Francis Wong
February 23, 2024

Venerable Jue Wei, Director of the Humanistic Buddhism Center at Nan Tien Institute of Fo Guang Shan, attended the online workshop "Toward a systemic concept of attention for the attention economy, using Buddhist and Western ethics" on 7 February, at the invitation of the Eindhoven Centre for the Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence in the Netherlands. She delivered a keynote speech and explored the theme of "Ethics & Attention," along with other renowned experts, scholars, and institutional leaders. The workshop covered topics such as "Artificial Intelligence and Attention," "Economics, Business, and Attention," and "Law and Attention."

Each presenter was given 15 minutes for their keynote speech, followed by an hour of online and offline open discussion. Venerable Jue Wei, drawing on Mahayana Buddhist principles, discussed how to transform the "Attention Economy" into an "Attention Ecology."

She advocated for using "Attention Ecology" to enhance the concentration of the universe, removing the "Five Hindrances" that obstruct humanity's understanding of reality. He also explained the concept of "MettaVerses" to illustrate compassion and generosity across all realms, utilizing technology to benefit the public and foster the Bodhi mind.

Venerable Jue Wei emphasized that Mahayana Buddhism emphasizes understanding of dependent origination, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self as fundamental insights into the nature of reality. The "Five Hindrances" of greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt hinder the recognition of interdependence, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self, distorting perception of reality, clouding mental clarity, and reducing the ability to cultivate mindfulness, wisdom, and concentration, which are psychological factors or "energies" within the attention economy's emotional landscape.

Focusing on the Bodhi mind in Mahayana Buddhism, Venerable Jue Wei underscored the cultivation of compassion and love, directing attention to the suffering of others, feeling compassion, and translating it into action. She proposed the concept of "MettaVerses," defining compassion as "selflessly serving and assisting with wisdom" and "giving charity unconditionally, without expecting anything in return," as shared by the founder of Fo Guang Shan, Venerable Master Hsing Yun, with the public.

During the Q&A session, participants demonstrated great interest in "MettaVerses" and Buddhist concepts, discussing mindfulness, "maintaining equanimity is the way," various Buddhist practices related to concentration, going with the flow, gradual enlightenment, and sudden enlightenment.

Venerable Jue Wei believes that the current problems and crises in the world require collaboration across various fields, including religion, economics, law, ethics, and technology, to collectively create and transform crises, improve society, and promote world peace. She felt honoured to attend this presentation alongside some elite scholars and noted that Nan Tien Institute's curriculum references and cites these scholars' books as course materials, inspiring deeper and broader learning.

Venerable Jue Wei recalls the teaching of Venerable Master Hsing Yun that the venerables of Fo Guang Shan should "step out to the world" and stand on the international stage to advocate for Buddhism, using Buddhism to change society and promote world peace.

Conference Video to share: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJNnjP8zk9A