Public Intellectuals needs, or modify and improve them through feedback and iteration. * * * Reid: Gong’an explicitly refer to the public in their very name. Write an interview between [18th-century. Zen master and artist] Hakuin Ekaku and [13th-century Zen master and philosopher] Eihei Dogen speaking to the public nature of gong’an and addressing AI’s fitness or lack thereof for generating useful gong’an. GPT-4: Possible interview: Hakuin: Greetings, venerable Dogen. I am honored to have this opportunity to exchange views with you on the topic of gong’an, or koans as they are called in Japanese. As you know, I have devoted much of my life to reviving the practice of gong’an in the Rinzai school of Zen, and I have composed many new ones for the benefit of my students and the public. Dogen: Thank you, master Hakuin. I respect your efforts and achievements in the Rinzai tradition, although I have followed a different path in the Soto school of Zen. As you may be aware, I have emphasized the practice of zazen, or sitting meditation, as the essential expression of enlightenment, and I have not relied on gong’an as a means of instruction or verification. Hakuin: I am aware of your position, and I do not wish to argue with you about the merits of our respective methods. However, I would like to ask you a question: do you agree that gong’an are public cases, that is, records of the interactions between Zen masters and their stu- dents or other masters, that illustrate the principles and dynamics of Zen awakening? 181