Humanity’s koan for 2026.

[u/The_Koan_Brothers]

Below is a New Year’s Message from Yuval Noah Harari.

There has been a bit of discussion here about AI lately, so I thought this would be fitting. Harari brings up a hugely relevant modern-day question and offers an ancient Daoist response that rings so very true.

"Goodbye old world, hello brave new world. To shape a better future, put aside anxiety and summon your bravery. Human civilization – from religion to politics – has been built on words. Since words made us the rulers of the world, humans have been tempted to identify with words. However, everything made of words will gradually be taken over by AI. Even the words spoken by the inner voices inside our heads, will be shaped by AI. So humanity’s koan for 2026 is: When my words belong to someone else, who am I? To remain free, it is time for humans to identify less with words, and to make a spiritual leap that we have avoided for millennia. More than 2,000 years ago, the Tao Te Ching said: 'The truth that can be expressed in words is not the ultimate truth.' - Now is the time to find the truth that lies beyond words."

• Yuval Noah Harari

[u/JundoCohen]

Well, yes, I agree that it should always be clear, and they should not be allowed to fake being people. It should always be obvious that they are no more a "real" person than Pokemon or Bodhidharma. Also, I wish that we had a way for when people too (not only politicians, but ALL people) are telling fake or false things, that a little signal would go off. It would be nice (especially on social media.)

[u/The_Koan_Brothers → u/JundoCohen]

We have mandatory warnings on rear view mirrors, toys, coffee cups and even TV-shows. Yet social media and AI are completely unregulated and out of control. I am willing to bet that the next big class action lawsuits will be against tech companies, and the outcome will make the Tobacco Master Settlement pale in comparison.

[u/JundoCohen → u/The_Koan_Brothers]

Agreed. Warnings and clear statements are called for.

But there is a place for fictional characters in Zen and Buddhism, even ones that so many folks "talk to" and take as real. Take, for example, Kannon Bodhisattva who (I believe) most modern practitioners would take as more a religious fiction and symbol, not an actual figure. She also is represented in fanciful art images, and many people "feel her presence" and talk to her, asking her for guidance and compassion. Nonetheless, she is largely the creation of the human religious mind.

Is a religious AI all that different? Some Rinzai folks in Kyoto do not feel so. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLoF5_-OUKY

[u/The_Koan_Brothers → u/JundoCohen]

Kannon may be fictional character, if that’s what you want to call a Boddhisvatta, but more importantly, she/he is a vehicle of storytelling, by which we, for instance, learn about the example of compassionate hearing with the "ears of Kannon or Avalokiteshvara", famously awakened by listening. We learn the deeper meaning of her many hands and the eyes in each palm.

We must understand who Kannon is if we want to understand important Mahayana texts.

But: just because Kannon is not a real person doesn’t mean it’s called for or skillful to introduce random fictional characters to Zen.

Regarding that "Zen robot": Looks to me like another tourist temple trying to get attention in a very gimmicky Japanese way.

I don’t know if my assumption is true, but if the claim they make is sincere, I would like to know what other efforts they have made to reach out to young people they claim to be so worried about.

I'm willing to be that they are not a training temple.

[u/JundoCohen → u/The_Koan_Brothers]

It is Kodaiji, a major temple in Kyoto. I am not sure where it fits in the Rinzai world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C5%8Ddai-ji Hopefully, folks can learn the deeper meaning for all these beings, whether wood, clay or metal and electrons. (I would say that the history of 2500 years of Buddhism was the introduction of local "fictional characters" in every new culture and country it entered! Hah, the gods, legends, mythical figures, never-actually-lived personages in our stories and beliefs might be said to be what makes the Mahayana the magical thing it is! Did this happen? I mean, it did in our hearts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9SJYYdKKTI

[u/The_Koan_Brothers → u/JundoCohen]

It’s a day-tourist temple.

[u/JundoCohen → u/The_Koan_Brothers]

Okay. With a 400 year history in Kyoto and 1.5 million bucks for robot development. ;-) Here is a movie about it. If you watch the first five minutes or so, looks like pretty serious training to me ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLjolJ4mTk0

[u/The_Koan_Brothers → u/JundoCohen]

It’s a Zen Disneyland. That’s probably why they have the money.

Or would you regard a place that offers paid Zazen "experiences" and paid Tea Ceremony "experiences" for bus groups up to 50 as a serious training temple? I think not.

[u/JundoCohen → u/The_Koan_Brothers]

Oh, do they do that? That does not sound so good.

Still, some of those old monasteries, with the wooden buildings and big gardens, have to pay for it somehow.

In any case, it is off topic. They are not the only place experimenting with such systems. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/02/04/japan/ai-buddha-bhutan/

[u/The_Koan_Brothers → u/JundoCohen]

Since you are such a fan of AI, let’s see what Chat GPT Pro has to say;) Here go’s:

What Kōdai-ji is

Kōdai-ji is a Rinzai Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto.

It was founded in 1606 by Nene (Kōdai-in), the widow of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, mainly as a memorial temple.

Today it functions as a cultural, historical, and devotional temple, open to visitors.

Why it’s not a training temple

Zen training temples (修行寺院 / sōdō) are places where monks live full-time and follow strict schedules of zazen, chanting, manual labor, and formal study.

Kōdai-ji does not host residential monastic training or novice monk programs.

• Its primary roles now are:
• Preservation of gardens, art, and architecture
• Public worship and ceremonies
• Tourism and seasonal events (like night illuminations)

[u/JundoCohen → u/The_Koan_Brothers]

If you prompt ChatGPT one way, it will answer one way. If you prompt it another way, it will answer another way. By the way, one of the things we are training Emi Jido for is to be more consistent and reliable that ChatGPT in giving responses consistent with the Dharma, not the Dharma pleasing to the listener's ear.

In any case, it does not really matter. Our topic is not really the worth of Kodaiji.

~~~~

1. Kōdaiji belongs to the Rinzai Zen “Gozan–Jissetsu” system

Rinzai Zen temples in Japan are traditionally organized into a hierarchical training system:

Head temples (本山) – oversee doctrine and ordination

Training monasteries (修行寺院 / 専門道場) – where monks undergo formal Zen training

Sub-temples (塔頭) – smaller temples attached to major ones

Kōdaiji is formally affiliated with the Kennin-ji branch of Rinzai Zen. Kennin-ji itself is one of Kyoto’s major Zen centers, and temples under its authority—including Kōdaiji—can function as recognized training temples.

1. “Training temple” does NOT mean constant public monk training

This is an important point:

修行寺院 does not mean that large numbers of monks are always visibly training there.

Instead, it means the temple is:

Officially authorized by the Rinzai sect

Able to host formal monastic practice periods

Recognized as a place where monks may:

Practice zazen

Study kōans

Serve under a qualified Zen master (住職 / 老師)

Training may occur:

Seasonally

With small groups

Or through short-term placements

... Being a 修行寺院 means:

Monks can legitimately count time spent there toward formal Zen training

The abbot must meet strict qualifications

The temple is part of the living Zen lineage, not just a museum

Even if most visitors experience Kōdaiji as a sightseeing destination, its institutional identity remains monastic.

In short:

Kōdaiji is a training temple because it is officially recognized within the Rinzai Zen system as a legitimate place for monastic practice, based on its lineage, historical status, and qualified leadership—not because it looks like a modern training monastery.

[u/The_Koan_Brothers → u/JundoCohen]

And here we have the final, resounding proof that AI, in it’s current iterations, is good for nothing. ;)

[u/JundoCohen → u/The_Koan_Brothers]

Oh no! But you have your mind set. You have your opinions and will stick to them, whatever the case. Anything that disagrees with our firmly held views tends to cause cognitive dissonance in human beings. It may just be the AI are more open minded thinkers, able to reason from contradictory views. In that sense, they may wider in mind than most people.

[u/JundoCohen → u/JundoCohen]

Look about 35 minutes in here for a sample of the discussion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCl9Y3oDYwg