{"id":1289,"date":"2018-06-06T20:43:15","date_gmt":"2018-06-06T20:43:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.somewhere.ca\/?p=1289"},"modified":"2019-04-22T20:18:02","modified_gmt":"2019-04-22T20:18:02","slug":"open-source-enlightenment-a-proposal-for-rapid-evolution-of-knowledge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mindhacker.com\/2018\/06\/06\/open-source-enlightenment-a-proposal-for-rapid-evolution-of-knowledge\/","title":{"rendered":"Open Source Enlightenment: A proposal for rapid evolution of knowledge"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For thousands of years Enlightenment has been what I\u2019ll call Closed Source Enlightenment. What this means is that the methods by which the technology of Enlightenment is preserved, protected, and evolved is opaque to outsiders. The monastic systems of the past have done a remarkable job of preserving, evolving, and marketing this technology. We are at a point in history where we need to consider another method for the coming centuries.<\/p>\n
My goal here is to take a modern, pragmatic view of Enlightenment as a technology. I do not wish to get bogged down in metaphysical debates as to how it works, if it works, or other such threads. I\u2019m going to look at the Meta-context of the technology. This specifically refers to how it\u2019s preserved and propagated. How it\u2019s evolved, and refined. And how much benefit humanity gains from it, as well as how many humans benefit from it.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s look at the grand event, or more specifically, the event attributed to the inception of this technology. As the story goes, Siddhartha Gautama was disillusioned with his life, and left all behind to seek answers to his suffering. What he left behind is that which many of us strive for: fame, fortune, (wo)men, and such. He was a prince, and at the top of the social and economic hierarchies. He discovered that it is this act of striving<\/em> that causes all of our suffering. Attainment of the object of desire just makes us more addicted to striving.<\/p>\n Upon realization of this truth he discovered a new way of operating the mind and body. A new way of operating as a human in this plane of existence. He then set out to share this knowledge with others. His hope was that the knowledge would grow and evolve along with the rest of humanity. He gave this knowledge freely, to those who were of sufficient capacity to receive it, and interact with it. During the next 50 years he shared this knowledge. He and his disciples evolved it, refined it, and re-transmitted it. They used a open way of interacting with the outside world. I think we need to re-evaluate this open method of developing knowledge in a modern context. In contrast, what happened after changed that dynamic, though it was necessary.<\/p>\n Over the years, this knowledge evolved into a closed monastic system. This system involves competing lineages, hierarchies, and secret texts that don\u2019t necessarily agree with each other. There has been little work done to resolve the conflicts between the technologies. There also doesn’t seem to be much of a desire to resolve these conflicts (“our way is better\u201d). This type of Closed Source Enlightenment is similar to the methods employed by companies like Microsoft and Apple. The methods and systems they use to create and evolve the knowledge is hidden. No outsiders have the slimmest hope of benefiting from the knowledge, unless they \u201cbuy-in\u201d. Much of the medical system is the same, all of the knowledge is hidden, and the methods are opaque.<\/p>\n There is another method of operating in todays world, called the Open Source Movement (or OSS). If you have any connection to the modern world, you are a benefactor of this style of knowledge development. Every Android phone relies on Linux, which is OSS. Almost every single cloud application you ever use relies on OSS as it\u2019s platform. The list of tangible benefits to humanity overall, is very broad.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s look at the meta-list of benefits, so that we can capture the essence of why Open Source is good in general. Then we can discuss why Open Source Enlightenment would be a good idea.<\/p>\n How do I see Open Source Enlightenment changing things? I think that there is still much knowledge locked up in monasteries around the world. I do admit that more and more this knowledge is making it out into the world via efforts to translate and publish. Currently I see that the raw materials for an Open Source Enlightenment effort are being produced. Many lineages are translating and publishing publicly information that has been hidden, secret, and inaccessible. In order to fund these activities they are copyrighting the material, and selling it. I\u2019m not opposed to this, it\u2019s a necessary step in the evolution of the technology of Enlightenment. However, in less than a generation I can see that the trend of open sourcing this information could bring tremendous value to all of Humanity.<\/p>\nClosed Source Enlightenment<\/h2>\n
Open Source Systems<\/h2>\n
OSS Benefits<\/h3>\n
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It has already started<\/h2>\n
Coming Together<\/h2>\n