“What does it mean to be human in an age of intelligent machines?”

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our
power to choose the response. In our response lies our growth and
freedom” ~ Victor E. Frankl
“The most important thing is to remember the most important thing.” ~ Zen saying

Talk by Rev. Grace Song at the Won Dharma
Center (July 28, 2019)

Rev. Grace Song began her talk by asking, “What does it mean to be human in an age of intelligent machines and how can we avoid being dominated by these machines?”. Won Buddhism can suggest the answers.

The practice serves as a guide so that we can live our lives to the fullest in a changing environment. Machines do not have a mind. Machines cannot show compassion. They cannot love.

Won Buddhism teaches us how to use our minds well in our changing times. We learn that our practice is not separated from daily life and daily life is not separate from our practice. With mind training we learn how to make choices with sound thought. We reflect inward with our thoughts initially. Then, sound thoughts can manifest in our actions to help others.

We often get in difficult situations in our relationships. We get angry or defensive and want to react from our “egoist” self. If we learn to pause between the stimulus and response thus noticing what is going on-we can return to our mind training and make choices with sound thought. Then we choose appropriate responses that will foster honest and compassionate relationships with others.

The above applies to Yoga Practice. It will keep our practice safe. It is always wise to pause before beginning a pose. This allows us to feel stable and grounded in the pose. We pause and may find that a certain pose is not right for us. We practice self-compassion. The pause allows us to modify the poise so that it honors our stage in life, our challenges, and our own abilities. “Our growth and freedom” lies here. Pause; gather
that joyful breath as meditation is put in motion.