The discussion of the Steve Jobs/Buddhism connection continues, and now Steve Silberman, who writes for WIRED, and many other magazines (including Lion’s Roar) has weighed in with what is by far the best and deepest contribution we’ve seen.
Over on his NeuroTribes blog, Steve takes a look at Walter Isaacson’s already-famous new biography, Steve Jobs — and assesses just what Jobs’ connection to Buddhism and meditation may have been. (It should be noted that Steve is a longtime Zen practitioner and has interviewed Jobs himself.) Steve writes:
One reason I was looking forward to reading Walter Isaacson’s new biography of Steve Jobs was my hope that, as a sharp-eyed reporter, Isaacson would probe to the heart of what one of the few entrepreneurs who really deserved the term “visionary” learned from Buddhism.
By now, everyone knows the stories of how the future founder of Apple dropped acid, went to India on a quest for spiritual insight, met a laughing Hindu holy man who took a straight razor to his unkempt hair, and was married in a Zen ceremony to Laurene Powell in 1991. I was curious how Jobs’ 20-year friendship with the monk who performed his wedding — a wiry, swarthily handsome Japanese priest named Kobun Chino Otogawa — informed his ambitious vision for Apple, beyond his acquiring a lifetime supply of black, Zen-ish Issey Miyake turtlenecks.
Isaacson does a fine job of showing how Jobs’ engagement with Buddhism was more than just a lotus-scented footnote to a brilliant Silicon Valley career. As a young seeker in the ’70s, Jobs didn’t just dabble in Zen, appropriating its elliptical aesthetic as a kind of exotic cologne. He turns out to have been a serious, diligent practitioner who undertook lengthy meditation retreats at Tassajara — the first Zen monastery in America, located at the end of a twisting dirt road in the mountains above Carmel — spending weeks on end “facing the wall,” as Zen students say, to observe the activity of his own mind.
Why would a former phone phreak who perseverated over the design of motherboards be interested in doing that? Using the mind to watch the mind, and ultimately to change how the mind works, is known in cognitive psychology as metacognition. Beneath the poetic cultural trappings of Buddhism, what intensive meditation offers to long-term practitioners is a kind of metacognitive hack of the human operating system (a metaphor that probably crossed Jobs’ mind at some point.) Sitting zazen offered Jobs a practical technique for upgrading the motherboard in his head.
The classic Buddhist image of this hack is that thoughts are like clouds passing through a spacious blue sky. All your life, you’ve been convinced that this succession of clouds comprises a stable, enduring identity — a “self.” But Buddhists believe this self this is an illusion that causes unnecessary suffering as you inevitably face change, loss, disease, old age, and death. One aim of practice is to reveal the gaps or discontinuities — the glimpses of blue sky — between the thoughts, so you’re not so taken in by the illusion, but instead learn to identify with the panoramic awareness in which the clouds arise and disappear.
It's very good to hear that Jobs was, for lack of a better way of putting it, a "real" Buddhist. And, as always, double secret bonus points are awarded for all mentions of "phone phreaking".
Why is it very good? Does it improve your image of him? Or does it mean there is double secret Buddhist Magic in each and every Treasured Apple Device?
Did the "short path" just get overclocked? No need for wisdom… just buy an iPad!
protip – dont use water cooling
It is good news because it is always appropriate to rejoice in the sincere practice of others, for such practice benefits all beings.
btw – Apple Inc. calls them "logic boards", not "motherboards"
Yes, Credentials, but the term "logic board" wasn't invented by Apple until the 1980s, long after the period I was describing.
Apple never called them "motherboards", even before the Mac. Back then they were called "mainboards". BTW, I wouldnt consider the 1980s to be "long after" 1975, when the first personal computer was invented – but of course, that consideration is just my opinion. For example: some people would consider this conversation fascinating, others might consider it incredibly tedious and boring.
Well, what's more interesting to me is that the piece ended up getting linked to lots of websites, but there's less discussion here than anywhere else. Maybe the Sun readership knows all this stuff already, or at least the parts about the teachers.
since this post links to the full article on your blog, they may very well be commenting there.
it is quite possible that the Sun readership are know-it-alls
as rare as that may be
The Article now is as it is. Taking on a slightly different hue in each mind it flows through. My ego may feel that my hue is important and I might choose to engage in verbal combat or praise. In this case may I merely say Thank you Steve Silberman for your contribution.
Thanks for your contribution.
Dear Steve Silberman,
Thank you for a wonderfully thoughtful article about Steve Jobs and in praticular, his relationship to Buddhism. You brought to light many facts about him and his teachers that I didn't know and found very interesting and inspiring. Remembering both Kobin Chino Roshi and my own guru, ChogyamTrungpa Rinpoche reignights my passion for the Dharma and brings tears of joy and sandess. I didn't know until just recently that Steve Jobs was indeed a Buddhist. Knowing this now I can clearly see it's influence in his vision, approach to business and his products. He was a very remarkable man. Compassion takes many forms. Thank you again for your generous insights.
Cheerfully, Curtis Ronci.
Ok, I guess I'm going to do it. I think the answer to the question "what kind of Buddhist Jobs was" is: probably not a very a "good" one. Look, I'm an Apply fanboy. I have tons of Apply products. I bought the biography, i.e., downloaded it onto my iPad2 from the iBooks store, the first day it was available. Apple's inventions have, literally, changed my life. However, to say Jobs was difficult is probably an incredible understatement. And denying that you are the father of a child . . . that's just NOT COOL.
It's only toward the end of Silberman's piece where he seems to address that fact Jobs seems to have failed to practice "the core tenet of Buddhism . . . [namely] the importance of treating everyone around you, even perceived enemies, with basic respect and lovingkindness."
I will always appreciate Jobs for what he helped engender. He was a true visionary.
I understand the desire for Buddhists want posterboys, but I just don't think Jobs should be that guy.
Why are some people so happy to know that Steve Job was buddhist? I don't understand that.
Its all about "home team advantage". Its about our cherished golden cage and how we can checkout anytime we like, but we can never leave. Its about tightly designed zen cushions and precisely arranged pictures of robes and beads scrolling across a sparkling clear iPad screen. Its about the revolution and the movement and all the righteous power of good vs evil.
Hmmmm. Slave labour, child labour, toxic working conditions…yes those are all Buddhist values.