Bodh Gaya : Bodh Gaya, located in the central province of Bihar State is one of the holiest sites for Buddhists all over the world where thousands of foreigners mostly Buddhist devotees throng each year.

Under the sacred pipal or Bodhi tree, Gautama Buddha (Prince Siddhartha) attained enlightenment and became the Buddha. It is believed to be the centre of the universe according to some Buddhist texts and the seat of enlightenment of all past and future Buddhas.

In the 3rd century BCE, a simple shrine was built by the emperor Ashoka to mark the spot, and this was later enclosed by a stone railing in the first century BCE, part of which still remains.

Ashoka's stone slab purporting to mark the exact position where the Buddha sat is traditionally called the Buddha's Vajrasana (literally "diamond throne" or "thunder seat").

In the 2nd century CE, the shrine was replaced during the Kushan period by the present Mahabodhi temple which was itself refurbished in the Pala-Sena period (750-1200), heavily restored by the British archaeologist Sir Alexander Cunningham in the second half of the 19th century, and finally restored by Myanmar (Burmese) Buddhists in 1882.

The temple's central tower stands 180 feet (54 metres) above the ground. Its pyramidal shikhara (tower) comprises several layers of niches, arch motifs, and fine engravings. Four towers, each identical to its central counterpart but smaller in size and topped with an umbrella-like dome, adorn the corners of the two-story structure.

A shrine inside the temple holds a yellow sandstone statue of the Buddha encased in glass. One of the most famous of Ashoka's many pillars (on which he had engraved his edicts and his understanding of religious doctrine) stands at the southeast corner of the temple.

The 4.8-hectare (11.9-acre) complex also includes ancient shrines and modern structures built by Buddhist devotees. It was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2002.

On September 5, 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the midst of delegates from different Buddhist countries reiterated the relevance of this holy place saying, "We are meeting in Bodhgaya, a land that has a distinctive place in the history of humankind. This is the land of Enlightenment. Years ago what Bodhgaya got was Siddhartha but what Bodhgaya gave to the world was Lord Buddha: the epitome of knowledge, Peace and Compassion."

Resonating PM Modi's thoughts, some of the firsthand accounts of the Asian Buddhists who took a pilgrimage to Bodhgaya write about their experiences at this holy site.

A Korean nun Hyeran Lee who got her PhD degree in Buddhist Studies from the University of Delhi in 2016 and is currently a Lecturer at Dongguk University, Republic of Korea writes, "Bodhgaya is the place where I can feel the energy of the Buddha. I had become a Buddhist nun at the age of 20 in order to devote my life to pursuing the Buddha's teaching and dharma. I was very curious about India - the land of the Buddha. When I was in my mid-twenties, I visited India for the first time. I had always been curious about the land of the Buddha and had seen the pictures of Buddhist sacred places so many times and did not expect to visit Bodhgaya and the other Buddhist sacred sites in India."

"But when I actually made a pilgrimage to Bodhgaya, I realized that the pictures cannot express everything that a Holy place holds. The atmosphere of Bodhgaya was sacredly mysterious and the place was crowded with pilgrims from all parts of the world. There were many people making prostrations to the Buddha and around the Mahabodhi Temple. Bodhgaya is a religious site where the Buddha attained Enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree. When I visited Bodhgaya again after 20 years, I felt the same feeling as I had felt during my first visit to Bodhgaya. I could feel the energy of the Buddha when he lived around 2600 years ago. I think that Buddhists and non-Buddhists can feel the Buddha's power in Bodhgaya, as many come on a pilgrimage to Bodhgaya every time," she added.

Another nun scholar from Vietnam Li Thi Kim Lien who finished her Masters in Buddhist Studies from University of Delhi very sincerely expresses her moment of experience in Bodhgaya saying, "It was a great blessing for me to come and admire Bodh Gaya under the Bodhi tree, which all Buddhists called the land of enlightenment. When my foot entered the gate of the Great Stupa, occasionally listening to the chanting of the Pali sutras emanating from the loudspeakers, I felt an indescribable emotion in my heart- an atmosphere of sacredness, mystery, and majesty pervades Bodh Gaya."

"I respectfully folded my hands and saluted the Great Stupa facing me. As I started walking toward the steps leading to the Great Stupa, I felt there was an invisible power that affected my consciousness. It affected my every step. Every step I took was like an electric current being transmitted to my body, making my whole body vibrate strangely. A spiritual force at the place of Buddha's enlightenment acted on my body and mind. At that time, I felt I am just a tiny human being before that spiritual power. It is strange that being under the influence of this spiritual power and the majesty of the Great Stupa, my heart felt peaceful and reverent, and I felt all my fears going away," she said.

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Bodh Gaya is one of the holiest sites for Buddhists - Times of Oman

Hardly paid attention to for two decades, Archaeological Survey of India has now taken up conservation work at this important Buddhist site near Kalaburagi

Hardly paid attention to for two decades, Archaeological Survey of India has now taken up conservation work at this important Buddhist site near Kalaburagi

Left almost unattended to for 20 years after it came to light through the excavation by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) between 1994 and 2001, the ancient Buddhist site on the bank of Bhima river near Kanaganahalli (forming part of Sannati site) in Kalaburagi district, has finally got some attention.

The ASI has now come up with a plan for the conservation of the site at a cost of 3.5 crore and work has just begun. ASI Regional Director (South) D. Maheshwari and Circle Superintendent (Hampi) Nikhil Das are camping at the site monitoring work.

Till now, some items of antiquity found during excavation were kept in three tin sheds in the same site, while many remained scattered in the open.

The conservation project taken up now envisages the resetting of the remains of Maha Stupa retrieved in the excavation to their original positions without much ornamentation and reconstructing of fallen portions of the Ayaka platforms using newly-fabricated bricks of the same size, shape and texture.

The stupa was built with locally available limestone. Most of the dome slabs, drum slabs, inscribed sculptures and other structural remains were in a broken state when they were retrieved. We will start with the removal of core filling from the drum portion and then proceed to reset stone blocks to their original position. Once the consolidation of the entire stupa is done, we will go for railings and other peripheral work, Mr. Das told The Hindu.

It is a long-term project that may take 2-3 years. There had been conservation attempts in the past too. Some of them failed and some others were not sustained, Mr. Das added.

The conservation work under way at the Kanaganahalli ASI site near Sannati in Chittapur taluk of Kalaburagi district on Thursday.| Photo Credit: ARUN KULKARNI

Sannati and Kanaganahalli were small and ordinary villages on the bank of Bhima till 1986 when the Kali temple at the Chandralamba temple complex in Sannati collapsed. In the process of clearing the debris, they discovered an Ashokan edict which put the villages on the world map and opened new avenues of historical research on Mauryan Emperor Ashoka and Buddhism in its early years. It prompted the ASI excavations at Sannati and nearby Kanaganahalli and attracted historians across India and beyond.

The Kanaganahalli excavation opened up many marvels an abandoned well in the eyes of local villagers turned out to be the magnificent Maha Stupa, which was referred to as Adholoka Maha Chaitya (the Great Stupa of the netherworlds) in the inscriptions and, more significantly, the stone-portrait of Emperor Ashoka, surrounded by his queens and female attendants. While the Stupa is believed to be one of the largest of its time, the stone-portrait is considered to be the only surviving image of the Mauryan Emperor which had the inscription Raya Asoko in Brahmi on it. This image of Ashoka is currently in one of the tin sheds. It was only six months ago that this historically significant find got a glass cover.

The Maha Stupa is believed to have been developed in three constructional phases Maurya, Early Satavahana and Later Satavahana periods stretching from 3rd Century B.C. to 3rd Century A.D. The Stupa is believed to have been destroyed in an earthquake.

The recoveries included around 60 dome slabs with the sculptural rendering of Jataka stories, Portrait of Ashoka, Shatavahana monarchs and certain unique depictions of Buddhist missionaries sent by Ashoka to different parts; 72 drum-slabs decorated with a variety of Dharma-Chakras, Stupas, the first sermon, Bodhi-tree, Naga Muchulinda, Viihara complexes; over 10 inscribed sculptures of the Buddha, over a dozen Buddha-Padas; fragments of Ayaka pillars, umbrella stones and shafts, parts of sculptures of Yakshas and lion and 250 Brahmi inscriptions with varied paleographical features.

Ms. Maheshwari says that a lot of work is yet to be done to explore the hidden historical treasures in and around Sannati, which was Ranamandal about 2000 years ago.

The Karnataka government has given 25 acres of land which included the excavated area. The remaining area is to be used for developing tourist amenities. At present, our priority is to restore the Maha Stupa to its original position. After that, we can think of excavating other sites and connecting them into a storyline, she said.

The ASI site in Sannati is worth being a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We are preparing a detailed report on the historical importance of the site to submit to UNESCO. It is a long procedure, Mr. Das said.

However, as of now, there are not even well-developed roads to Sannati and Kanaganahalli which have the potential of attracting tourists from all over the world, especially from countries with sizable Buddhist populations like China, Thailand, Japan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Barring a few occasions of visits by a handful of research scholars, historians and enthusiasts, the ASI site wears a deserted look throughout the year with armed guards at its gate.

There were also plans to preserve the historically precious finds at Sannati safe in a museum and develop the area into a major tourist and pilgrimage destination. The State government established Sannati Development Authority for the purpose.

Through Housing Board, it also built a museum building, dormitories, staff quarters and a compound wall around the 18-acre plot at a cost of 3.52 crores near the excavated site in 2009. However, things did not move forward as per plans. The museum building has not been handed over to ASI even 10 years after its construction. Abandoned for a long time without any maintenance, the building has developed cracks and the entire premise turned out to be a wasteland full of weeds and thorny bushes.

The ASI was ready to take the museum building into its fold and keep the excavated antiquities there. But, the State government did not hand it over to ASI. But now, we dont need it as we have planned the resetting of Maha Stupa and placing all the excavated antiquities in their original positions, said ASI Circle Superintendent (Hampi) Nikhil Das.

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Sannati: Ancient Buddhist site finally in focus after 20 years - The Hindu

If I had to describe the literary style of the manga artist Tatsuki Fujimoto in one word, it would be Genuine. His famous serialized manga Chainsaw Man has been taking the world by storm for some time now, but his serialized One-Shots (One Chapter Manga Works) are equally impressive in a different way, and each of them feels like they contain a hint of the true him, the genuine Fujimoto, and his new work Just listen to this song is no different.

Look Back, published on Shueishas Manga+ service in July 2021, has a strong message about Fujimotos growth as an artist, while Goodbye, Eri, published in February this year, was more about the author coming to terms with his own family, life, and the inevitability of death that rules over everything. Just listen to this song, released earlier this month, continues the trend of the author speaking from his own heart to the readers. This time, however, he is sending a clear message about the reception of the fans to online stories and media, among other themes that are worth exploring.

The start of the story is simple and cliched enough. A high-schooler who loves playing guitar is trying to win the heart of his crush by playing a song, and recording it on video for her to watch. He would have landed a hit if it werent for him uploading the video to Youtube, causing himself to become mocked by the entire school, and later the whole country and the world itself. Furthermore, he got turned down very harshly by the same girl he was infatuated with.

The boy had one simple wish, as he stated in the video: Let these feelings in my heart be understood, by the one who I love best. Nevertheless, no one really understood his true intentions. Everyone in the world saw the video differently, and perceived it as a form of political or religious criticism, among other outrageous claims. The boy got disheartened and quickly wanted to delete it. Despite that, he held back after someone warned him not to, saying Form Is emptiness.

He could not quite grasp the meaning of these words, but regardless, he composed himself and uploaded a second song, this time called: Just Listen to This Song. Even though this one contained his true and genuine feelings, no one bothered to watch it, and it was universally ignored. He later gave up and deleted all his videos. Yet still, the ending sends a warm message that if a feeling is truly from the heart, it will resonate with the heartstrings of the one its aimed at.

There is a lot to dissect from this story about modern trending topics and how they are perceived, and what the author wanted to say by writing it.

Modern communication is a wonder. There are a lot of barriers that could prevent you from understanding the true meaning of things. Whenever a new book or a movie is released, you are bound to find endless discussions and theories about what the creator was truly aiming for. The death of the author is a recurring daily subject when trying to appreciate fiction.

Most of Fujimotos works are surreal and symbolic, thats why they always spark a discussion about what could be the true essence of his stories. At first glance, you can feel that he is using Just Listen to This Song to call out his fans. The ones that are invested in figuring out deep meanings and messages behind his works, and boast about their superior intellect. In reality, and with reflections from his earlier works such as Goodbye, Eri and Look Back, he has always been just getting by, trying to be himself, and having fun. Nothing more.

But this latest manga suggests that the author is at a stage in life where he is satisfied with the conclusions he reached, the peace of mind he has longed for. He wants to inspire other readers to feel and do the same; to be true to themselves, and never have doubts when they are doing the things they love. Thats why Just Listen to This Song was not only about the boys feelings, but also about his own hesitation.

Its easy to miss the true significance of the advice the boy got from another school girl when he was confused about what to do after the video went viral. She said these words: Form is Emptiness. This is actually a direct reference to the Heart Sutra, a popular sutra in Buddhism. It does not mean that you should relinquish the constraints of form to reach the state of emptiness, but describes Form itself as emptiness.

Lets say you want to define something as good or bad. The mental process of doing that depends on you distinguishing that something between what it is and what it is not. If you like a color, its because there are colors you dont like. If a certain smell evokes good memories, itll be different from the smells of other things that you associate with bad memories. In other words, we put things in pre-established forms to define them, according to our fixed self-identity and how we define things.

We ignore their own individual nature because we inherently discriminate against the things we are not familiar with. Happiness in our minds is tied to a specific form. That form has to have specific logic and connections, but thats not necessarily true. Buddha calls this the reason for humanitys suffering. The boys suffering was because he was fixated on his preconceived notion of how his confession should have gone. Other peoples confusion is also tied to the form they chose to apply to the video he uploaded, with that form changing as the trend kept going.

The origin of suffering was that the boy didnt want things to change. He was afraid of that change. Emptiness on the other hand, does not refer to a space or a void in space, but to the true nature of all things. That there is nothing in this world that doesnt have a single fixated existence. Everything is in constant change. Therefore, its wrong to assume happiness will come if abstract things are given form, or even if we reject form for emptiness as the better truth of the world. Happiness will only come if we accept both form and emptiness as one unified reality.

Once the boy decided to upload his video on Youtube, he should have accepted immediately that his confession will take any form in peoples minds and thats okay. At the same time, he should have not waited for his feelings to reach the girl, but instead for the girl herself to perceive his love in her own way. Then after that, she would decide to accept his love, in whatever form it may take. Even the word Cringy which she used to describe his confession, was used again towards the end in a different context, showing that even her own perception of what is Cringy, has changed over time.

Of course, all that is just my perception (my form) of what could Fujimoto have wanted to say through his new one-shot Just Listen to This Song. Our interpretations of Fujimotos works will also keep changing as he releases more serialized manga and one-shots. Thats fine though, because form is emptiness after all.

Just Listen to This Song is now available to read for free on VIZ Medias partner website MANGA Plus by SHUEISHA.

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Tatsuki Fujimotos Just Listen To This Song Is A Lesson In Love And Buddhism - DualShockers

A video on an ancient Buddhist city, Mes Aynak, which was once a vast city organised around the extraction and trade of copper.

A video on an ancient Buddhist city, Mes Aynak, which was once a vast city organised around the extraction and trade of copper.

This ancient Buddhist city, Mes Aynak, was carved out of immense peaks near Kabul in Afghanistan

Believed to be between 1,000 and 2,000 years old, it was once a vast city organised around the extraction and trade of copper.

Mes Aynak, in the Logar province, has been compared to Pompeii and Machu Picchu in size and significance.But, it is in danger of disappearing.

A Chinese consortium has been looking to exploit one of the worlds largest copper deposits.

This has worried archaeologists, who over the years have unearthed Buddhist monasteries, stupas, fortresses, buildings statues, frescoes, ceramics, and more.

They fear mining operations would destroy all remaining gems waiting to be discovered

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Watch | Why is this ancient Buddhist city near Kabul in danger of disappearing? - The Hindu

What happened in East Turkestan is being replicated in the Tibet Autonomous Region at an accelerating pace.

by Tenzin Tsultrim

The revelation of a cache of files containing thousands of sensitive images and classified speeches of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leaders further confirms the veracity of Chinas crackdown on the identity and the culture of Uyghur and Turkic peoples. However, in the past, the Party-state hasdenied the existenceof transformation through education camps in East Turkestan (Ch: Xinjiang).

Like Xinjiang, Tibet is another region where after the 2008 mass uprising, the Party-state has long accelerated its plan for the enforced assimilation of Tibetan people. Since 2009, the repressive policies resulted in theself-immolations of around 158 Tibetans.Despite the spate of self-immolations, the CCP has continuouslydenied human rights violations in Tibet.

In the past few months, the self-immolations of a popular Tibetan singer, Tsewang Norbu, and an elderly Tibetan, Taphun, reminded us that nothing has changed in Tibet. These self-immolators come from different backgrounds and age groups. Some were as young as 16-year-old and the recent self-immolator Taphun from Ngaba was 81-year-old. This indicates that the repressive policies of the Party-state have engulfed every section of Tibetan society. For instance, the commentary by Dolma Tsering has systematically described thecauses for the composition of different age groupsamong the self-immolators. For the past few years,the Party-state has initiated a renewed crackdown on Tibetan culture, particularly on Tibetan Buddhism and the Tibetan language.

For the past few months, numerous reports highlighted deteriorating human rights violations and increasing repression in Tibet. For instance, according to the 2021annual reportof the U.S. Central Executive Commission on China (CECC), The Party and government continued to restrict, and seek to control, the religious practices of Tibetans. Officials in Tibetan areas of China continued to enforce restrictions on religious observance or expression of faith, including prohibiting individuals from participating in religious events or celebrating holidays.

For the past several years,Tibet scored only one out of 100 in the global freedom rankings,and the Freedom House 2021 report tied Tibet with Syria as the least-free territories in the world. The report further concluded that, The governments efforts to Sinicize Tibetan Buddhism have accelerated in recent years, with officials requiring Tibetan Buddhist clergy and lay believers to pledge their loyalty to the CCP and socialism above their religious beliefs, to denounce the Dalai Lama, and attend increasingly long political education sessions.

Tibet Action Institutes reportreleased on 7 December 2021 further confirms the Party-state intentions to eradicate Tibetan identity and further assimilate the Tibetan people. The report highlights that the Tibetan students are at risk of losing their mother tongue and connection to their cultural identity because1) Classes are primarily taught in Chinese.2) They live apart from their families and communities and are, therefore, unable to practice their religion or access the most authentic expressions of Tibetan culture and traditions.

All these coercive and assimilationist measures implemented by China in Tibet require a very large amount of expenditure, and this is reflected in Chinas oversized budget for maintaining internal security.

There is no doubt that the source of intensive coercive measures in Tibet and Xinjiang is high domestic security spending by China. For instance,Adrian Zenz found thatDuring Xi Jinpings term from 2013 to 2017, Chinas domestic security spending grew 34 percent faster than total spending. In particular, security-related expenditures in sensitive regions such as Xinjiang and Tibet have risen so rapidly that they now exceed the United States average on a per capita PPP basis.

Before becoming the Party Secretary of Xinjiang, for around five years Chen Quanguo, the mastermind behind the grid-style social management, was the Party Secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region and the person who successfully laid the groundwork for the current planned implementation of thethree-dimensional security measures in Tibet,as in the 14thFive-Year Plan 2021-2025. This involves what they call rule of law, specialized, and intelligent measures to maintain public order by combining the efforts of both professionals and the people for preventing and controlling crimes through public participation.

For instance,during a meeting in March 2017, Xinjiang governments were required to practice the Fengqiao experience, which is one of the parts of three-dimensional security measures, also known as Double Family Defense Stability Maintenance in Xinjiang. Hence, it is no surprise that during Chen Quanguos term as the Party Secretary in Xinjiang from 2016 to 2021 the so-called Fengqiao experience was introduced. The Fengqiao experience is the process of mobilizing the masses in order to strengthen the dictatorship over class enemies.

In Tibet too, it was during Chen Quanguo that the Fengqiao experience came in the form of Double-Linked Households. In short, what happened in East Turkestan (Ch: Xinjiang), is happening in Tibet and whathappened in Tibet, is happening in East Turkestan.

From the current developments in Tibet, it appears that the Party-state is implementing exactly what it has planned in 14thFive-Year-Plan. For instance, with the introduction of new regulations such as Measures for the Administration of Internet Religious Information Services, released on 20 December 2021 and came into force on March 1, 2022, exactly a year after the 14thFive-Year-Plan was officially endorsed by the National Peoples Congress on March 11, 2021. The regulation banned all foreign organizations and individuals from spreading religious content online in China.

One reason for the acceleration of the Sinicization of Tibetan Buddhism is to fully control every nook and corner before the Party-state implements its grand plan in Tibet. The conclusions offered by the different reports further confirm that the situation in Tibet is further deteriorating with the implementation of repressive policies specifically aimed at eliminating Tibetan culture and Tibetan Buddhism. For instance, in the 2021 Shigatse Municipal government work report,the implementation of the Fengqiao experience and Sinicization of Tibetan Buddhism was encouraged.On the Dingri government website too,there is a mention of taking a major survey among the Tibetan people focusing on the stability, development, ecology and strengthening of the border.

The leaked Chinese police records are a strong reminder that the Party-state has taken every measure to suppress the Uyghur population and it is a matter of time before Chinas iron curtain over Tibet will also be lifted. After all, the Party-state has skeletons in all its cupboards.

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Is Tibet Finally Going the Way of Xinjiang? - Bitter Winter

Lions Roar associate editor Mariana Restrepo talks to award-winning novelist, poet, and essayist Erika L. Snchez about her Buddhist practice and its impact on her new memoir, Crying In the Bathroom.

Erika L. Snchez, author of Crying in the Bathroom.

There isnt just one way to talk about what it is like growing Latinx in America. The Latinx experience is complex and multifaceted. No matter how different our experiences may be, there are many commonalities shared. For instance, the sense of not fully belonging, I believe, is a central experience that we share in common. As immigrants, and children of immigrants, we are caught in this in-between space in terms of identity. Never being quite American enough in our new environment, and surprisingly, not being Latinx enoughColombian enough in my caseto our families and friends back home. No matter what context we find ourselves in, there is an underlying sense of being an outsider, not quite fitting in. In a way, Erika L. Snchezs new memoir, Crying in the Bathroom, is for all the misfits who, like her, never quite fit in anywhere. Erika L. Snchez is an award-winning novelist, poet, essayist, and author of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, a New York Times Best Seller, and a National Book Awards finalist.

Snchezs new book is a collection of personal essays where no topic is off-limits. Snchez talks about what it was like growing up as the daughter of Mexican immigrants in Chicago in the 90s. She talks about the obstacles and challenges she faced and how they have influenced her throughout her life. Sex, spirituality, abortion, mental illness, and depression are just some of the topics that Erika discusses with a self-awareness that doesnt hold back. While her experiences are deeply personal, the way she skillfully talks about them in her essays has a universal quality, making them accessible and relatable to the reader. The genuineness, humor, and wit woven throughout her writing will make you feel as if you are talking to her for hours, catching up with a long-lost friend.

Throughout her memoir, Snchez also reflects on her relationship with her mother and how it shaped heras a daughter and the mother she will become. Ultimately, Crying in the Bathroom is a brutally honest and insightful love letter to her daughter. It is an invitation to know her in a deeply intimate way in which she never knew her own mother.

I sat down with Erika to talk about her new book, her Buddhist practice, and how Buddhism has influenced her as a writer.

Mariana Restrepo

Mariana Restrepo: Why did you write this book? What was the question that you were trying to answer?

Erika L. Snchez: I never planned on it. Nonfiction never occurred to me until someone asked me to write for an anthology on ambition, so I wrote Crying in the Bathroom. I wanted to write essays about things that I cared about; things that were personal, political, the macrocosm, the microcosm, all of it. I wanted to write a collection of essays that spoke to women like me. Women who never fit in anywhere, women who were weirdos in their families, women who have been trying to find a way to exist in this world that is so hostile toward us and so many other people as well. I wanted to speak to young women and perhaps change their trajectories. I wrote the book I wish I had read when I was coming of age and trying to figure out my life and place in the world.

You describe yourself as a perfectionist with impossibly high standards and expectations of yourself. How did that affect the process of writing a memoir, where you exposed all aspects of your life, confessing all your failures and shortcomings for everyone to read. Did that hold you back?

I couldnt have written that right after my depression. It wouldve been a terrible essay. But after a while, I was able to see the situation very clearly. It was cathartic emotionally; it hurt. But thats what catharsis is. It is a painful purging. I also really enjoyed turning this horrible experience into something beautiful. Poetry taught me to find beauty in the ugly, and Buddhism too. Buddhism and poetry are in line with one another. At first, I just expelled it, then I had to rewrite it. I lost count of how many times I did that.

You often talk about how Buddhist concepts, such as changing poison into medicine, are relevant in your writing, particularly in your poetry. Could you talk more about this and what changing poison into medicine means for you and your writing?

I think a lot about karma and how Ive been given this life. I am this person who descends from many people who have been very disenfranchised. The women in my family never had hardly any choices. Im the first one born here in the United States. And so my life is so ripe for opportunity in some ways. I never wouldve thrived in Mexico the way Ive thrived here. I always think about how arbitrary that is. Here I am, born in a place that makes me so lucky. But also not so lucky in the fact that my relationship with my parents is complicated and difficult.

We were poor, we experienced racism, and I have a mental illness I felt that I had to do something with all of that. I was the first woman in my family to have an educationMy mom only has a sixth-grade education. My grandmothers didnt go to school at all. I feel it is my job to take those stories and turn them into something that people will feel seen by and feel connected to. It makes all the suffering have meaning. You can find wisdom in that. When I do that in my writing, it feels really good to process so much of my reality, my karma, and then turn it into something that can possibly liberate or heal people.

Crying in the Bathroom, by Erika L. Sanchez. (Viking). On sale July 12, 2022.

Your book discusses how Buddhism has allowed you to come to terms with your self, living life on your own terms and living your truth. What does it mean for you to live your truth?

Thats a good question. Its a big answer, and the easiest way to approach it is to talk about what Ive always wanted for myself as a girl, as a woman. Ive always wanted to belong to myself first. I didnt want to get married and just be someones wife. I didnt want just to be someones mother. I wanted to learn, and I wanted to challenge. I was always a person who challenged the status quo, gender roles, and injustices in different forms. I felt angry about many things because we were living in a so-called democracy, but it doesnt feel that way. And so, all I wanted was to have a dignified existence, not have to rely upon a man. I never wanted to be at the whims of a man, that scared me, and Ive seen it, and its awful. I wanted to be a thinker, a writer, and a traveler. I wanted to make decisions about my own body, the way that I wanted to do whatever I wanted to do. That hasnt changed for me. I still just want to be free. And to me, being free means making choices, having choices, first of all, because a lot of us at certain times dont.

Did becoming Buddhist bring about a shift in perspective?

It shifted everything for me. It made me realize so much that I hadnt confronted. The image of the mirror, the polishing of the mirror, comes to mind immediately because as soon as I started practicing, I was like, Oh, Im not really in love with my husband. I better change something because this does not align with who I am. Buddhism has had me question many things in my life, and I had to make some tough choices. I chose to leave my marriage, live by myself, and pursue this writing career, no matter what, because I knew that was my calling. It clarified things for me, things that I had been lying to myself about.

In your book, you talk about how you tried out different forms of Buddhism when you first encountered itfirst at a Tibetan Center, then at a Nichiren Center. Can you talk about that process?

I had always been so intrigued by Buddhism because, as a young person, I had a lot of inner turmoil, and I didnt know how to address it; I didnt know what to do with myself. Buddhism was perhaps this sort of far-away solution, but I never really pursued it until I was older. In my twenties, I went to a Tibetan temple but didnt feel comfortable there; I wasnt connecting to the dharma. It was so esoteric that I couldnt feel anything about it. It wasnt until I was introduced to Nichiren Buddhism by a good friend of mine. He was so joyful, authentic, wonderful, and intelligent. There was something about him that I really liked and felt inspired by.

At the time, I entered one of the worst depressions of my life. As I emerged from that, I started going to these meetings where people would chant together. The way that people had such camaraderie was beautiful.

When I read The Buddha in Your Mirror, the teachings were so clear. That was the book that really did it for me. Everything made sense to mecause and effect, karma, being kind, all the things that seem so obvious but are notit all clicked. That book really solidified things for me. A stranger bought it for me at the centers gift store. He was just like, You need to get this book because youre new and Im gonna buy it for you And he was right, I needed it.

What does your practice look like nowadays?

Im pretty lax right now. Im being really patient with myself and not getting mad at myself for not always chanting. I also hold all the teachings in my heart.

Thinking about impermanence has made my life so much easier. Thats something that I had always struggled with, to really accept that life is always changing, and nothing is certain. Now, with that deep understanding, I feel my life is much better, and I have less anxiety.

Has your understanding of Buddhism and your practice changed since becoming a mother?

I see how important it is to change karma. I dont want to pass on burdens or traumas to my child because its really unfair. I feel like its my responsibility to do the work all the time so that she has a happy life and so that I can be a good mother. In that way, it makes me more cognizant of the consequences that my trauma might have on her if I dont address all of it.

What was your parents reaction when you converted to Buddhism, and how has it affected your relationship with your parents and family?

They didnt fight me on it that much at all. They knew I would do what I was going to do. I had already rejected Catholicism, and they were mortified but just had to accept it. When I became Buddhist, my mom was excited because she thought it might help my depression and anxiety, and it did. Now she even occasionally asks if Im still chanting.

How does Buddhism influence your work and creative process?

It makes me pay attention. It makes me more mindful of what is around me. Im always looking for things that are beautiful or unusual or strange. I think that Buddhism, the practice of having to stop and reflect all the time, is great for paying attention to things that perhaps you wouldnt otherwise notice. Mindfulness is important to me as an artist. With it, I absorb the world and let myself be moved by it. Transforming poison into medicine is what I do with terrible experiences. My suffering is turned into art. My suffering has become books that people read, that people feel seen by, that people love.

The interrelatedness of all things is something Ive thought about a lot as a poet. When I read The Buddha in Your Mirror and started to understand the concept of everything being interrelated, it made sense to me because I had already thought about that for so long. Many different layers of the practice have helped me develop as an artist.

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Crying in the Bathroom: A Q&A with Author Erika L. Sanchez - Lion's Roar

Vassa in English is often glossed as Rain Retreat or Buddhist Lent, a yearly retreat for three months. Vassa is majorly practised byTheravada, Buddhism's oldest existing school. The three months are identified by the Lunar Calendar and take place during the rainy season. It usually starts in July and lasts till October. Vassa 2022 will begin on Thursday, 14 July and end on Monday, 10 October. During the spiritual retreat, the monastics remain at one place that can be either their monastery or temple ground and adopt ascetic practices.The Vassa retreat is timed to coincide with the monsoon rains of India and Southeast Asia. In Thailand, people observe "Khao Phansa" and "Wan Ok Phansa" as the first and last day of Vassa when the sale of alcohol is prohibited. This article will give you insight into monks' intimate ways of deepening powers of concentration and wisdom.Asalha Puja or Dhamma Day 2022 Date & Significance: Know Lord Buddha's Four Noble Truths, History, Rituals of Asanha Bucha Falling on Ashadha Purnima.

Earlier the Buddhist monks and nuns did not live in monasteries. There was a tradition of wandering mendicant holy men who survived in forests. Lord Buddha and his disciples followed this custom and travelled in groups from one village to another. They offered teachings, received alms, and sleptbeneath the boughs of trees. But as the downpour makes moving hard, people now prefer monasteries or temple grounds to observe Vassa.

Vassa begins on the first day of the waning moon of the eighth lunar month, the day after Asalha Puja or Dhamma Day, and ends on Pavarana Day. The Theravada schooladherents have stuck by and followed the teachings of Gautam Buddha inthe Pali Canon for over a millennium.The Vassa retreat is timed to coincide with the monsoon rains of India and Southeast Asia.During the Rain Retreats, many Mahayana Buddhist monastic rituals have periodicretreats or intensive practices observed at different levels. Both men and women participated in Vassa during the Lord Buddha's era. In the present-day scenario, monks dedicate Vassa by performing meditation. Then some Buddhists adopt more ascetic approaches, such as giving up non-veg, alcohol, or smoking.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 12, 2022 01:51 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).

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Vassa 2022 Start & End Date: What Is Buddhist Lent? Know History, Significance and Practices of the - LatestLY

Due to tightening of noose on China after Ukraine war by West led by the USA, now China wouldnt mindspilling blood for protecting its vital interests (ii)- Whatever is happening in Tamil Nadu (where demand for separation from India is raised) and Sri Lanka is not mere coincidence rather China is exploiting it for removing its major choke-point (iii)-China may try alliance of Islam & Buddhism to remove its major choke-point in Sri Lanka - South India region (iv)- USA facing major strategic challenge post World War - II which will crucially influence the outcome of Cold war - II between liberal Western democracy v/s 'authoritarian Chinese democracy

-The USA should understand that as per Japanese political commentators (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaYCBZ-mH1o ) former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated by the Chinese Communist Party (because Abe allegedly had been consistently working for tilting US-policies against illegitimate economic / trade interests of China). Hence if now China has decided to protect its perceived vital interest by going to such an extent (as allegedly is the case of Abe) then what China will not do to remove the major choke-point in Sri Lanka - South India region, is anybody's guess.

The region of Sri Lanka and South India is the major choke point for China's vital sea route / trade and India has always considered it as the main military leverage against China. Hence it does not require a genius of strategic / military affairs to understand that what huge amount of efforts & resources China will put (i)- For separating Tamil Nadu (and some parts of South India) from India and (ii)- For bringing Sri Lanka under its strategic influence by using not merely money but Buddhism too - (In both cases, even some Buddhists of India may also help China).

The Jainism and Buddhism were major religions in Tamil Nadu up to 7th century A.D and then they were replaced by Hinduism even by mass scale killings (especially of religious leaders) and destruction of religious places (as mentioned also at https://karthiknavayan.wordpress.com/2012/06/27/ow-the-buddhists-and-jains-were-persecuted-in-ancient-india/) . Jainism is irrelevant (due to the fact that Jainism is neither the religion of majority nor the dominant institutionalized religion in any country hence Jains dont have the sanctioned coercive power of military or police under their governments) but the position of Buddhism is different. Hence one should not be surprised if Buddhism tries to come back to Tamil Nadu (and even in other parts of South India) in a major way with the support of China which would gladly support it for removing its said major choke-point in Sri Lanka - South India region.

At international level only when interests of powerful countries are involved then only wars or other developments take place which change the military & strategic scenario of the world or a region. Now when word power China is extremely interested in the Sri Lanka - South India region which has itsmajor-choke point then China will go to any length (in order to remove this choke-point by militarily separating Tamil Nadu & some other parts of South India from India ) especially when India (as per China) is working against Chinese interests through US-led QUAD.

This grave situation becomes doubly scary for India if (in the interest of removing its said choke-point) China uses willing Pakistan to simultaneously snatch at least Muslim Kashmir (if not entire J&K) militarily from India with the help of China [Pakistan is already under pressure from Islam (and from militant Jihadis who have given lot of lives and blood for Kashmir) and Pakistan itself is pining to separate Kashmir from India militarily as a revenge of 1971 when India militarily created Bangladesh]. In order to achieve their objectives not only governments of China & Pakistan but Islam in Kashmir and Buddhism in Tamil Nadu can make an alliance to simultaneously dismember India from North and South.

One need not shed tears if Hinduism is replaced by Buddhism in Tamil Nadu or in other parts of India on a considerable scale but in this age of human-rights friendly global order it should not happen through violence. Therefore the USA should ensure that instead of being complacent, the Government of India immediately addresses two issues of federalism and language so that any danger (however small that may be) of separation of Tamil Nadu from India can be eliminated effectively and quickly ( as mentioned at:-

https://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/opinion-details/4033 ) especially in view of:-

(i)- Disturbing political developments in Buddhist majority Sri Lanka which during LTTE (Hindus) episode has burnt its fingers with Hindu majority India hence may come under influence of China because Buddhism is the largest institutionalized religion of China) and

(ii)- LTTE episode due to which the Hindu Tamils both in Sri Lanka and India have complaints against the Government of India dominated by North Indians. USA should know, China would do any thing (even by alliance of Islam & Buddhism) to remove its major choke-point in SWhatever is happening in Tamil Nadu (where demand for separation from India is raised) and Sri Lanka is not mere coincidence rather China is exploiting it for removing its major choke-point (ii)-

USA facing major strategic challenge post World War - II which will crucially influence the outcome of Cold war - II between liberal Western democracy v/s 'authoritarian Chinese democracy.

The region of Sri Lanka and South India is the major choke point for China's vital sea route / trade and India has always considered it as the main military leverage against China. Hence it is anybodys guess what huge amount of efforts & resources China will put (i)- For separating Tamil Nadu (and some parts of South India) from India and (ii)- For bringing Sri Lanka under its strategic influence by using not merely money but Buddhism too - (In both, even some Buddhists of India may also help China).

The Jainism and Buddhism were major religions in Tamil Nadu up to 7th century A.D and then they were replaced by Hinduism even by mass scale killings (especially of religious leaders) and destruction of religious places (as mentioned also at https://karthiknavayan.wordpress.com/2012/06/27/ow-the-buddhists-and-jains-were-persecuted-in-ancient-india/) . Jainism is irrelevant (due to the fact that Jainism is neither the religion of majority nor the dominant institutionalized religion in any country hence Jains dont have military or police under their governments) but the position of Buddhism is different. Hence one should not be surprised if Buddhism tries to come back to Tamil Nadu (and even in other parts of South India) in a major way with the support of China which would gladly support it for removing its said major choke-point in Sri Lanka - South India region.

At international level only when interests of powerful countries are involved then only wars or other developments take place which change the military & strategic scenario of the world or a region. Now when world power China is extremely interested in the Sri Lanka - South India region which has itsmajor-choke point then China will go to any length (in order to remove this choke-point by militarily separating Tamil Nadu & some other parts of South India from India ) especially when India (as per China) is working against Chinese interests through US-led QUAD.

This grave situation becomes doubly scary for India if (in the interest of removing its said choke-point) China uses willing Pakistan to simultaneously snatch at least Muslim Kashmir (if not entire J&K) militarily from India with the help of China [Pakistan is already under pressure from Islam (and from militant Jihadis who have given lot of lives and blood for Kashmir) and Pakistan itself is pining to separate Kashmir from India militarily as a revenge of 1971 when India militarily created Bangladesh]. In order to achieve their objectives not only governments of China & Pakistan but Islam in Kashmir and Buddhism in Tamil Nadu can make an alliance to simultaneously dismember India from North and South.

One need not shed tears if Hinduism is replaced by Buddhism in Tamil Nadu or in other parts of India on a considerable scale but in this age of human-rights friendly global order it should not happen through violence. Therefore the USA should ensure that instead of being complacent, the Government of India immediately addresses two issues of federalism and language so that any danger (however small that may be) of separation of Tamil Nadu from India can be eliminated effectively and quickly ( as mentioned at:-

https://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/opinion-details/4033 ) especially in view of:-

(i)- Disturbing political developments in Buddhist majority Sri Lanka which during LTTE (Hindus) episode has burnt its fingers with Hindu majority India hence may come under influence of China because Buddhism is the largest institutionalized religion of China) and

(ii)- LTTE episode due to which the Hindu Tamilians both in Sri Lanka and India have complaints against the Government of India dominated by North Indians

Read this article:

After Abe's assassination USA should know, China would do any thing to remove its major choke-point in Sri Lanka - South India region. By Hem Raj Jain...

Leh: On June 13, Chokyong Palga Rinpoche, an independent Buddhist monk, attempted, what he called was a peace march to Kargil from Mulbekh. His march was aimed at mobilising support for the construction of a Buddhist shrine in Kargil, which is a Muslim majority region.

The march began on May 31 in Leh. He planned to reach Kargil on June 14. However, the local administration stopped it at Mulbekh, sensing trouble.

For Rinpoche, it was easy to gain support from the locals in Mulbekh, which is predominantly a Buddhist majority area. Mulbekh is located 35 kilometres east of Kargil on the road to Leh.

Rinpoches march could indeed have stirred communal passions, because the monk has been raking up an old contentious issue regarding the establishment of a Gompa, a Buddhist shrine, in Kargil.

According to Rinpoche, in 1961, a piece of land was earmarked for the construction of a monastery in Kargil. However, local Muslims in Kargil say that no Buddhists resided in the town which is home to Imam Khomeini Memorial Trust (IKMT) and the Islamia School Kargil (ISK) making it difficult to maintain a monastery if established.

The 1961 order was amended in 1969 by the government and the land in question was earmarked for building residential or commercial complexes. The 1969 order also suggested that in no case should the site be used for any religious purpose.

Rinpoche has earlier blamed Kashmiri politics for rejecting the idea of having a Gompa in Kargil.

A poster released by Chokyong Palga Rinpoches supporters advertising the march from Leh to Kargil to press for the demand of a Buddhist shrine in Kargil.

He says his march was supported by the fact that Ladakh is now a Union territory and not under the control of any local Kashmiri politician.

The land, in spite of the 1969 order barring its religious use, was allotted to the Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA). The LBA has maintained that religious events had, in fact, been peacefully taking place at the site all along, and this year too.

Speaking to The Wire, Chhering Dorje Lakrook, former Bharatiya Janata Party leader and minister in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, says that it is for this reason that the sudden march appears politically motivated.

Lakrook, senior vice-president of the LBA, said the LBA has released statements calling on people to refrain from using irresponsible and provocative language regarding the issue.

Another organisation which is involved in ensuring that better sense prevails is the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA).

Also read: Six Years On, Social Boycott of Minority Community in Zanskar Continues

To resolve the matter amicably in a region with religious diversity, the KDA wrote to the Kargil district magistrate, also calling the monks march politically motivated with a clear intention of disturbing the communal harmony and peace in the area.

KDA member Sajjad Kargili believes that the kind of brotherhood that exists in Ladakh is precious and should be safeguarded.

Kargili says, We are negotiating with Ladakh Buddhist Association, the main stakeholder of the piece of land. Some people are deliberately trying to disturb our harmony and the ongoing dialogue. We are ready to amicably resolve the issue once and for all. We also wont allow anybody to gain political mileage out of this issue.

Commenting on how the locals saw the march, Sheikh Nazir Mehdi, president of Anjuman Jamiat Ulama Isna Asharia Kargil (AJUIAK), says that the political parade was given a religious colour. This whole exercise was only aimed at casting Muslims in a bad light. We have asked them ourselves as to whom they need the Gompa for when there is no Buddhist population here.

The Wire spoke to locals in Kargil as well as Leh to understand how residents in both the districts felt about the march being led in a way that the administration had to intervene to stop it.

Sonam Dadul, a practising Buddhist based in Leh, walks all the way to Mulbekh to worship at the two Gompas in the monastery there. Dadul (48) also went to Mulbekh with fellow believers on June 14, on the occasion of Purnima.

Worship in Buddhism is a very personal deed. Buddhism does not teach us to flamboyantly display our prayers. The padyatra was a movement, it cannot count as prayer, explains Dadul.

A Kargil local, Ghulam Raza, frequently travels to Leh for business. Raza believes that peaceful coexistence in Ladakh should be a source of inspiration for the rest of India, in times when communal tensions are ripping apart the country.

Kargil locals also said that no Buddhists live even within a 20-km radius of the site and that the current building there is a Buddhist guest house and must remain so.

Meanwhile, Rinpoche has been actively urging Buddhists to join him on his yatras to restore the temple at the site, on Facebook. He has also been accusing Lakrook and Thupstan Chewang, the president of the LBA, of overlooking Buddhist values in the name of demanding statehood from the Union government.

While the LBA has again repeated that Buddhist rituals are, in fact, performed at the said site, Rinpoche has doubled down on claims that prayers are not allowed at the site.

The monk has also claimed that the march was shorn of any political influence.

However, at a recent event in Leh, during his address, Union home minister Amit Shah sent out a message through Ladakhi MP Jamyang T. Namgyal that the issue of the monastery would be taken care of.

Read the original post:

'Clear Motive of Disturbing Peace': Kargil Residents Doubt Monk's Campaign for Monastery - The Wire

Wrapping AI in an impressive physical package can magnify the perceived impact of new technology. Doing so uses seductive optics.

The confusing of AI packaging with AI content was evident in media excitement about a Buddhist robot who delivers messages to the faithful. The worlds first sutra-chanting android deity, modeled after Kannon the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, was introduced to the public last week, the report reads. The robot can move its eyes, hands, and torso, make human-like gestures during its speech, and brings its hands together in prayer. A camera implanted in the left eye to focus on a subject gives the impression of eye contact.1

Technologically speaking, nothing special is happening here. The messages from the Buddhist robot are pre-recorded and not the product of AI. The mouth movements are synced to the recording. This technology dates back at least to the Disney Hall of Presidents, launched in 1971. All the US Presidents in Disneyland give presentations akin to the Buddhist robot. Their mouths move and they gesture. The technology, dubbed Audio-Animatronic, was trademarked by Disney in 1964.2

But the packaging and context made this robot seem special. Monks gathered at the robots opening ceremony and performed with chanting, bowing, drumming, and the ringing of bells. The robot, named Mindar, was designed to look like an androgynous human, with special features designed to evoke both feminine and masculine qualities. the plain facial features give room for visitors to use their own imagination in how theyd like the deity to appear.3

Sound familiar? Like seductive semantics, here we have seductive optics. The AI looks generally human, but also leaves space for people to impose their own preferences.

The media obsession with the Buddhist robot story is due to seductive optics.

Some of the panicky AI-will-take-over-the-world talk grows out of seductive optics that is, the AI packaging. Author and poet Diane Ackerman confesses, Artificial intelligence is growing up fast, as are robots whose facial expressions can elicit empathy and make your mirror neurons quiver.4

A factor contributing to fear of AI is the so-called Frankenstein Complex.5 The term, coined by science fiction writer Isaac Asimov6, originally described the fear of the mechanical man in science fiction of old. Frankenstein refers to Mary Shelleys 1818 novel Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. A young scientist, Dr. Victor Frankenstein, sews together dead body parts to create a monster. (In the book Frankenstein is the doctors last name, but today Frankensteins monster is often referred to as simply Frankenstein.)

Thomas Edison first put the story to film in a silent 1910 movie.

Some of us are familiar with Boris Karloffs depiction of the monster in the 1931 motion picture classic Frankenstein.7

Todays film monsters are typically a lot scarier than those depicted in 1930s movies with their clunky special effects. But even today, Karloffs Frankenstein monster makes ones skin crawl. The question is, why? After all, he moves clumsily in slow motion; even someone on crutches could avoid him. Hes tall, sure, but the smaller, fast-moving, hard-punching Mike Tyson could no doubt take him in the ring. The monster is less dangerous than a bobcat or alligator, yet we get chills just looking at Karloffs Frankenstein monster, and we dont when thinking about alligators or bobcats. Whats going on here?

The Frankenstein complex is explained by a related idea dubbed the uncanny valley.8 The hypothesis is named after a dip in a regression curve. For the most part, and all other things being equal, as an object comes to resemble a human more and more, our reaction to the object becomes increasingly positive. But if the likeness is a near miss, we experience the uncanny valley. Anything not human that appears very nearly human is scary.

The Frankenstein complex/uncanny valley contributes to fears of (and fascination with) AI. Consider the chatbot Sophia the Robot.9 Sophia has its own Facebook page10 and has been awarded citizenship in Saudi Arabia.11 Its speech is augmented by facial expressions using small feature changes akin to those used by cartoonists (which we will discuss in just a moment). Sophias human-like container, its seductive optics, has little to do with its chatbot AI. (If you want to brave the revenue-generating ads, there are many interesting videos of Sophia on YouTube.)

Sophia is bald and the back of its head is clear plastic that reveals electronics inside its head. The Frankenstein complex/uncanny valley reaction might diminish if Sophia wore a wig, or this might plunge the robot deeper into the uncanny valley, since it still wouldnt look fully human. I suspect AI optics will get better to the point of being visually indistinguishable from humans when not closely examined. Currently, though, seamless human form representation in robots is not well developed. Its close enough, however, that marketers of Sophia the Robot and other AI can grab our attention via the uncanny valley. Today more than ever the goal in promotion is to get the attention of the reader and the media. Making things look almost human and, therefore, a little creepy does this.

Here are all of the excerpts in order:

Why you are not and cannot be computable. A computer science prof explains in a new book that computer intelligence does not hold a candle to human intelligence. In this excerpt from his forthcoming book, Non-Computable You, Robert J. Marks shows why most human experience is not even computable.

The Software of the Gaps: An excerpt from Non-Computable You. In his just-published book, Robert J. Marks takes on claims that consciousness is emerging from AI and that we can upload our brains. He reminds us of the tale of the boy who dug through a pile of manure because he was sure that underneath all that poop, there MUST surely be a pony!

Marks: Artificial intelligence is no more creative than a pencil.You can use a pencil but the creativity comes from you. With AI, clever programmers can conceal that fact for a while. In this short excerpt from his new book, Non-Computable You, Robert J. Marks discusses the tricks that make you think chatbots are people.

Machines with minds? The Lovelace test vs. the Turing test. The answers computer programs give sometimes surprise me too but they always result from their programming. When it comes to assessing creativity (and therefore consciousness and humanness), the Lovelace test is much better than the Turing test.

Machines with minds? The Lovelace test vs. the Turing test The answers computer programs give sometimes surprise me too but they always result from their programming. When it comes to assessing creativity (and therefore consciousness and humanness), the Lovelace test is much better than the Turing test.

and

AI: The shadow of Frankenstein lurks in the Uncanny Valley. The fifth and final excerpt from Non-Computable You (2022), from Chapter 6, focuses on the scarier AI hype. Mary Shelleys Frankenstein monster (1808) wasnt strictly a robot. But she popularized the idea now AI hype of creating a human-like being in a lab.

Notes

1 Thisanka Siripala, An Ancient Japanese Shrine Debuts a Buddhist Robot, Diplomat, March 5, 2019.

2 Audio-Animatronics Trademark Details, Justia Trademarks.

3 Siripala, An Ancient Japanese Shrine.

4 Marr, Twenty-Eight Best Quotes.

5 Rushing, Janice Hocker, and Thomas S. Frentz,The Frankenstein Myth in Contemporary Cinema, Critical Studies in Media Communication 6, no. 1 (1989): 6180; Sam N. Lehman-Wilzig, Frankenstein Unbound: Towards a Legal Definition of Artificial Intelligence, Futures 13, no. 6 (1981): 442457.

6 Lee McCauley, The Frankenstein Complex and Asimovs Three Laws, Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, 2007.

7 To see a 1935 Universal Pictures promotional photo, visit Frankensteins Monster, Wikimedia Foundation.

8 Maya B. Mathur and David B. Reichling, Navigating a Social World with Robot Partners: A Quantitative Cartography of the Uncanny Valley, Cognition 146 (2016): 2232.

9 Sophia (Robot), Wikimedia Foundation, last modified October 12, 2021.

10 Sophia the Robot, Facebook.

11 Chris Weller, Meet the First-Ever Robot CitizenA Humanoid Named Sophia That Once Said It Would Destroy Humans, Business Insider, October 28, 2017.

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AI: The Shadow of Frankenstein Lurks in the Uncanny Valley - Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence