Summer is officially here. The solstice occurred this past weekend, and right on cue, things are heating up outdoors. To be fair, we’ve had unusually mild weather and lots of rain this year, so I can’t complain. The lawn has been resurrected and we still have plenty of wildflowers blooming on the side of the road.
I’m on a social media break right now, and as usual, when I take time to disconnect, I’m reminded of how good it feels not to have thousands of voices chattering in my head all day.
On top of that, I’ve been spending time focusing on my zen practice: making more time for meditation and studying The Heart Sutra, a foundational text in Mahayana Buddhism that tidily encapsulates the entirety of The Buddha’s teachings.
Basically, The Heart Sutra tells us that if we want to experience nirvana – which is the pinnacle of peace and wisdom – we must embrace the emptiness (and therefore, the interconnectedness, mutual dependence and impermanence) of all phenomena, including our selves.
This view is totally incompatible with ego-centric world views and the competing narratives we’ve built upon them. Reaching enlightenment requires a disciplined effort to detangle ourselves from the virtual reality our brains have conjured for us. It cannot be achieved through physical or intellectual effort, only through direct experience. This is made possible by clearing the mind and sitting quietly in a state of discerning, pristine cognition.
So, I’ve been practicing discerning, pristine cognition (via zazen/meditation) and what I’ve come to realize is that we have constructed (at least, here in the U.S.) a powerful, closed-circuit environment that prevents us from ever achieving this state. If nirvana is reached by subduing both physical and intellectual responses, it becomes clear how deeply subversive the current culture actually is to that process.
Which is to say, I think zen is about as counter-cultural as it gets.
Marshall McLuhen famously said that ‘the medium is the message.’ He expands on this by saying:
“Our conventional response to all media, namely that it is how they are used that counts is the numb stance of the technological idiot. For the ‘content’ of a medium is like the juicy piece of meat carried by the burglar to distract the watchdog of the mind.”
In other words, we are being shaped, not by the content of our media, but by the media itself.
And what shape is that? What shape can come out of spending hours a day in mind-casinos that have been (literally!) designed to override our deep thinking? What great wisdom can come from having a tracking device in hand everywhere we go, ensuring we never need wonder again? How can we experience true peace when our frenetic television programming exists to entertain just long enough to keep us in front of even more frenetic advertising designed to sell us shit we most certainly do not need? And how can consuming great quantities of shiny, flashy media lead us to happiness, when happiness is not found objectively (outside ourselves)?
This doesn’t even take into account the new AI technologies that have a stated goal of relieving us of our ability to think at all. (Read more on this from L.M. Sacasas’ latest installment at The Convivial Society.)
If you’ve known me for a while, you know I‘ve been immersed in digital media for decades. I’ve done my part to promote it’s use and to pressure people to use more of it. I’ve worked in digital marketing, helping to override cognition and get people to take actions that they otherwise may not.
So, when I say I’m now convinced that our technology is increasingly dangerous, I hope you’ll hear me. Not only does it capture our attention and hijack our minds, but it cuts us off from the very source of great wisdom – our ability to simply BE.
I’ve given up on advocacy, because it’s a waste of time. The zeitgeist is too powerful, the technocrats are too well-funded, and the culture is increasingly invested in creating reflections of the ego rather than seeking ways to escape it. I suppose it’s the same as it ever was – only on a faster, more comprehensive scale. Do what you will with this information.
For my part, I may not have achieved nirvana (and may not in my lifetime) but I am standing on the banks of a great river, and I’ve caught a glimpse of that other shore. It’s a compelling enough vision that I’m willing to forego my own participation in the battle for ego-supremacy, which, in comparison, appears silly and dim.
Stay updated on new projects, public appearances, and other opportunities to connect & collaborate with The Qreative Life newsletter.