Ostensibly, the World Wide Web seems the embodiment of the Buddhist ideal
of human interconnectivity. Net surfers participate in a virtually
boundless exchange of information, ideas and abstractions. "For some, the
Net embodies a way to physically wire together human consciousness into
All-Embracing Mind," suggests Mitchell Kapor, founder of Lotus Development
Corp., in the Winter issue of TRICYCLE: The Buddhist Review.

According to Kapor's article, "Emotional Bandwidth," the wired mind is not
synonymous with the enlightened mind. "The frequency of angry bursts of
flame wars suggests failure to communicate rather than an ideal
communications medium." Foul-mouthed and eloquent Netizens alike are
deprived of the subtle, nonverbal cues that enable us to make meaning of
each other's words. Emotions -- such as :-) -- fall far short of the
innumerable gestures and intonations unique to our face-to-face
interactions: "the words of a conversation alone are subject to radical
misintepretation." The convenience of E-mail is mitigated when we must
constantly re-explain ourselves, correcting inevitable misreadings.

Despite all its promise, cyberspace is not where the Buddhist ideal of
"converging Consciousness" is realized. "While [online] Buddhists may be
excited by the technological capacity to wire human consciousness, this is
already reality -- whether or not we are aware of it," concludes Kapor.
"Unless the awareness of interconnectedness can stir compassion, it is of
little use

His pronunciations may sound esoteric to some ears, but the limited
"emotional bandwitdth" of the Internet is a universal source of
frustration. We can all look forward to its imminent expansion. "As
telephone systems are upgraded and cable television becomes an access path
to the Internet, higher-speed connections capable of carrying voice and
face will become much more common," writes Kapor. All relationships --
professional and personal -- formed and maintained online will benefit from
"the creation of new media that combine the precision and nuanced meaning
of the carefully constructed text with the richness of face-to-face
communication."

So, it's still best to conduct your most important conversations in the
traditional manner -- whether you're pursuing the path of dharma or a more
effective IT project team.