Inviting the Buddha to Stay: In the Current of Technology, Who Will Keep Morality Alive for Humanity?

In this age of science and technology, people are gradually forgetting spiritual and moral values. This article invites you to look back at Samantabhadra's vow: inviting the Buddha to remain in the world, so that the light of compassion may save a world swept along by materialism.

Have you ever wondered: when every connection is made effortlessly through a screen, why do human hearts grow harder and colder? When science can turn the miraculous into reality, what is keeping humanity from the edge of self-destruction?

1. Technology changes people – and even longing fades away

We live in an age where smartphones connect everything. People love each other, part from each other, but no longer feel the deep ache of loss. As Thay Thich Chan Quang pointed out:

"When people love each other and part, they miss each other. But now, even when they love and part, they no longer miss each other, because communication technology keeps people connected so easily. People no longer feel that they have lost one another... The feeling of longing, of yearning, of aching distance has vanished. And when that longing vanishes, the romance of human feeling vanishes with it."

It is not only our emotions. Our habits, interests, and beliefs are all swept away by science and technology. In the past, people believed in gods who rewarded and punished. Today, people believe in aliens, in civilizations more advanced than the gods themselves. And from that, faith in the spiritual life, in cause and effect (karmic law), slowly fades.

2. Science cannot replace morality

Technological progress makes humanity powerful, but without morality, that power leads only to destruction. Thay Chan Quang warned:

"Science without morality will be a terrible destruction for humankind. And morality without science easily falls into superstition... We respect science, but we know that science cannot do without morality."

His example of aliens who refuse to contact Earth is a haunting metaphor. They see us building weapons of mass destruction, ravaging the environment, and fighting over one small planet. They leave us alone, because nature and cause and effect (karmic law) must run their own course. If humanity does not recognize the value of morality, Earth will become a second Mars – where a civilization once fought itself to extinction.

3. The King of Demons and the request for the Buddha to enter nirvana

In the scriptures, three months before the Buddha entered nirvana, the king of demons appeared – very polite, very sweet – and advised the Buddha to rest. Thay Chan Quang recounted:

"There are people who come to us sweetly, but in truth they come to hasten our death... They praise us, and in the end their aim is not to help us flourish but to destroy us. So we must be careful with words of praise."

The king of demons praised the Buddha for having taught countless beings, saying that the true Dharma had spread far and wide, and the Buddha was no longer needed. On the surface it sounded sweet, but the hidden intent was for the Buddha to disappear so that the demons could rule over beings. The true Dharma, morality, and the spiritual life were exactly what the king of demons wanted to extinguish.

4. The practice of Samantabhadra: vowing to invite the Buddha to remain in the world

Among his ten great vows, the bodhisattva Samantabhadra's seventh is "To request the Buddha to remain in the world." Why? Because he felt deep sorrow that the king of demons had asked the Buddha to enter nirvana. So he vowed: in whatever realm, if demons try to request the Buddha to pass away, he will appear and ask the Buddha to stay, doing the exact opposite. This is a vow full of wisdom and compassion.

Thay Chan Quang shared:

"If the true Dharma is promoted and spread, the demons gradually lose their subjects. That is what the demons do not want. Demons are people who create great merit, but in their hearts they harbor ambition for power."

In daily life, the king of demons takes no particular form. He is the craving, the ambition, the ego, and the pride that live right within our own mind/heart. When we live selfishly, competing to win, we unknowingly side with the demons.

5. Who are we? Children of the Buddha, or subjects of the demons?

Thay Chan Quang posed a profound question:

"We here are people of two banners. One part of us is a child of the Buddha. The other part is a subject of the demons. And if the true Dharma is promoted, the demons gradually lose their subjects. That is what the demons do not want."

An Arhat who attained the way declared: "I have escaped the demons' net." What about us? We still have ignorance and attachment to self, so the demons can still easily control us. But precisely because of this, the vow to invite the Buddha to remain in the world becomes all the more heartfelt. Let us invite the Buddha to stay within our mind/heart, making morality our foundation, so that science serves humanity rather than destroys it.

6. Keeping a seat for morality in a hurried world

The world is racing forward at a dizzying pace. Commerce, medicine, diplomacy – all are advancing. But without the most enduring field of all – the field of morality – everything will collapse. Thay Chan Quang emphasized:

"Whatever the field, whatever the development, morality is always needed. Whoever cares about morality, whoever wishes to live in devotion to morality, whoever wants to be a moral example to pass on to others... those are the people who protect this world, who save this world."

If you still hold faith in cause and effect (karmic law), in enlightenment, in spiritual values, then you are one of those people. Do not let science lull you to sleep, and do not let convenience bury your soul.

Invite the Buddha to remain in your heart. Let every action, every word, every thought of yours overflow with morality and compassion. That is how you save the world – and how you save yourself.