Is Technology Freeing Us from the Wheel of Samsara, or Just Speeding it Up?
Technology’s Bright Future is…
just around the corner…???
In The Digitally Divided Self, Ivo Quartiroli addresses the promise of technology to produce a better world a bright and radiant future for all. As Ivo points out, there is an endless loop of hope, desire, and falling short of the mark. Here are the stages in his “will to produce” self-reinforcing loop:
- The expectation of a better world
- The necessity to intervene in the entire world to achieve such goals
- All actions are carried out impulsively and in a rush
- The radiant future envisioned never arrives
- We are back at point 1
This has the same feel and smell as the Buddhist Wheel of Samsara. This endless loop can also be viewed through the lens of endless ego activity, looking to the outside for what’s needed to make one happy, content, whole, real, strong, lovable, etc…
The “will to produce” loop and the cycle of ego activity:
Just as ego drives us to seek fulfillment outside ourselves through ceaseless striving, the “will to produce” propels technological advancement based on an expectation that the next innovation will finally create a utopia. However, external solutions consistently fail to resolve our inner dissatisfaction.
This endless loop echoes the Second Noble Truth – craving or thirst (tanha) perpetuates suffering. We crave an idealized future, grasping after it despite the transient nature of all phenomena. No matter the advancement, impermanence prevails.
Samsara also parallels this vicious cycle. As long as ego rules, we remain trapped chasing temporary highs, ever dissatisfied with now. Technology promises a radiant tomorrow, but inner peace cannot be engineered externally.
Hope alternates with hopelessness, ups follow downs – the kaleidoscope turns, but inner discontent persists. True relief only comes from breaking the cycle. No matter how far technology progresses, real change arises from waking up from ego’s trance.
Outer improvements can only palliate. The future remains a mirage until we stop seeking life’s meaning through acquisition and innovation. We must turn our attention inward, living fully in the precious now. Rather than seeking, we can start exploring the immediacy of experience. Then we touch the wealth of our boundless inner being, no longer hostage to ego’s empty promises.
The focus of all activity is toward the future. Hope arises – taking us out of the NOW. This initiates the cycle of ego activity that will eventually lead to experiencing the transitory nature of all experiences, leading us back to dissatisfaction and looking to the future for the answer.