shrunk from embracing a changing world; change is the only constant and impermanence is a core teaching of the Dharma.
What is perhaps more urgent for Buddhist leaders and scholars is the articulation of a “bodhisattva playbook,” which will support any and all AI initiatives that advance the resolution of dukkha. Dukkha, inadequately translated as “suffering” or “dissatisfaction,” is the one existential conundrum of self-alienation that Shakyamuni Buddha outlined from the outset of his dispensation. As we celebrate his birth, enlightenment, first sermon, and Parinirvana, we jump from 2,500 years ago to now. We are all futurists, because the age demands us to be. But there is no need to be fearful, for the Dharma is still with us. That is blessing enough. Now we move forward with courage and hope.
Raymond Lam
“Buddha in Glory”
Buddhistdoor View: The Dharma Futurist’s Hope for AI in a World of Suffering
Navigating the Emotional Terrain of Social Media Through Vipasyana
Finding Calm: Buddhist Insights on Managing Anxiety
The Universal Message of Art: An Interview with Musée Guimet President Dr. Yannick Lintz
The Drummer Who Heard the Deities Whisper: Photographer Peter Van Ham’s Odyssey to Tabo, the Himalayas’ Secret Temple
