The Dalai Lama on Technological Change

[tkm679]

Tongue n cheek humor. ;)

[zoveia]

every joke is a little be truth

[karlesnorthen]

@zoveia There was truth in his joke indeed. I believe he meant that emotions often drive people to a cloudy mind without the ability to think properly. By removing emotions, humans stop being influenced by their personal and selfish opinions. :)

[paoist]

He's joking!

[gregboyds]

THE OBSESSION WITH AND WORSHIP/ADMIRATION OF THE DALAI LAMA IS REDICULOUSLY OBSURD

[karlesnorthen]

@gregboyds It's still better than the obsession with and worship an invisible man in the sky who are simultaneously love you and set a trap to send you to his hell.

[gregboyds]

@karlesnorthen I think both are rediculous.

[princeadeshoga]

By 1991 Erick Drexler only had straw man ideas about nanotechnology, but no practical interfacing formula for creating the practicality of nanotechnology.Neither Erick Drexler nor any one that worked on his nano technology straw man can be credited for the interface formula being used for nanotechnology which isn't limited to the nano scale. In relation to the nano scale the new 2005 interface-formula would actually be considered a Zero-Time-Space interface. Nanotechnology is a racket&scandal.

[ss11s]

we should be like robots- not what I was expecting

[WhereDoesItAllEnd]

@ss11s yeah man, he must be joking!

[atommachine]

Modern Education is limited in keeping our inner values. Spot ON.

Load kids with XP they are XP but add other programmes such as compassion ect ect.

Anyway, the more the tuning fork changes things will change anyway so inner stillness folks.

[StinkiwinkiPoo]

hes more symphiatic than the popst......but anyway a Grinsepimmel

[jjasonwrght]

Listen people. The situation is that technology and spirituality are going to merge. Science is making breakthroughs every day that undeniably prove that there is something else to us that is not material. Quantum Physics and all that. What do you think happens when we acquire a greater understand of this? We will be able to use technology to improve it. Technology will be our way of evolution, but it will include 'spirituality' in a big way. However, it won't include traditional religion.

[dollarability]

Im assuming HH is being ironic here. Its naive to assume one can separate technological development from human development, and therefore speak of inner values separate from technology. Human beings create technology, so to speak of being enslaved by technology is really absurd - we are technology, and technology is us. Human and technological evolution are the same. Transpersonalism is simply the expectation that the apotheosis of technology is identical with the apotheosis of human history.

[BottledWaterr]

sorry, but I can't understand him at all, that thick accent n all

[Roenazarrek]

boring and unisightful

[weblogic117]

I can respect path of spiritual people, the least they can do is accept that some other don't want to follow that path without prejudice to try to understand that some want to defeat death not accept it, to understand rather then believe, etc

[weblogic117]

o boy he s so conservative and talking giberish. If he can accept himself as for what he is without needs or whatever then clap clap hands free world. I can't. I m sick of people trying to stop progress for "inner self" for story of God, for staying what we are. If we stay what we are all should go back to trees. period. Any attempt to upgrade ourselves should be respected

[Mccoins]

What's so bad about freeing mankind from HEART ATTACKS and CANCER and TUMORS and HEART DISEASE?

[MarcusKiner]

Correct me if i'm wrong, but the Dalai Lama is saying that if we continue down this road that we will essentially take the "fun" out of life (emotion)? Sorry but I feel that emotions shouldn't guide logical matters.

[carlmelanson1]

@MarcusKiner Technology is good, people are evil. Do you really want to go back to the time you had to risk wiping your ass with poison ivy? Or to tape casettes instead of CDs? What would be the point? Things keep getting better and more effective. There's noting wron with progress, as long as it doesn't destroy us. I can't think of anything more dangerous to our existence than the atomic bomb, I doubt your I-pod is going to randomly start zapping people. If anything tech makes life more fun.

[TheLastJedi2012]

@carlmelanson1 The atomic bomb was/is not as dangerous as the people controlling its use. Something like a cell phone may seem harmless to you, but not when you consider the fact that they contain microphones that can be activated by federal agents at will, who can, in turn, record your conversations, even when the phone is off. These same phones also have G.P.S. tracking devices within them that can determine your location, also when the phone is off.

[TheLastJedi2012]

@carlmelanson1 Technology, in general, is a great convenience. It has extended the average life span and provided us with limitless outlets for entertainment. However, the government's role in the development in this technology has allowed it to spy on its own citizens with greater ease, and thus, ensure their voluntary enslavement.

[nilbud]

That stupid old con man should be quiet his silly cult thinks wheels are holy and should only be used for prayer wheels. The Chinese rescued Tibet from slavery.

[distortia47]

Technology is not a solution to human advancement, It is a crutch. Religion is a crutch. Science is a crutch. Each individual human has their own path to ascension, should they choose to pursue it. One day very soon, none of these individual paths will matter because all consciousness will be recognized as one. No classification of what is what, just coexistence with the understanding that infinite informational complexity is the only constant, therefore the only thing that deserves faith.

[MarcusKiner]

@distortia47 Science and technology are an extension of the human mind, and the pedigree of brilliant minds coming together as one to accomplish the unthinkable. Religion is a crutch for the emotionally weak, who cannot cope with the suggestive facts that existence is meaningless. To find the answers to these tough questions, we use science and technology. It is very much human and essential to our evolution. Better living, and understanding comes from science.

[distortia47]

@MarcusKiner youre missing my point. Im not saying that science it worthless, it is very essential to our evolution. im saying it is only a tool to achieve what we cannot through other means. religion has done this for people too, and some, have achieved the unthinkable using nothing but sheer willpower. the human mind is absolutely limitless, if only we can find the best way to utilize it, which varies from person to person, from generation to generation.

[MrTalkingSense]

@MarcusKiner Your transhumanist views are inherently satanic, and to be honest you should be ashamed of yourself...to say we must "evolve", as you clearly have, as to define your own destiny is, in all honesty, pathetic...we are a perfect organism, one which "evolves" naturally, NOT through the use and development of technologies to force "evolution" upon us...I believe you have been brainwashed to think the way you do, too much TV and music polluting your mind, fact!

[jjasonwrght]

@MrTalkingSense I don't know if you know this, but for a fact to be fact....well you have to have undeniable proof. Simply because you personally perceive him as being all those things you said does not make it fact. You have no idea. His circumstances could be wildly different from your views, or, of course, it could be exactly as you said. But it is not fact until solidly proven.

[nbm34]

SO BACK TOTHE STONE AGE THEN . Religous nutters. We need to take iver technology and build new cites and a future based on science not this rubbish,

of souls and spirit.

[caveatemp]

Amazing! I saw this clip years ago and made the mistake of not bookmarking it. I finally found it again. Thank you sir, for asking this question.

He laughs like a little boy but this is the creepy trans-humanist agenda and he is on board leading humanity towards the technological hell looming on the virtual event horizon. Beware citizens of earth, your very souls hang in the balance!

[goodluckpeace44]

LISTEN!!!

Technology is not created by people with no emotions, Technology is used by people with no emotions.

The man who discovered Radio waves had more emotions than Buddha did in his enlightnment. But those fancy fucking teens who now use cellphones have no emotions.

[nilbud]

@goodluckpeace44 Psychopathic loser much?

[goodluckpeace44]

all I can wish is may these backword personalities just end and these people be enlightned

[Shadowstar204]

I encourage everyone who comes to this site to YouTube search and watch Penn & Teller: Dalai Lama and Tibet. Just to get a sense of how full of crap the Dalai Lama is.

[goodluckpeace44]

well these backward personalities are sad.

[OfficerPhilosopher]

the universe is perfect as it is.. of course what i mean by that is nature. there is a divine formula on all creation. humans have always been so selfish to claim things like "the earth is the center of the universe" or giving their "gods" a human appearance. now we are coming to think that our creations are better than nature. someday, it may all blow up in our faces

[goodluckpeace44]

no one has right to interfeare with real intelligent people on earth. There is no difference in pleasure and being destroyed which are both meaningless. Our existence will not have any meaning at all if we dont become technologicaly and intellectualy advanced, the meaning of life is knowladge. I dont mean materialistic, perhaps scientists will work more on mind than on periodic table in feuture. But advancement is the meaning of life, leave the great scientists alone.

[Vildasnaga]

Spoken like the backwards thinking theological git he always was.

Technology my friends, is our greatest tool, and this romantic/poetic/religious nonsense....not our greatest enemy, no. They are but a pest that will fade.

[goodluckpeace44]

yeah I am with you, this backward people talking about "peace" what the fuck is "peace" if peace means going under a tree and wasting al day? But you see, Nuclear Weapons wont be used because people today are not that millitary type but more competitive in passing exams and finding cures for deceases. The people who have picked up weapons are religous extrimists.

[tlreed2u]

The key is the ability to understand and control our emotions. We should also strive to control physical stimuli such as pain, we need to know that pain is there so that we can remove our hand from the fire, but we need to be able to control it so that we cannot be controlled or debilitated by pain.

In other words, we need an end to suffering, both emotionally and physically.

[goodluckpeace44]

yeah yeah you will controll emotions when you see nice huge tits

[nepht1979]

He's a git. A self righteous git. dont let hippies on they net. THEY EAT MUNGBEANS!!!!!!

[pboxinator]

Very funny ending, he has a good sense of humor for a religious leader. =)

[ThePrimeSpotcom]

Will people who know very little English or Italian think he was kidding at the end?

Not everyone is enlightened..

[Singularity2010]

Can humanity stop this artificial monstrosity increasingly rooting itself more than in any other minds, in the minds of the supposedly wisest members of our species? We are busy going extinct in a Nazi-like superhumanist mentality. If ever there was a final solution eugenic movement, this is it.

[solojam]

even the dalai lama is f'in high

[LatestUFOSightings]

Well, humans will merge with machines eventually thus creating cyborgs. Not really a shocker there.

[SJamesGray]

What I believe he means by eliminating our feelings is eliminating that part of us which most produces suffering and by extension, produces people through sex which is the most emotional act and oftentimes a very distorted idea of "love".

Less people = less suffering.

[ZardexM]

I agree. He doesn't mean to say that technology is a threat to our happiness. Rather that the belief that technology is to bring happiness is an obstacle to understanding that happiness is in overcoming the emotional illusion that - pleasure and pain, sorrow and joy - are separate entities, an illusion that we may eventually overcome by removing emotion altogether.

[pikechris1]

overcoming emotions, especially those unpleasant or unwanted is becoming reality. how long is it gonna take until "we master" those techniques?

technologyreview(.)com/biomedi­cine/21593/

wired(.)com/science/discoverie­s/news/2007/05/nerve

10-15 years? perhaps... you should accept what is operative. not all of the old (buddhist) wisdom applies anymore and his excellency is aware of that.

[ZardexM]

I have nothing to accept over what is operative as I have nothing against how things may change and evolve.

Your choices of words like "overcoming" emotions belie how you do not understand the four rules you displayed.

Your thinking that eliminating bad emotions will make our experience better also belies how you misunderstand Buddhism.

[pikechris1]

"I have nothing to accept over what is operative as I have nothing against how things may change and evolve."

i said you "should" not you have or must. whether you believe that "stuff" or not that doesnt change the fact that it is "operative".

"Your choices of words like "overcoming" emotions belie how you do not understand the four rules you displayed."

tell that to those whose brains are wired with pacemakers, or whose memories were inhibited and or deleted (even if that one was a mouse).

[pikechris1]

"Your thinking that eliminating bad emotions will make our experience better also belies how you misunderstand Buddhism."

here i would say the 4 noble truths speak for themselves. as well in a hidden way you completely dismiss what is operative. "stuff" that weve already learned about the brain, "stuff" that is being implemented and applied in the brain pacemakers for example. buddhism aint a solution there and thats the point.

i dont misunderstand buddhism, i understand its weak points.

[ZardexM]

That's what I mean, Buddhism isn't a solution at all. I do not dismiss what is operative, I only disregard operation.

[SJamesGray]

Or with the non-technological approach:

satori.

[willshrieve]

i hope im dead before humanity starts trying to play god.

its just completely unethical.

[matrixspawn2009]

is it ironic he is surrounded by technology and science while he speaks? the problem is i feel humans as masters or technology as masters? i believe it just wants to be our friend, no masters no slaves then true future begins

[ZardexM]

Even if we evolve to become cyborgs ourselves, evolve ever greater intelligence capacity, would anything of significance really be changed from our experience of life?

What is the potential of suffering if not a relation to the potential of pleasure and vice verse?

Things evolve and change, but that in itself is not really all that dramatic of a thing.

[vman456]

We will be infinitely greater. Imagine a combined conscience, all part of the same network. Sort of like the internet, but far more complex.

However, who's to say this hasn't been achieved, and we are living a mental fabrication of that combined conscience? Perhaps the birth and rebirthing process of the universe lies in achieving this transcendence, and then self-destructing to revert to our old ways of time-constrained limited experience, and thus restart the quest for transcendence.

[ZardexM]

Well I don't think it is the case, but even if it were it would make no difference to me. I don't think achievement as a concept is anything but an illusion.

[vman456]

Well, you don't have to use the word 'achieve' in this case, it's subjective really. Let's just say this is the natural course of the universe and most likely has been for all its previous lifespans.

[bisaragu]

nice video

[armstrongw5]

HH ain't no transhumanist. He's a humanist. Read any one of his books. Buddhists embrace suffering because they relinquished hope. Friedrich Nietzsche- there's a transhumanist.

[bustergmaxx]

fantastic! great post thanks bro. technology in the economy to me is divisive, the way the west has gone binary, however i think thats technology with man lol ends up with us or not.. :)but tech. wit nature isnt so catabolic in application, population sexfests us NOW to break ranks and implement new relationships between our silican siblings and mother nature

[Bluesage2009]

He is having a laugh :P , it's what he does best.

His presence ALONE is the *TEACHING* , when people awaken to this and understand it , they will understand the unfathomable wisdom of this great Master.

[forelelyon]

=) you are know a lot about Buddhism

[HAJS5]

Technology:Easier, faster, more efficient.

Sometimes that means happier lives sometimes that means more labor intensive lives like the cotton gin or coal mining. It depends who you are and where you are in life when a certain technology is made.

[frbe0101]

No way, he was just joking! Very few people support singularitianian ideals of cybernetification because they are to dumb to get beyond concepts like the "borg".

[pikechris1]

im not so sure his excellency was joking there. budhism is all about getting all those "longings" under control. think about it.

yes, the "borg" concept is a potential obstacle here we will have to cope with...

[ZardexM]

How is it an obstacle to anything? How is Buddhism about "taking control"?

Perhaps you have not accepted that there is nothing that needs to be controlled?

[pikechris1]

1. Life as we know it ultimately is or leads to suffering (dukkha) in one way or another.

2. Suffering is caused by craving or attachments to worldly pleasures of all kinds. This is often expressed as a deluded clinging to a certain sense of existence, to selfhood, or to the things or phenomena that we consider the cause of happiness or unhappiness.

[pikechris1]

3. Suffering ends when craving ends, when one is freed from desire. This is achieved by eliminating all delusion, thereby reaching a liberated state of Enlightenment (bodhi);

4. Reaching this liberated state is achieved by following the path laid out by the Buddha.

[snowlandtulku]

可恶的达赖喇嘛呀，你让佛弟子内斗流血，于心何忍啊．．

你是可恶的政治家，过去三百多年前以萨加派和格鲁派的护法大王大­力金刚"多杰雄天"来嘲弄玩政治,更不忍自己的上师尊者赤将仁波­切,,传成上师尊者帕蚌卡等,,你的修道根本皈依师已腐烂了,你­没有资格讲菩提道次第等法..

[snowlandtulku]

可恶的达赖喇嘛呀，你让佛弟子内斗流血，于心何忍啊．．

你是可恶的政治家，过去三百多年前以萨加派和格鲁派的护法大王大­力金刚"多杰雄天"来嘲弄玩政治,更不忍自己的上师尊者赤将仁波­切,,传成上师尊者帕蚌卡等,,你的修道根本皈依师已腐烂了,你­没有资格讲菩提道次第等法..

[LightWarrior1]

The aim of technology throughout history has never been to make for "happier lives." Try telling a coal miner envoloped in coal smut one hundred feet below ground that his god awful work is supposed to bring more happiness to him. No! The aim that technology strives for is to expedite the exchange of goods, services, and information so that things are done faster and "hopefully" with less strain on the movers, shakers, and mavericks of the world so that they can take civilization closer to ?

[HAJS5]

The coal miners life is not better, but the people he provides coal to life is better.

[wede1993]

and there lives would be even worse with out the tech., its not better, its less worse

[HAJS5]

I don't think less worse is proper grammar.

[renajsh]

I understood HH answer more than the question. Long live the Dalai Lama.

[rebeccawilde]

The Dalai Lama rules ^_^

[kurizzos]

His comment which was the only comment captioned on the video, makes sense in this way; using tech to do worldly business quicker may give us more time to think about more relevant things about our existing consciousness; the soul and relationships with people.

e.g. If I have a wife and my work life causes me not to be around her because I'm too busy, then tech can relieve the worklife so I can spend more spiritual time with my wife.

Sounds good to me...

[laowai121]

does he really believe in buddha?

[Dboy66]

Buddha is not a 'god', so 'belief in buddha' means nothing. That was a cool statement by the Dalai Lama...who knew he was transhumanist? heh

dboy

[Gettinghitonattheban]

Which Buddha?

There's 100's.

[skylarkio]

round the clock

[nightimer5]

No offense, but I understand the guy who's trainslating into Portuguese much better than Dalai Lama himself.

I don't speak portuguese at all, but I relate the meaning through Spanish.

[qwertyuiop726]

That's Italian, not Portuguese.

[michael1liz]

very impressive, nightimer..

[borderlinebuddhist]

i love the guy to death, but it is hard to understand what he says.

yeah, he was being sacastic

[kanalje]

WHAT THE FUCK!!!???? Did he just say what i thought he said? Oh lord... Anybody nuthugging this man should have his head checked.

[TranscendTheI]

Great to see HH Dalai Lama contributing his thoughts to science, im sure with advancing technology humans will need all resources be it Material and most importantly human spiritual.

[ruotze]

TIBETANS HATE THE OLYMPICS!

[Mellantha]

I just hope that science progresses fast enough for us to be able to upload this great man's mind and preserve his wisdom and good sense of humour for all time :)

[enidclowes]

he's so freaking adorable. i want to bask in his glow.

[EmsAHorseGirl]

lol, I don't think he was serious about ripping out the part of the brain that controls emotion- he tends to joke around a lot in interviews and speeches, lol

Everything he advocates for centers around the feelings of compassion and interconnectedness with all living beings- which is very connected with emotion and empathy. That's a fundamental aspect of Tibetan Buddhism.

If you haven't, you should read The Art of Happiness- it will clear up any misconceptions :)

[Bridgerboy]

I think we can at least remove thew r-complex.

[deceiver123m]

@EmsAHorseGirl lol well he shouldn't joke around because i already quoted him in a thesis paper for school. And because of his ideas about transhumanism, I accused him among other world leaders of wanting to bring in a new world order, with a single world government, that will be similar to the society of Europe in the Middle Ages. I informed the public about his being a part of the conspiracy to enslave the whole of humanity.

[jjasonwrght]

@deceiver123m Toates, he is sooooo toatally evil. 

[thoughtwaretv]

...because what the heart that sits in the brain wants, is not necessarily whats best for myself and others. Regardless of what the world needs, how my environment changes around me and no matter how much I control how I react to my feelings: I should never rip, from myself completely, my ability to feel from deep within. I want to foster all positive emotions, always, let them grow and live inside of me and guide me.

[thoughtwaretv]

Sometimes, feelings are the only thing you have. You may not always have the people you love, or remember all details about them, but you can carry with you how they made you feel and your love for them, latent, within you.

[thoughtwaretv]

If you plan to live a long time, there might come a time when your emotions could play a very crucial role in your survival.

When you value life and when you feel for life, you feel you want to live. That might be a big drive in energizing those who truly want to live indefinitely.

[thoughtwaretv]

As posted on Thoughtware dot TV, here are my thoughts on this video:

I was able to see the Dalai Lama when he came to Puerto Rico. I understand his position, and I understand from a Buddhist perspective it makes sense to him. I am glad he has transhumanistic ideas and as he is a promoter of philosophies of life and a world-wide speaker, I am happy he values technological progress as means of enhancing the human condition.

[thoughtwaretv]

I see his nervousness in speaking out loud his transhumanist ideas, and fully understand him and would encourage him to ponder and expand on these ideas further.

[thoughtwaretv]

While I am glad he found the wisdom and strength to say this, I don't think I would follow this emotionless path. And here's why:

I think feelings are amongst the highest and most powerful evolutionary advantages we have as conscious intelligent beings.

While loose and out of control they can be destructive and limiting, but when positive and under control, they can be liberating.

[thoughtwaretv]

I think emotions play a crucial role in our intelligent behavior, they are very much intertwined.

What I find negative is not our ability to feel, but instead our inability to control how we react to how we feel. Allowing our emotions to rampantly control us tends to limit our capacity to react intelligently.

[thoughtwaretv]

I think we should strive to feel more, rather than less. In fact, I am convinced we should strive to feel much more for many more things, while achieving greater control for how we react to the new feelings and emotions.

[thoughtwaretv]

Ripping the very mechanisms of emotion out of ourselves will likely be a feasible technological, evolutionary option, but it is one I will most definitely pass.

I do not consider, at this time, that such an enhancement would really be a positive evolutionary advancement, for me.

[thoughtwaretv]

I've tried this path before and while it may seem to be an easy way out, to me, it is not. We should have the ability to control what we feel and how we feel it.

So to conclude:

1. I believe feelings are very valuable.

2. What we need is more control on how we react to our emotions.

3. We should never become slaves to our emotions.

4. We should aim to feel more, without losing our ability to think straight

[CybernautZero]

Without Emotion, life has no meaning. Beings of pure logic have no reason to exist.

[thoughtwaretv]

That is not what I'm saying. I'm saying its not an evolutionary path that I'd follow, but we shouldn't be so quick to say a being that chooses a different path has no reason to exist.

[thoughtwaretv]

By the way, please recall that emotions were evolved.

We had none in our earliest forms as single celled organisms.

...billions of years later, here we are. Emotional, spiritual beings.

We should never be quick to judge what has a right to exist and what does not, in this matter.

[Agusangpo]

superb

[RobotsAreHereNow]

with out tec we would not be watching him here ,he is a great man who gives every thing to help people.

[davidorban]

Yes, he certainly is not against tech! He put it in perspective, enhancing Humanities position in front of it...

[carlmelanson1]

@davidorban I have a question for you, although I don't want to be sesquipedalian about it: what exactly is a transhumanist singularitarian and how do you suppose this doesn't sound like a crock of shit?

[davidorban]

@carlmelanson1 I don't suppose that it doesn't sound funky. :) As far as the definitions are concerned Wikipedia will help you better than I can. However, just briefly, a transhumanist is a person who believes that the human condition, and nature can be redefined in a better way, and a singularitarian is one who believes that technology is going to bring radical change in the near future, mostly through artificial intelligence