Artificial Intelligence(AI), Four Quartets, and the Buddhist Ālaya-vijñāna

The AI era demands renewed inquiry into dimensions of human consciousness that transcend computational intelligence. Through a comparative analysis of T. S. Eliot’s Four Quartets and Buddhist Yogācāra philosophy, the paper examines the distinction between ego-centered awareness and a deeper, non-dual consciousness. Eliot’s concept of the “still point of the turning world” articulates an experience of ultimate reality beyond temporal flux and desire, paralleling Yogācāra’s distinction between discriminative consciousness and ālaya-vijñāna, the deep consciousness underlying all experience. The paper proposes an alternative model of human identity for the age of AI grounded not in technological mastery but in awakening to the deeper mind as the source of authentic fulfillment and existential integration.

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Abstract

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence(AI) has reshaped contemporary life and intensified philosophical questions concerning human consciousness and selfhood. While AI systems increasingly simulate cognitive and creative processes, they remain confined to surface-level cognition and instrumental reasoning. This paper argues that the AI era calls for a renewed inquiry into deeper dimensions of human consciousness that transcend computational intelligence. Through a comparative analysis of T. S. Eliot’s Four Quartets and Buddhist Yogācāra philosophy, this study examines the distinction between ego-centered awareness and a deeper, non-dual consciousness. Eliot’s concept of the “still point of the turning world” articulates an experience of ultimate reality that transcends temporal flux, desire, and phenomenal distraction. This poetic vision parallels Yogācāra’s distinction between discriminative consciousness and ālaya-vijñāna, the storehouse or deep consciousness that underlies all experience. By bringing Eliot’s spiritual poetics into dialogue with Buddhist philosophy, this paper proposes an alternative model of human identity for the age of AI—one grounded not in technological mastery, but in awakening to the deeper mind as the source of authentic fulfillment and existential integration.