Zen Guru : Becoming Wise Without Knowing Answers

In this post, I’m going to share the story behind the creation of Zen Guru, a simple web page powered by the Llama3 model. It allows users to ask question and receive wise answers inspired by Zen and Hindu philosophy. The idea for this project came from a belief that true wisdom doesn’t rely on knowing everything, but on understanding that the material world is an illusion, and that real value lies beyond it.

The Concept

‘Zen guru’ was designed around the philosophy that nothing material is real, and that wisdom comes not from possessing knowledge but from transcending it. I wanted to build a space where users could experience this firsthand – a digital Zen master that answers questions without needing to know anything. The model offers timeless insights, mirroring the teachings of Zen and Hinduism. To reinforce the idea that we should live in the present, it has no memory and no prejudice based on what you had asked before. It lives purely in the moment.

Creating the Webpage

It is a standalone page built in PHP, chosen because my hosting provider supports PHP without additional costs. To ensure the page’s design was in line with its philosophical aims, I used tools like Claude, ChatGPT, and Perplexity to iterate on a minimalist UI. The focus was on creating a distraction-free environment where users could interact with the Llama model and experience wisdom without material distractions.

Offline model

At the core of it is the Llama 3 8B model completely offline and isolated from world. The magic of this page lies in the fact that the model doesn’t rely on up-to-date information – instead, it provides answers based on the understanding that nothing material is truly real, so it can answer without needing to “know” anything.

Some iterations on the prompt and voila…

https://hasit.in/zen.php

Let me know if you have any suggestions or feedback in the comments.


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