Tag: dependent origination

• Silicon Samsara: 5 Ancient Buddhist Concepts That Reveal the Truth About AI

  

  Introduction: The Ancient Code in the Modern Machine What could a 4th-century Buddhist philosophical school possibly have in common with 21st-century artificial intelligence? The connection seems absurd, yet the ancient principles of Yogācāra Buddhism provide a startlingly precise framework for understanding how Generative AI works, its most dangerous flaws, and the ethical crisis it has…

  William Altig

  December 20, 2025

  Research

  AI bias, AI ethics, AI hallucinations, AI liability, Alaya-vijnana, backpropagation, dependent origination, digital samsara, fiduciary duty in AI., generative AI philosophy, glue on pizza AI, Google AI fail, latent space, Mata v Avianca, model collapse, Moral Crumple Zone, perfuming the machine, Silicon Samsara, stochastic parrot, Storehouse Consciousness, Vasana, william altig, Yogacara Buddhism

• The Dewdrop and the Sea

  

  A stripped-down folk-blues meditation for anyone who’s ever felt the weight of the world on their shoulders. “The Dewdrop and the Sea” is a story about moving from the burnout of trying to fix everything to the quiet hope found in small, meaningful action. It’s a song about a simple truth: our individual acts of…

  William Altig

  October 16, 2025

  Chapter 25, music, The Great Teachings of the Lotus of the True Law

  acoustic, Acoustic Guitar, Avalokitesvara, Blues, Bodhisattva, Bodhisattva vow, buddhist music, Burnout, Compassion, compassion fatigue, Conscious Music, dependent origination, Dharma, Dharma music, Enlightenment, Folk Music, Harmonica, helplessness, hope, interconnectedness, kannon, karuna, Kuan Yin, Lotus Sutra, mahayana, meditation music, Mindfulness, original song, prajna, sacred music, Singer-Songwriter, spiritual folk, Spiritual Music, Suffering, The Dewdrop and the Sea, wisdom, zen

• 5 Surprising Lessons from an Ancient Bodhisattva on How to Face an Overwhelming World

  

  It is a deeply familiar weight in our modern age: we are confronted daily with a seemingly endless tide of global problems, and in the face of such overwhelming need, we feel crushingly inadequate. We look at the scale of what is necessary and, as one ancient text observes, come to “believe that we are…

  William Altig

  October 16, 2025

  Chapter 25, The Great Teachings of the Lotus of the True Law

  Abhaya, Amitabha Buddha, Anatta, Avalokitesvara, Bodhicitta, Bodhisattva, Bodhisattva vow, Buddhist Compassion, Buddhist deity, Buddhist Ethics, Buddhist iconography, Buddhist meditation, Buddhist Philosophy, Buddhist practice, Buddhist psychology, Buddhist Symbolism, Buddhist teachings, Buddhist vows, Buddhist Wisdom, Chapter 25 Lotus Sutra, Chenrezig, Chinese Buddhism, comparative religion, Compassion, compassionate action, dealing with suffering, dependent origination, East Asian Buddhism, emptiness, fearlessness, gender in Buddhism, Goddess of Mercy, Guanyin, helping others, interconnectedness, kannon, karuna, Kumarajiva, Lotus Sutra, Mahayana Buddhism, mindfulness practice, Non-self, oceanic vow, overcoming despair, prajna, pratityasamutpada, Pure Land Buddhism, religious studies, Shantideva, Skillful Means, spiritual hope, Spiritual Transformation, Sunyata, thousand-armed Avalokitesvara, Upaya, wisdom and compassion

• The Lotus Light of Non-Classification

  

  Beyond the walls of what is fixed and named, The Bodhisattva finds the quiet path. No “superior” or “inferior” is proclaimed, No vehicle to stoke the ego’s wrath. The ultimate truth is Ekayāna’s Single Flow, Where doctrines are but skillful, timely tools, And sectarian pride is simply seen to grow From clinging to the provisional, and not the rules. The Vihāra…

  William Altig

  October 1, 2025

  Chapter 14, poems, The Great Teachings of the Lotus of the True Law

  Anārambha-vihāra, Anātman, Aparigraha, Bodhisattva, dependent origination, Dharma Verse, Egolessness, Ekayāna, emptiness, Equanimity, Lotus Sutra, Mahāyāna Buddhism, Non-Classification, Non-Dual Perception, Non-Grasping, peaceful practices, prajñā, Pratītyasamutpāda, Single Vehicle, Spiritual Pride, Upekkhā, wisdom, Śūnyatā

• The Counter-Intuitive Path to Peace: A 2,000-Year-Old Guide to Not Judging the World

  

  When we think of peace, we often imagine a quiet room, a tranquil landscape, or a life free from conflict. We see it as an external condition—something to be found by arranging the world around us in a pleasing way. But what if this entire understanding is a misconception? A profound teaching from the ancient…

  William Altig

  October 1, 2025

  Chapter 14, The Great Teachings of the Lotus of the True Law

  Anārambha-vihāra, Anātman, Aparigraha, Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, Bodhisattva Practices, Brahmavihāras, Chapter 14, Craving, Curiosity, dependent origination, Doctrinal Hierarchy, Dogma, Domination, Egolessness, Ekayāna, emptiness, Equanimity, ethical conduct, Grasping, Happily Dwelling Conduct, Lotus Sūtra, Meditative Discipline, Metaphysical Status, Nirvāṇa, Non-Classification, Non-Clinging, Non-Dual Perception, peaceful practices, Phenomenal Classification, prajñā, Pratītyasamutpāda, Provisional Teachings, Saddharma Puṇḍarīka Sūtra, Samsāra, Samādhi, Single Vehicle, Skillful Means, Spiritual Pride, Taṇhā, three vehicles, triyāna, Understanding, Upekkhā, upāya, Vedanā, Vihāra of Practice, wisdom, Śūnyatā, Śīla

• 5 Ancient Buddhist Teachings from the Lotus Sūtra That Will Change How You See Reality

  

  For many, Buddhist enlightenment seems like a remote, almost unattainable goal. We picture it as the reward for a lifetime of monastic discipline, reserved for a select few who renounce the world. It feels like a distant peak, shrouded in mist, accessible only to the most dedicated spiritual athletes. The Lotus Sūtra, one of the…

  William Altig

  September 29, 2025

  Chapter 2, The Great Teachings of the Lotus of the True Law

  Arhatship, Bodhicitta, Bodhisattvayāna, Buddha’s Universal Vow, Buddha-nature, Chapter 16 “Life Span of the Thus Come One”, Chapter Two “Expedient Means”, Compassion (Karuṇā), Conventional Truth (Saṃvṛti-satya), daimoku, dependent origination, emptiness (śūnyatā), Eternal Buddha, human revolution, Inherent Potential, Knowledge that Separates, Knowledge that Unites, Lotus Sūtra, Mahāyāna Buddhism, Myōhō-renge-kyō, Nichiren School, One Vehicle (Ekayāna), Original Enlightenment (Hongaku), Parable of the Burning House, Parable of the Prodigal Son, Pratyekabuddhayāna, Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra, Skillful Means (Upāya-kauśalya), three thousand realms in a single moment of life, three vehicles, Tiantai School, Ultimate Truth (Paramārtha-satya), Universal Enlightenment, upāya, Wisdom (Prajñā), Śrāvakayāna

• The Protective Vow of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva in the Lotus Sutra: Context, Interpretations, and Contemporary Relevance

  

  Introduction: The Significance of Universal-Sage Bodhisattva’s Vow in the Lotus Sutra The Lotus Sutra, revered as a cornerstone of Mahayana Buddhism, articulates the profound principle of universal Buddhahood, asserting that all beings possess the inherent potential to attain enlightenment.1 Within this influential scripture, Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, also known as Samantabhadra, stands as an eminent figure embodying…

  William Altig

  May 4, 2025

  Chapter 28, The Great Teachings of the Lotus of the True Law

  Bodhisattva vow, Chapter Twenty-Eight, Compassion, defiled world, dependent origination, dharani, Enlightenment, later age, Latter Day of the Law, Lotus Sutra, Mahayana Buddhism, mantra, Mappo, Meditation, Nichiren Buddhism, practice, Pratītyasamutpāda, Saha world, Samantabhadra, sangha, Six Perfections, Universal-Sage Bodhisattva, vow of protection, wisdom