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Re: Fulfilling the Promise
I was contemplating during my evening walk the value of the Internet as a means of "transmission." The reference is to Buddhist transmission, as in "transmission of the Dharma." Zen Masters, Tantric Masters, Lineage Tulkus transmit the Buddha's teachings to another person as a direct result of a relationship established on profound, transcendent trust. (This fits into the concept that the Internet is a conversation.) My moment of contemplation during walking focused on the limitations of Internet relationships, of teacher-student discourses that could possibly lead to "transmission." So I wondered if anyone has attained enlightenment as a direct result of Internet conversations leading to a transmission. Networks are built on trust relationships, but is it possible to evolve the transcendent trust relationship required for true transmission to take place. (Or perhaps I should just dwell on providing wireless Internet services aboard the floating world of cruise ships, a sort of Western Ukiyo-E vision of Shambhalla culture.) What sort of fulfilled promise are we looking for the Internet to express: an altruistic motivation for enlightenment or an Open Source Utopian vision of "free" software? It has been over 2000 years since Buddha attained enlightenment, and yet enlightenment remains relative to the human experience. Transmission is still required. 2000 years from now, or 200, or perhaps 20 years from now, will the conversations on the Internet, our current modern version of transmission, eventually aspire to the higher states of human transmission leading to enlightenment, or will we just have better trade routes for commerce, a new digital Silk Road?
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