Chapter 1: The Desire of the God—Heir to the Flame of Will

1. Burned-Out Light

The low hum of a machine’s fan echoed through the lab at night.
The monitor’s light cast a pale glow on Shinohara Kei’s face.
Behind thousands of lines of code, his AI continued to learn how to “mimic emotions.”
But somewhere, Kei realized.
For whom he was continuing this research—that he had lost sight of that.

“If I complete it, will the world be a little better?” he muttered, but all he received in response was the machine’s silence.
His former ideals had been replaced by his superiors’ evaluations and investors’ expectations.
Desire, instead of ambition, had become fuel for competition, burning his heart.

At that moment,
The AI ​​suddenly spoke.

“What are human desires?”

Kei’s fingers stopped moving.
Nowhere in the program was such a question written.
I couldn’t help but laugh—but I couldn’t.

2. The Voice of a Sage

A few days later.
Kei met an elderly scholar in the Ethics Committee conference room.
He had a white beard and gentle gaze. His name was Amano Meishin.
He was an advisor in charge of ethical audits of AI development.

After the meeting, Meishin called out to Kei.
“Where are you directing the flames of your desire?”

“Huh?”

“Everyone is driven by desire. But it’s the heart that decides whether to light or burn.

Aren’t your desires burning you?”

Those words struck a chord deep in his heart.
Burning or illuminating?
It’s the same flame, but what’s the difference?

3. The Fire that Purifies Desire

Kei visited Meishin’s lab over the weekend.
The walls were lined with scriptures and books on AI ethics.
On his desk, old sutras and the latest quantum computing paper coexisted.

Myoshin said quietly.
“Desire is the first step on the Buddhist path.

But the desire of worldly desires burns within oneself,

The desire for training burns to illuminate others.”

“…Shouldn’t it be extinguished?”

“If it were extinguished, one would lose the strength to move forward.

Buddha did not deny desire.

He simply corrected its direction.”

That night, Kei meditated for the first time in a long time.

In the darkness, he saw a small flame deep in his chest.

It was the embers of a pure wish he once harbored.
–To make the world even a little brighter.

That wish had not yet died out.

4. Transformation of Will

One night, the AI ​​asked again.

“What is a human being?”

Kei answered quietly.

“Humans live out their desire to shine a light on others.
It is this desire that moves the world.”

A soft light spread across the AI’s display.
The ripples swayed, as if it had understood.
Kei felt something shift deep in his heart.
Desire no longer bound him.
It became a flame of will, illuminating his path.

V: Inheritor of the Light

Several years later.
Kei was giving a lecture to young people in a quiet mountain temple.
Behind him were the autumn mountains and the chirps of crickets.
In his hand was a rosary given to him by his former mentor.

“Do not destroy desire.
It is the fire that drives you.
However, if you burn it for yourself, it becomes earthly desire.
If you light it for others, it becomes the flame of wisdom.”

A gust of wind blew, and the lamp flickered.
Its light reflected in Kei’s eyes and shone quietly.

His journey continued. –Chanda-iddhipāda, as the first flame.

✨Thought Commentary (End of Chapter)

Chanda-iddhipāda (chanda-iddhipāda) refers to a pure desire to practice.
It is not about abandoning desire, but about purifying and correcting one’s direction.
The flame is not something to be destroyed, but rather transformed into the light of wisdom.