As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to expand rapidly and raise new ethical challenges worldwide, Buddhist scholars have proposed applying the teachings of the Mahātaṇhāsaṅkhaya Sutta from the Majjhima Nikāya as a framework for promoting peace, responsibility, and ethical governance in the digital age.
The Mahātaṇhāsaṅkhaya Sutta recounts a significant event in which the Buddha corrected the mistaken view of the monk Sāti, who believed that consciousness was a permanent entity that traveled from one existence to another independently of conditions. The Buddha firmly rejected this view and explained that consciousness arises only when supporting conditions come together and ceases when those conditions come to an end.
The Buddha further expounded the principle of Dependent Origination (Paṭiccasamuppāda), demonstrating that suffering arises through a chain of interconnected causes and conditions. Nothing exists independently or permanently. This teaching has attracted the attention of scholars in technology ethics because it highlights the interconnected nature of decisions, system design, and the consequences that AI technologies can have on individuals and societies.
Experts note that in an era when AI increasingly influences data management, economic decision-making, and public policy, understanding causality and interdependence is essential. It encourages developers and policymakers to recognize that every technological action generates consequences, whether beneficial or harmful, and that these effects may spread across communities and nations.
Another key teaching of the sutta is the cultivation of the mind through morality, concentration, and wisdom. Such training enables individuals to understand feelings and sensory pleasures, which often become the roots of craving and attachment. Applied to the AI era, this principle encourages the development of “digital mindfulness,” helping individuals and institutions manage greed, delusion, and excessive self-interest in the pursuit of technological advancement.
Scholars argue that if governments, businesses, and AI developers embrace an understanding of causes and conditions while cultivating ethical responsibility, the risks associated with excessive competition, data monopolization, and the misuse of technology can be significantly reduced. Such an approach would contribute to greater trust, cooperation, and international stability.
The central message of the Mahātaṇhāsaṅkhaya Sutta is that lasting peace cannot be achieved through technological progress alone. Sustainable peace arises from understanding the relationship between causes and effects while reducing craving and attachment to personal interests. When humanity is guided by wisdom in the development and use of AI, technology can become a powerful force for building a peaceful, just, and sustainable world for present and future generations.
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