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Buddhist Wisdom and Artificial Intelligence 

 

Dhirawit Pinyonatthagarn 

School of Liberal Arts Shinawatra University, Pathum Thani 

Phisit Kotsupho 

Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, Chiang Mai Campus, Thailand 

Email: dhirapin@gmail.com 

Abstract 

Technology is growing at a rate quicker than most of us can comprehend. Whether 

we agree with such a trend or not, the influence of technology in society is moving forward, 

and quickly. Where we go from here and how we handle our own inventions comes with a 

certain responsibility that computer scientists cannot handle alone. Leaders in science, 

philosophy, and religion need to work together to ensure that all people will benefit from the 

exponential growth of technology. When it comes to artificial intelligence (AI), Buddhism plays 

an especially interesting role.  This paper aims to examine and explore the interplay of 

Buddhist Wisdom and Artificial Intelligence through documentary research. The expected 

outcome is the mutual benefits for both Buddhism and Artificial Intelligence that will finally 

contribute to the growth and development the human mind in particular and the global 

development in general. 

 

Key words: Buddhism, Wisdom, Artificial Intelligence 

 

Introduction 

The philosophy and practices of Buddhism directly relate to A.I. As a study of the 

mind, Buddhism speaks to highly relevant topics in A.I, including consciousness and identity. 

In light of both the potentially positive and disastrous outcomes of A.I. Buddhism can and 

should continue to serve as a grounding ethical, informing force. Not only does it provide a 

comprehensive framework for comprehending a “smart” computer, but its philosophy can 

provide clarity for those experiencing data overload. 

The five aggregates in Buddhism, or the five factors that constitute a sentient being, 

are physical form, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness.  

(Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya ,Tipitaka,Abhidhamma Vibhanga, 33/32 p. 17. Consciousness 



 
 
 

 

 
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here is an integrated factor of experience, or an impression and awareness of each object. 

Consciousness is not unique but rather one of several parts from which sentience emerges. 

The Buddha taught that consciousness is everywhere at different levels, so humans 

should have compassion to help alleviate suffering for all beings. If being conscious means 

having the ability to feel something, then it is an intrinsic property of everything. Therefore, 

although a material thing such as an A.I. computer may have a form of consciousness, it would 

probably lack certain states of consciousness that human beings possess. Or maybe it could 

create new ones. 

Scientists and Buddhists agree that consciousness is everywhere. Panpsychism, or 

the belief that every material thing has an element of individual consciousness, is one of the 

oldest philosophical theories attributed to many prominent thinkers, including Pythagoras. 

Neuroscientist Christof Koch has worked with researcher Giulio Tononi to create a tool to 

measure phi, a theoretical amount of consciousness, in a human brain by sending a pulse into 

it and watching the pulse reverberate through the neurons. The more intense the 

reverberation, the higher the amount of consciousness. Through this test, they are able to 

determine if a subject is awake, asleep, or anesthetized.  

It could be that consciousness was gained through millions of years of evolution, 

because as a process of awareness, it is beneficial for our use. We actually do not know much 

about the human brain, but computer scientists have had AI self-learn based off of a human 

brain model of neurons. This is at once unpredictable but also reveals how the AI responds 

in a way different from how it was taught. The point at which an AI is considered a sentient 

being, if it comes to that point, can be guided by the ethical complexities that Buddhism 

teaches. 

 

Buddhist wisdom 

In Buddhism, any sentient being is combined by the 5 factors or aggregates as 

mentioned above. Summarily speaking it is composed with 2 elements namely the concrete 

or material element in Buddhist term known as “Rupa”, on the other part, the non-material 

element in Buddhist tern known as Nãma.  

1) Rupa; The material element according to Buddhism, has no consciousness 

because it is made of mainly 4 elements, i.e., the earth element, the water element, the fire 



 
 
 

 

 
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element and the air element. It stays unconscious like a table, a grass, the Sun or the stars. 

When sentient beings die, their physical body lay down on the ground having no any feelings 

of pain or happiness or it could nor run away from the dangerous. This implies that the physical 

body does not have consciousness.  

As  the Buddha said to the ill monk thus: 

 “Bhikkhu ayam tava kayo apetavinnano nirupakaro hutva kalingaram viya pathaviyam 

sayissatiti (Monk this your body having rejected  without consciousness, will lie down on the 

earth like a useless log of wood). Mahamakuttarajavidyalaya, Dhammapadatthakatha, Part II, 

Cittavagga, 7 Putigattabhikkhu, Bangkok : Mahamakuttarajavidyalaya Press, 2530, p. 147. 

 Said the Buddha 

13.41|  Aciram vatayam kayo                 pathavim adhisessati 

             chuddo apetavinnano        niratthamva kalingaram. 

 “Before long, alas, this body will lie on the earth, rejected without consciousness, 

like a useless log of wood.) PTS, The Word of the Doctrine, Dhammapada, III the 

thought(Cittyavagga) 41, London: Oxford University, 2004,p.7. 

2) Nãma, The mind,  the Mental  or Non- material Element is subdivided into 4 

aggregates namely: Vedanã; the feeing or sensation, Saňňã; perception  Sankhãra;  the mental 

formation or volitional activities and Viňňãna; the Coscinousness. (Tipitaka Samyuttanikaya, 

Khandhavaravagga, pp 58-59.) 

Now come to Citta or Consciousness’s explanation, The Citta ;mind or 

consciousness is a kind of nature which is aware of objects. Mind is the knower agent. What 

the mind knows is object; what the mind knows is object. 

In other words, it shows that the mind is that perceives, remembers, thinks and knows objects. 

In Pali,  cintetiti cittam, arammanam vijanatiti cittam(The agent that thinks named as Citta or awares of 

the object. In the Pali Maha Vagga Patisambhida presents that this mind has 10 synonym names : mano, 

hadayam, manasam, pandharam, manayatanam, maninthriyam, vinnananam, vinnanakhandho, tajja 

manovinandhatu. (Abhidhammatthasamgaha and Abhidhammatthavibhavini Tika pp.66-67.) 

Citta operates with mental factor; Cetsikas; the left 3 mental aggregates; feeling, 

perception and mental formations. Therefore, mind in a whole is what make physical body 

alive. As the Buddha said        “Mental phenomena are preceded by mind, have mind as their 

leader, are made by mind. If one acts with or speaks with an evil mind or a pure mind  from 



 
 
 

 

 
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that sorrow or happiness follows him as the wheel follows the  foot of the ox or like a  shadow 

not going away.(PTS, The Word of the Doctrine, Dhammapada, I  the Pairs (Yamakavagga)  1 

and 2 , London: Oxford University, 2004,p.1). 

 

The Interplay of A.I. and Buddhism 

Generally, humans need a sense of stability, of solidness, as well a sense of 

compassion and connection, to feel safe. On the surface, Buddhist teachings on emptiness 

seem to challenge our need for a stable foundation from which to operate. At the same time, 

however, they point to a sense of interconnectedness and interdependence suffused with 

care and compassion. 

Fields such as cognitive science, artificial intelligence (A.I.) and the applied 

technology of the internet often assume the stability and permanence of things as a 

foundation, while nonetheless confronting the reality of interdependence. In this series of 

discussions, we’ll look at the implications of emptiness and compassion from the perspective 

of these contemporary fields as a means to better understand the foundational Buddhist 

teachings as they play out in the world of science. 

 The Deal with A.I. Ethics, on this stand point, Prof. Dr. Soraj Hongladarom had written 

article which is reasonable to considered. I will recite all his presented article as the follows:  

Buddhism teaches us to focus our energy on eliminating suffering in the world. 

 “The explosive growth of artificial intelligence has fostered hope that it 

will help us solve many of the world’s most intractable problems. However, 

there’s also much concern about the power of A.I. and growing agreement 

that its use should be guided to avoid infringing upon our rights. 

Many groups have discussed and proposed ethical guidelines for how A.I. 

should be developed or deployed: IEEE, a global professional organization 

for engineers, has issued a 280-page document on the subject (to which I 

contributed), and the European Union has published its own framework. 

The A.I. Ethics Guidelines Global Inventory has compiled more than 160 such 

guidelines from around the world. 

Unfortunately, most of these guidelines are developed by groups or 

organizations concentrated in North America and Europe: a survey published 

by social scientist Anna Jobin and her colleagues found 21 in the US, 19 in 



 
 
 

 

 
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the EU, 13 in the UK, four in Japan, and one each from the United Arab 

Emirates, India, Singapore, and South Korea. 

Guidelines reflect the values of the people who issue them. That most 

AI ethics guidelines are being written in Western countries means that the 

field is dominated by Western values such as respect for autonomy and the 

rights of individuals, especially since the few guidelines issued in other 

countries mostly reflect those in the West. 

Guidelines written in different countries may be similar because some 

values are indeed universal. However, for these guidelines to truly reflect the 

perspectives of people in non-Western countries, they would need to 

represent the traditional value systems found in each culture as well. 

People both in the East and the West need to share their ideas and 

consider those from others to enrich their own perspectives. Because the 

development and use of AI spans the entire globe, the way we think about 

it should be informed by all the major intellectual traditions. 

With that in mind, I believe that insights derived from Buddhist 

teaching could benefit anyone working on AI ethics anywhere in the world, 

and not only in traditionally Buddhist cultures (which are mostly in the East 

and primarily in Southeast Asia). 

Buddhism proposes a way of thinking about ethics based on the 

assumption that all sentient beings want to avoid pain. Thus, the Buddha 

teaches that an action is good if it leads to freedom from suffering. 

The implication of this teaching for artificial intelligence is that any ethical 

use of AI must strive to decrease pain and suffering. In other words, for 

example, facial recognition technology should be used only if it can be shown 

to reduce suffering or promote well-being. Moreover, the goal should be to 

reduce suffering for everyone—not just those who directly interact with AI. 

We can of course interpret this goal broadly to include fixing a system or 

process that’s unsatisfactory, or changing any situation for the better. Using 

technology to discriminate against people, or to surveil and repress them, 

would clearly be unethical. When there are gray areas or the nature of the 

impact is unclear, the burden of proof would be with those seeking to show 

that a particular application of AI does not cause harm. 



 
 
 

 

 
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Do no harm 

A Buddhist-inspired AI ethics would also understand that living by these 

principles requires self-cultivation. This means that those who are involved 

with AI should continuously train themselves to get closer to the goal of 

totally eliminating suffering. Attaining the goal is not so important; what is 

important is that they undertake the practice to attain it. It’s the practice that 

counts. 

Designers and programmers should practice by recognizing this goal and 

laying out specific steps their work would take in order for their product to 

embody the ideal. That is, the AI they produce must be aimed at helping the 

public to eliminate suffering and promote well-being.   

For any of this to be possible, companies and government agencies that 

develop or use AI must be accountable to the public. Accountability is also 

a Buddhist teaching, and in the context of AI ethics it requires effective legal 

and political mechanisms as well as judicial independence. These 

components are essential in order for any AI ethics guideline to work as 

intended. 

Another key concept in Buddhism is compassion, or the desire and 

commitment to eliminate suffering in others. Compassion, too, requires self-

cultivation, and it means that harmful acts such as wielding one’s power to 

repress others have no place in Buddhist ethics. One does not have to be a 

monk to practice Buddhist ethics, but one must practice self-cultivation and 

compassion in daily life. 

We can see that values promoted by Buddhism—including 

accountability, justice, and compassion—are mostly the same as those found 

in other ethical traditions. This is to be expected; we are all human beings, 

after all. The difference is that Buddhism argues for these values in a different 

way and places perhaps a greater emphasis on self-cultivation. 

Buddhism has much to offer anyone thinking about the ethical use of technology, 

including those interested in AI. I believe the saame is also true of many other  

non-Western value systems. AI ethics guidelines should draw on the rich diversity of 

thought from the world’s many cultures to reflect a wider variety of traditions and ideas 

about how to approach ethical problems. The technology’s future will only be brighter 



 
 
 

 

 
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for it.” Soraj Hongladarom is a professor of philosophy at the Center for Science, 

Technology, and Society at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. Soraj 

Hongladarom archive page January 6, 2021) 

  

In this sense A.I. robot works without intension dislike human being’s action motived 

be their extensionalities. A.I. robot’s activities could not be counted as good or bad, then, the 

A.I. robots have to response whatever the deeds they had done in the future. Since they have 

no consciousness played as motif that intends to do or work. So, on this case, ethical response 

should belong to the owner of that A.I. Robots. It should be like any weapon by itself is neither 

good nor bad, but it is regarded as good or bad depends upon the one who use that weapon.     

 

Buddhist Wisdom for more or less Artificial Intelligence 

The coming idea about how Buddhist wisdom concerns to A.I. In Buddhism the 

wisdom arises or originates from 3 sources:(D.III.219 Sutta Pitaka Vol 3 Dighanikaya 

Patikavagga,11/128/321)  namely: 

1) Sutamayapanna; the wisdom resulting from study, knowledge that is learned from 

others)wisdom gained from hearing of external experiences,  

2) Cintamapanna; the wisdom resulting from reflection; knowledge that is thought 

out, the thoughtful reasoning or Contemplation, the internal experience 

3) Bhavanamapanna; wisdom resulting from mental development; knowledge that 

is gained by development or practice, the practical meditation, the intuition.  

The process of learning or thinking according to Buddhism, is the function of mind 

that I mean the consciousness(Citta) functions with mental factors(Cetasikas). In the internal 

function of mind it composed of feelings (Vedana), perceptions(Sañña) and thought(Sankhara) 

having activated systematically inside the consciousness. It is the mental state that cannot 

observed be sensory organs but it can be understood how it functions by reasoning of mind. 

To understand how mind internally activates is to compare with the functions of 

the 5 parts of a computer :   

1) Motherboard.  All components of a computer communicate through a circuit 

board called the motherboard or mainboard compared as the glue  holding   everything else 

together. 



 
 
 

 

 
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2) Central Processing Unit (CPU). The CPU is often called the “brain” of a 

computer having direct plug connected to the motherboard, and communicated with all of 

the computer’s other components. Whenever you write a line of code (in Python, Java, C++, 

or any other programming language), it's broken down into assembly language—which is a 

language that the processor can understand. It fetches, decodes, and executes these 

instructions. Thai means all the processes a computer handles are taken care of by the CPU.  

3) Graphics Processing Unit (GPU).  Graphics cards often communicate directly 

with the display monitor, meaning a $1,000 graphics card won't be of much use if there isn't 

a high-end monitor connected to it. 

4) Random Access Memory (RAM). RAM, also known as volatile memory, stores 

data regarding frequently accessed programs and processes.  RAM helps programs and games 

start up and close quickly. 

5) Storage. All computers need somewhere to store their data. Modern 

computers either use a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) or Solid State Drive (SSD). HDDs are made of an 

actual disk onto which data is stored. The disk is read by a mechanical arm. SSDs (think SIM 

cards) have no moving parts and are faster than a hard drive, because no time is spent waiting 

for a mechanical arm to find data on a physical location on the disk.(Https://www.idtech. 

com/blog/parts-of-a-computer, Available on 12 May 2021)  

From the above parts of computer, the Motherboard works like human body, 

the Central Processing Unit (CPU) functions like human brain that controls all activities of 

components, the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) works as bodily and verbally performants 

while the Random Access Memory (RAM) works as conscious mind and finally the Storage 

function as the unconscious memory that will be ready to recall whenever needed. 

So, some parts of computers function lie human mind that is to say, they can 

automatically think and feedback towards the input arousing. Nowadays, the AI works in the 

factory robots or in the present the human robots like Sophia and the other human robots.    

But A.I. Robots cannot automatically develop their deep learning and thinking, I 

think, because A.I. robots are just only the instruments or the tools that human created for 

their convenience in such a repetitive work by preprograming them. Therefore, they operate 

according to the prior setting orders.     



 
 
 

 

 
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According to this opinion I would like to recite the article written by Subodh Saxena 

in the article “Deep Learning AI and Buddhist Wisdom” in 2019 as he had pointed out that:  

 “There was a striking similarity between the Deep Learning AI and 

Buddhist wisdom. For over 2,500 years, Buddhism has investigated the mind 

which is non-matter and different from the brain although both are 

interconnected and interdependent. Buddhist wisdom is key to the mind. 

Despite extensive research by the neuroscientists on the anatomy and 

functioning of the brain, there is very little understanding of the mind, thought, 

consciousness, intuition, and intelligence. Artificial Neural Networks miss out on 

brain to mind translation. The performance of Deep Learning AI, which mimics 

the biological brain, can be bolstered by assimilating Buddhist learning. 

Deep Learning, a statistical process, mimics the mammalian brain. The 

artificial neurons (perceptron) are simplified homogeneous digital versions of 

biological neurons. The human brain has about 100 billion neurons and 1000 

trillion synapses (neural connections). The artificial neural networks differ to a 

large degree from brain structure in the number of neurons & synapses, shape, 

size & pattern of activation of neurons, innate structure, generating and 

inserting new neurons in existing circuits, and selectively using particular areas. 

In the Artificial Neural Networks, the neurons (perceptrons) are arranged 

in input, hidden, and output layers. The input data is assigned weight and bias 

as it reaches another neuron in the adjacent layer. This input passes through 

an activation function and the output goes to next layer neurons. The process 

goes on until artificial neuron triggers reach the output layer. Here they are 

subjected to optimization (loss) and back-propagation algorithms. The actual 

and desired outputs are compared and the difference is propagated back to 

the input layer to optimize weights and biases. The iterative process continues 

until the near desired output is achieved. The structures of ‘Shallow’ and 

‘Deep’ neural networks are illustrated in Figure 2. After optimizing weights and 

biases, the Artificial Neural Network model provides more accurate output 

parameters for training, validating, and testing the model. Sub-sequential tasks 

can learn from transfer learning. Deep Learning algorithms require millions of 

training examples. Ingesting tons of quality data, Deep Learning AI is still far 

short of human capabilities of reasoning, understanding, and common-sense. 



 
 
 

 

 
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Buddhist wisdom (prajna) comprises three tools namely hearing (Sutas), 

contemplation (Cinta), and meditation (Bhavana). For intellectual 

understanding, we have to hear, learn, and study (sutras). We can internalize 

this knowledge through the wisdom of contemplation and reflection (Cinta). 

Based on these two pearls of wisdom, we begin to practice meditation 

(Bhavana) further awakening our inner understanding. During the stabilization 

(Samatha) meditation and insight (vipassana) meditation the brain is the object 

of a cognitive process that is turned inward rather than outward. The values 

are assigned to certain states to increase their prevalence. The synaptic 

connectivity changes accordingly. It is somewhat similar to what happens in 

the learning process through interactions with the outer world. The three 

Buddhist wisdom tools are symbolically represented in Figure 1. 

 

 

Figure 1 — Hearing, Contemplation, and Meditation for Brain-Mind Translation 

Deep Learning seems to have taken a leaf out of Buddhist wisdom. The practice of 

Deep Learning comprising of input, assigning weights & bias, optimization and output are similar 

to Buddhist wisdom tools of hearing, contemplation, stabilization (Samatha) meditation, and 

insight (vipassana) meditation. Whereas stabilization meditation covers loss function and back-

propagation perturbations until optimization, insight meditation is like getting outputs giving 



 
 
 

 

 
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inputs to a trained model. This correspondence, in-process steps, is illustrated in Figure 2 

below. 

 
Figure 2 — Deep Learning Steps follow Buddhist Wisdom Tools (Image 

created by Saurabh Saxena) 

Buddhist learning to bolster Deep Learning 

Deep Learning AI’s dependence on massive data and complex 

computations is the source of its woes like ‘black box’ nature (not knowing 

which inputs or links are important), inability to use abstract concepts for 

different applications (due to maze of data), and difficult to engineer models 

(unwieldy number of layers and neurons in each layer and difficulty in 

selection of activation and loss function algorithms especially in case of 

complex problems). Integrating Buddhist learning, AI will use less data, 

minimize large mathematical operations, and combine the algorithms with 

human experience and intuition to solve problems like climate change and 

incurable diseases facing humanity. The following finding named after AI 

researcher Hans Moravec is relevant in this context. 

Moravec’s paradox - Contrary to traditional assumptions, high level 

reasoning requires very little computation, but low-level sensorimotor skills 

require enormous computational resources. 



 
 
 

 

 
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The assimilation of Buddhist learnings in AI is a complex subject. It will 

require a coordinated effort of Buddhist scholars, neuroscientists, and AI 

specialists to identify how Buddhist learnings will benefit the current approach 

we are taking in AI and devise methodologies for their integration. Some of 

the representative examples are listed below. 

Incorporating Innate Brain Structure: A child, unfamiliar with Buddhist 

practices, is capable of reasoning and understanding scriptures using small 

data. This innate brain structure is present at birth in the child’s brain. AI has 

to acquire a semblance of it to be closer to nature rather than depending on 

nurture. The brain circuitry indicates a wide variety of neurons to shape neural 

transmission and information processing. There are different types of neurons 

like motor, sensory, and interneuron, and the ones having synaptic 

connectivity with their neighbour, local, and long-distance neurons. Beyond 

early processing stages in perception, vision, hearing, etc., to capture later 

stage cognitive steps some heterogeneity in neuron types and connectivity 

has to be introduced in the over-simplistic uniform neurons in the artificial 

neural networks. 

Precedence of Outer Layers using Sparse Topology: Neuroscientists 

have studied the brain structure of long time practitioners of Buddhist wisdom 

tools. The cortex, the outermost layer of the brain’s biological networks, has 

neurons both with local and long-range connections. It has been observed 

that the monks develop cortical thickening associated with increased neuron 

density & number of synapses in the brain regions associated with attention & 

sensory processing. In the AI network topology, it will translate to giving 

precedence to outer layers over the hidden layers. The standard architecture 

of Artificial Neural Networks with fully connected layers should be modified. 

The synapses between feed-forward layers will be removed (sparse topology 

dropouts) and synapses that jump several layers can be created. A fully 

generic network topology that allows any node connected to any other with 

synapses, will facilitate outer layers getting precedence over hidden layers. 

Using Part of Deep Neural Architecture: Buddhist meditators develop 

significant left-sided brain activation. This signifies that only a particular area 

instead of a wider brain region or the whole brain is used in solving most of 



 
 
 

 

 
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the problems. As a departure from traditional forward feed topology, Artificial 

Neural Networks could use generic interconnected networks allowing the use 

of a particular area of the network. The processing units for such sparse Deep 

Neural Topology are under development. 

The integration of benefits from Buddhist wisdom tools in Deep 

Learning AI is feasible with available and in some cases under development 

processors. For example, as proof of the concept ‘Precedence of Outer Layers 

using Deep Neural Sparse Topology’ can be implemented to solve a simple 

real-world problem using current technology. We can thus compare solutions 

obtained through AI integrating Buddhist wisdom tools with results from 

traditional Deep Learning AI and actual measurements. Such a transformed 

intuitive reasoning machine, using Buddhist learning, will be scalable to 

address bigger problems like climate change using minimal data endorsing 

Moravec’s observation that greater computational capability does not lead to 

more intelligent systems. 

Deep Learning AI in the present form ingests and analyzes a 

huge amount of data in its hidden layers to train a model. As the complexity 

of models increases, it becomes difficult to interpret how they work. It is 

not practical to solve complex problems using opaque models. Deep 

Learning AI resembles Buddhist learning and can empower itself by 

assimilating Buddhist wisdom tools. The architecture, key algorithms, 

optimization, and analysis of the model inspired by Buddhist wisdom will 

require fewer data and build explainable and holistic technical solutions to 

big problems like disease and climate change. Buddhist wisdom for AI will 

allay fears of another AI winter and AI posing an existential threat to 

humans.” 

 

Conclusion 

On Buddhist stand point, while turning to A.I.’s capacity to think,   it is only 

mechanism that run automatically based on the software having pre-operated on batch files. 

It runs like no man controlled machine. Another example it is like the   Voyager 

spacecraft operated by Computer Command System (CCS), the central controller of the 



 
 
 

 

 
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spacecraft, is two 18-bit word, interrupt type processors with 4096 words each of non-

volatile plated wire memory. During most of the Voyager mission the two CCS computers on 

each spacecraft were used non-redundantly to increase the command and processing 

capability of the spacecraft. The CCS is nearly identical to the system flown on the Viking 

spacecraft. 

Therefore, A.I technology is not at all a mind or consciousness which belongs to 

sentient beings. It is only instrument that has been operated computer command program.   

 

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