AI, Consciousness & the Art of Zen with Zen Master Ryushin Marchaj

In this episode, I ask Rev. Konrad Ryushin Marchaj for a conversation on AI, consciousness, plant medicine, as well as the nature of oneness. Rev. Konrad Ryushin Marchaj is a Zen priest and dharma heir of the late John Daido Loori, Roshi. Drawing on his background as a physician and psychiatrist, Ryushin translates complex concepts into accessible, everyday language. He resides and guides at River Refuge Zen Temple in Roxbury, Connecticut.

In this conversation, we discuss: 

• States of consciousness

• Separateness as an illusion

• Intimacy with reality

• What happens when we pay attention to the present moment? 

• If everything is made of the same fabric of reality, where does AI fit in?

Ryushin Marchaj: The human consciousness has these layers. You know, I can be aware, I can be conscious, and then within that, strangely enough, I can be self conscious. Meaning I can be aware of myself as the basis for my awareness, right? But the one thing I can't do as a human being is that I can't be aware of the awareness that is aware. That is an ever receding process, meaning like try, to witness your awareness. We can't do that. It always recedes. 

Listen to the full conversation on the InnerCalling Podcast here. 

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