
Special Issue: Digital Dharma – Buddhism in a Changing World

Our world is changing, our societies are evolving, and our day-to-day lives are adapting and adjusting to an unfamiliar new virtual reality that is unfolding before us. This technological sea change, led by increasingly pervasive digital technologies and online media platforms, the powerful currency of raw data, and advances in decentralized data management and artificial intelligence, has drawn comparisons to the invention of the printing press and the industrial revolution.
BDG’s Special Issue: Digital Dharma – Buddhism in a Changing World seeks to examine some of the issues and challenges that will accompany this seismic societal shift. In particular, we shall look at the ways in which Buddhist practitioners and communities—virtual and physical—are responding to this evolving digital landscape, and we will endeavor to explore emerging confluences of spiritual practice, compassionate action, and digital technology, and how technological innovation might complement the timeless wisdom of the Buddhadharma.
The digital age will surely be a source of profound challenge, change, and opportunity. We hope that you will join us in our exploration of these new frontiers and how they may be leveraged as compassionate, caring, and socially engaged spiritual tools for the benefit of all beings.
Please check back in again, this page will be updated regularly.

Explore our special issue

Vienna in the Silicon Pure Land, Part 3: Reimagining Buddhist Economics
Embodying the Dharma name of Svabhava, Vienna seeks to reignite the spirituality of zero through alternative economics

Vienna in the Silicon Pure Land, Part 2: Navigating the Wild Wired West
Tracing Vienna Rae’s explorations from coast to shining coast on the techno-dharmic path

Vienna in the Silicon Pure Land, Part 1: Feeling into the Dharma of Emerging Technology
Cornered by riot police at both ends of an underpass in central Kuala Lumpur, Vienna Rae smelled tear gas begin to fill the enclosed space.

The Relevance of Buddhism in the 21st Century
Anam Thubten Rinpoche offers a meditation on the Buddhadharma in the contemporary world

Zen in the Mettaverse: How a 400-Year-Old Buddhist Temple is Evolving in Response to Modern Japanese Suffering
Manifesting connection and compassion in a digital world

Death by 1,000 Clicks and Swipes: Exploring the Toll that Technology Overuse Takes
Drawing our awareness to the often hidden power of technology to rob us of our physical and psychological well-being

ChatGPT + Socially Engaged Buddhism, Part II
Digital Bodhisattva columnist and engaged Buddhist Dexter Bohn explores cultivating discernment in the age of AI

In a World of Human Ignorance, Can Artificial Intelligence Help?
As the latest technology craze sweeps over the world, let us not forget the grounding Buddhist practices that will guide us through and beyond our experiences with AI

The Potential of Personhood: David Hanson on How AI and Human Beings Can Help Each Other
The CEO of Hanson Robotics discusses the future of robotics and AI, and how it is transforming the way Buddhists define sentience

ChatGPT + Socially Engaged Buddhism, Part I
A meditation on the importance of discernment and mindful awareness in our new and evolving relationships with AI

The Value of Art in a Digital Age
A reminder to slow down and experience the depth and beauty of great art in our increasingly fast-paced technological world

Buddhistdoor View: The Temptation of an Easy Path in Technology
As the technology around us becomes faster, smarter, and more useful, it is increasingly important to maintain our own grounding in a practice of inner cultivation

Art as a Contemplative Exploration of Reality – Recent Works from Visionary Laurie Anderson
A look into the life, visionary art, and Buddhist practice of one of the world’s most enigmatic and brilliant artists

Buddhistdoor View: We’ll Get the AI We Deserve
Spiritual questions about our increasingly complex emotional relationship with AI chatbots and how they reflect our own minds

*enter* Digital Bodhisattva _/\_
Introducing a new column that explores emerging frontiers at the confluence of engaged Buddhism and digital technology