by Richard
Our last student discussion was about filters. It started on an artificial intelligence feature now appearing in mobile phones. If there’s a family photo and a child is frowning, the magic AI button allows you to automatically convert it into a better-looking version of the same child but with a smiling face.
It used to be that a family photo meant taking lots of shots, and in case a child had a grumpy expression, the best photo could be chosen for the mantelpiece. Then there was photoshopping, which I’ve used in family photos. The idea is to apply the editing lightly, so that the image is enhanced without losing its authenticity. One of the British royals recently got into trouble over this for a Mother’s Day photo, but I never quite understood what all the fuss was, as the editing was only subtle. Perhaps it was a feeling that if reality is being presented, it should be done honestly. If so, then the way things are heading with artificial intelligence, there could be many issues in the future. By way of example, the image shown above is completely artificially generated, using prompts based on the words contained in this writing.
But filters have always existed. Family photos hold important memories, but only the best photos were ever selected to put into the album, and forgetting about this could lead to rose-coloured glasses on the past. A similar effect is in social media, where posts of smiling faces and cute animals could lead to a view that everyone else’s life is more interesting or happier than mine. And in the way the whole world is perceived, filters are there. Some might be optimistic and others pessimistic, but they exist based on conditioning, life events, emotions or beliefs.
I had a little demonstration of this after visiting the shops at Montmorency recently. It’s on a quiet street with small cafes and local grocers, happy school kids and parents wandering about. It was sunny and peaceful, and the world felt happy. But two weeks later I returned, and while the kids were still there, a homeless man was sleeping in the pocket park. Litter was blowing about, and a sign had been put in a window announcing the arrival of a chain franchise. It was rainy and miserable, and the world felt gloomy.
Our practice is of course about seeing life as it is. I’ve heard of meditation being described as like removing a set of tinted glasses through which one had a filtered view of the world. The thing about filters though, is that we might not be aware of them until the glasses are removed. If we always wear pessimism, that’s all we see and know.
So I wonder what filters are in myself and others. During the student discussion, our group commented that removing filters is necessary work which occurs over a lifetime, or even endlessly, as described in our practice vows.
Dharma gates are countless, I vow to wake to them