Ancient Dreams, Modern Wake-Up Call: What Buddha and Rama Teach Us About Life Today

Challenging Our Heroes With Prompts

On a prompt challenge from a friend, I asked ChatGPT questions on what Buddha and Rama would have been thinking at times of extreme turmoil in their lives, especially during some inflection points in life like when Siddhartha left to become Buddha and Rama had to leave the palace to live a life of anonymity.

After analyzing them, I became interested in how their dilemmas would be relevant as the modern day man’s predicaments in the AI age of rapid change and uncertainty.

Below is my humble take.

1. Life Is Suffering

I had once heard someone say, “You’re suffering? Congratulations, you’re alive.” That changed the game for me and I felt that for the first time, I truly understood the meaning of the “life is suffering” lessons of Buddhism.

Siddhartha, the prince, lived a life of prosperity but felt the ache of his fellow men pressing through the walls of his palace. He realized no one was immune to sickness, aging and death. Rama walked into exile, because his dharma and his role as a dutiful son told him that was his right path.

At the time of renunciation, at age 29, Siddhartha must have dreamt of being free of expectations and suffering. He probably didn’t know that he was seeking enlightenment. All he knew was he wanted to tear the illusion of life and live the truth – no matter how terrible or beautiful it might be.

Today, we could be living our ancestors’ dream life. But, modern day luxuries and algorithms can’t protect us from the dread of our existential angst. This “suffering” is just as theirs, our consciousness meeting our present reality.

So, how do we find peace?

Start with kindness. Kindness energizes us when we are in its company. The amount of kindness is far greater than the amount of violence the world faces. It just doesn’t make it into the news always.

2. The Age of Uncertainty

As I age, I wonder how to stay relevant for my kids and for society. What if I fall behind in understanding the latest and greatest in technology and become obsolete at work? And what if while trying to stay plugged into modern developments, I move far from my own true nature and what defines me as a human?

Siddhartha must have experienced a sense of meaninglessness as he confronted human suffering. Rama must have faced ethical dilemmas many times, should he obey his father or resent him for the injustice of exile? Should he go to war to bring back his wife?

Malcolm Gladwell has recommendations for this “greater than me cause” dilemma. Change isn’t random, it’s sparked by people who decide to do extraordinary things.

The Tipping Point: Who Moves the Needle?

• The Law of the Few: Connect, share, persuade. Could you be one?
• The Stickiness Factor: Ideas linger when they resonate.
• The Power of Context: Small shifts can spark big change.

If you’re stimulated by a “There’s more here, and I must go and find it,” that’s your cue to go chase the dream you’re unable to give a name. And anything else is an obstacle we must address with these questions. What truly matters? Which attachments are creating unnecessary suffering?

Buddha and Rama as rendered by ChatGPT

3. Life As a Forest

Exile and asceticism were testing grounds of their grit and purpose for Siddhartha and Rama. They were their metaphorical forests where Siddhartha learned the limits of austerity and the need for balance. And Rama learned leadership under fire, the cost of justice, and the fragile beauty of his love for his wife.

Siddhartha must have been afraid of disappointing his father, abandoning his wife and their newborn, and betraying his duty. Rama must have taken on the duty of fulfilling his father’s desire even if it was unjust and had the courage to walk alone.

Our modern day forests are digital, hyperconnected overload of decisions. Our clicks and notifications need temperance, and our need to outsource our thinking to AI must be curbed. We must not follow what’s trending but what’s intuitively our original thought.

Both forests, theirs and ours, demand our presence, our courage and a deep alignment to our true nature. Siddhartha’s approach was to cultivate resilience and detachment to see the truth clearly. Rama’s approach was to move with courage, and engage with alignment with his ethical values. Every action carries consequences for many lives, and moral certainty is often impossible. So, we must consider all our best options at the time of our decisions and make peace with the outcomes.

4. The Human Still Remains

I loved how Chat GPT whipped up the dream vignettes of what Siddhartha and Rama must have been thinking about during the different stages of their lives. It even wanted to name this essay, From Desire to Liberation: Ancient Dreams That Still Hit Hard in 2025. I actually like the trendiness and the SEO value of this title!

But, here’s the bottom line.

Our machines might outpace us in calculations, optimization and predictive analysis exercises. In fact, when I forced ChatGPT to dream with moral ambiguity as would have Siddhartha and Rama, I think it did a pretty good job. But, AI and code will not solve our existential crisis for us and help us when we approach the metaphorical forks in the road. Machines will not assist us under the tree when we’re contemplating.

Ultimately, this is our inheritance from Siddhartha and Rama – the ability to see, feel, choose, and act with consciousness. Siddhartha taught us to see the truth for what it is. Rama taught us to not avoid our duties. Both of them displayed the courage to walk alone, into uncertainty probably holding fears, regrets and tremendous guilt.

And this brings me to my final point. Between code and consciousness, our humanity must still remain. Our presence is our greatest power.

Let’s start from here and now.

–

Featured image: Buddha sits on a bookshelf in a living room near modern day Amaravati, which was home to thriving Buddhist communities during the 3rd century BCE to 3rd century CE. A yoga practitioner covers her face to protect her privacy.

– 0 –