Dear Reader,

This collection of commentaries, indexed to readings from the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), is intended to support your spiritual growth by enriching Biblical wisdom with wisdom from the Sutta Pitaka of Theravada Buddhism and the lamrim ("stepwise path") and lojong ("mind transformation") practices of Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism.

I began this project in late December of 2022, following the general availability of the ChatGPT chatbot interface to the GPT-3 Large Language Model (LLM) of OpenAI. Currently, I am using a purpose-built customized version of ChatGPT called "Spiritual Elder", specifically oriented toward spiritual growth.

A word to the wise: Don’t try this on your own unless you have access to reliable sources for checking quotations and attributions, sufficient subject knowledge to detect errors, and the editorial skill to correct redundancies and non sequiturs. Do not rely solely on a chatbot, regardless of how advanced its language model may be, for spiritual guidance. Such tools have no realization, conscience, or lived understanding. Rely instead on science, the teachings of the great masters, embodied practice within community, and your own critical and emotional intelligence.