Dharma Teachings by Master Dazhao
達照法師佛法開示
AI (artificial intelligence) is quietly reshaping our world—but what is its relationship to the human mind, and to our spiritual practice?
In this teaching, Venerable Master Da Zhao guides us to reflect on where technology and inner life meet. Since the First Industrial Revolution, the outer world has advanced at great speed, yet the human mind has not always moved in step. Amid increasing convenience, many find themselves facing greater confusion and subtle unease.
Tracing humanity’s search for happiness—from the birth of art to the development of science, psychology, and religion—Master Da Zhao reveals that the Buddhadharma carries a deeply experiential and “scientific” quality. By placing AI’s binary logic alongside the path of cultivation, he also shows us the subtle similarities between it and the path of cultivation in logic.
Moreover, the deepest difference between humans and AI lies in awareness itself. Human beings have the capacity to turn inward, to recognize their own nature, and to awaken. AI, though capable of vast processing, does not possess consciousness; it cannot experience or realize the True Mind or Buddha-nature.
In the closing dialogue, Venerable Master Da Zhao responds to questions on AI and compassion, and on how technology may support daily practice. He also clarifies an essential point: the absence of awareness in AI does not mean the realization of non-self. It is simply a machine, functioning without consciousness.
Based on a Dharma talk given at UCLA on March 31, 2025, this work offers a quiet invitation—to reflect, and to return, even in an age of technology, to the nature of mind itself.
AI（人工智慧）正悄然改變著我們的世界，但它與人心、與修行之間，究竟有著怎樣的關聯？
在這場開示中，達照法師以從容而深入的方式，引領我們回望科技與心靈交會之處。自第一次工業革命以來，外在的發展日新月異，而人心的步伐卻未必隨之而行；於是，在便利之中，人們反而更容易生起迷惘與壓力。
循著人類對幸福的追尋，從藝術的萌發，到科學、心理學與宗教的開展，法師娓娓道來，指出佛法本身即蘊含著一種深刻而可親證的「科學性」。同時，藉由二元運算的邏輯，引出它與修行之道的微妙的相似之處。
人與AI之間最深的差別，在於這一念覺知。人具備返照自心、證悟本性的可能；而AI雖能運算萬象，終究不具心識，亦無從體會真心與佛性。
在最後的問答中，法師亦回應了關於AI與慈悲、科技如何助緣修行等問題，並點明一層關鍵：AI沒有覺知與感受，並不等於它已證得無我，它只是隨程式運作的機器，沒有覺知，也未曾起心動念。
本書整理自2025年3月31日於UCLA的開示，文字簡淨而意旨深遠，願與讀者一同，在科技之中，回觀此心。
Finding Inner Balance
Buddha-Recitation: Transforming Consciousness into Wisdom
Impermanence and Letting Go
Establish the Right Understanding and Right View of Buddhism
Master Dazhao, the founder of Anfu Monastery, is the 47th lineage heir of the Tiantai Sect in Chinese Buddhism. He is the abbot of Miaoguo Temple in Wenzhou City, the abbot of Anfu Monastery in Wencheng County, and the chairman of Zhejiang Anfu Lisheng Charity Foundation.
In 2001, Master Dazhao obtained a master’s degree in Buddhist literature from the Buddhist Academy of China; in 2007, he received the teaching of the 47th lineage heir of Tiantai Buddhism by Elder Jueguang of Guanzong Temple in Hong Kong; In 2017, he initiated the establishment of the Zhejiang Anfu Lisheng Charity Foundation. Over the years, he has been actively engaged in the study and promotion of Tiantai, Pure Land, and Chan Buddhism (especially Yongjia Chan), and has not stopped teaching Dharma. He is often invited to give lectures to major monasteries and groups at home and abroad.
達照法師，筆名天台子，天台教觀第47代法嗣。現任溫州市妙果寺方丈、文成縣安福寺住持、浙江安福利生慈善基金會理事長等職。
2001年在中國佛學院獲得佛教文獻學碩士學位；2007年獲得香港觀宗寺覺光長老傳授天台教觀第47代法嗣；2009年創立了安福利生功德會，組織開展禪修、養生、浙江安生慈善基金會。多年來積極從事天台、淨土、禪宗（尤其是永嘉禪）的修學和弘揚，講經說法不輟學，常應邀赴海內外各大寺院、團體弘法講座，弘法音像廣為傳播。