The Digital Trap and the Weight of Innovation

This is a record of an interview with Steve Jobs, who sought deliverance at the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre in Australia. He now resides in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. This account reflects upon his insights regarding the digital age and his own karmic journey. Recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fa-xin, on August 16, 2017.

Steve Jobs speaks:

"Namo Amituofo. I am Steve Jobs. Today, I wish to speak about the latest 'civilisation disease' of humanity: the plague of obesity and the inability to step away from the computer. It is a tragedy! We are like lost lambs, wandering in the digital world, unable to escape the virtual space within our screens. People mistakenly believe they are absorbing useful information, stuffing it into their brains, consuming their mental memory, and increasing the 'weight' of their heads. Sometimes, it is as if they are poisoned; they sit before the computer for an entire day, feeling a strange, hollow sense of satisfaction. Even worse, many young people play computer games until they seem possessed, their eyes completely vacant and unnatural. When I first innovated with the kind intention of making the world more convenient, I never imagined the side effects that computers would bring. These side effects are far more severe than those of any medication. The side effects of drugs are limited to the person who is ill, but the side effects of computers affect all of humanity—from the elderly to the very young, the scope is immeasurable."

The Invisible Chains of Technology

"Look at the elderly now, swiping on their Apple phones. They are considered 'up to date' with the trends, yet they do not realise that they, too, have been polluted by technology. Today, the frequency and intensity of people swiping their phones is at ninety-nine point nine percent. The rapidly flashing screens present information that is chaotic and disorderly. The convenience before your eyes may be masking the implantation of negative consciousness, gradually covering up your originally pure and unstained true nature. The time spent running, jumping, and connecting with nature has diminished; people have become, in the truest sense, electronic robots. Your originally agile bodies are now being led around by so-called computer programs. It sounds truly pathetic, does it not?

To be honest, I was the inventor of these electronic machines, and in the end, I became one of their components. I was more invested in electronics than anyone else. Let me tell you something that you might find impossible to imagine: after I, Steve Jobs, passed away, I fell into the Uninterrupted Hell to suffer retribution. I do not know how many hundreds or even thousands of years I was destined to suffer there, because the heavy karma I created was truly impossible to repay. As long as there is still one person in the world lost in Apple products, I could not be released from hell. Today, I, Jobs, have been helped by the Hsiang Kuang Pure Land Buddhist Centre, which is the only reason I have been spared from suffering in hell."

The Karmic Reality of Our Creations

"After I ascended from the suffering of hell, I saw that I was to become one of the components within the CPU of a mobile phone—the so-called control centre of the phone's core management program. I was to become hardware, fixed within it. I could not have imagined the retribution that was meant to befall me. You should know that all things are transformed by the spirit—from the clouds above to an ant or a stone below. Therefore, you can imagine that mobile phones and computers are also transformed by the spirit. If you are obsessed with them, if you love them, becoming one with these things is the most natural outcome of the laws of karma and cause and effect.

Western countries lack formal education on the laws of karma and cause and effect, and they are accustomed to being free and open. Therefore, people create karma without even knowing it. We were not doing it on purpose; we truly did not understand. Today, I, Jobs, am using this form of letter to make amends for everything that has happened. I do not care how many people believe me; I am simply doing my best. If I can save even one person, it is worth it."

A Call to Return to Simplicity

"Governments should take the major problems caused by human addiction to mobile phones seriously. They should establish a 'Mobile and Computer-Free Day' to encourage people not to be constantly obsessed with them, and to try to return to a primitive, simple, and authentic life. This approach could also allow people to release the pressure of their fast-paced lives. This is the method I, Steve Jobs, have thought of for now. I hope governments will not underestimate this problem.

Now, I reside in the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss, what you call 'Heaven'. We do not need mobile phones here; communication is heart-to-heart. This is the most primitive instinct of humanity. The distraction of technology has taken us further and further away from our true nature. Please, everyone, try to listen to a little advice from Jobs: do not develop the habit of never being without your electronic products, and do not be a lost lamb, being led around by them. I have said enough; I hope these serious problems will be taken to heart. In this way, I may be able to compensate for the heavy karma I have created."

Signed, Steve Jobs

Namo Amituofo.