Buddhism
and Modern Cosmology:
Modern cosmology have recently found out, that the universe is not
in a steady state,
but undergoes periodic expansions (big bangs) and contractions.
The Buddha Gotama
also told exactly so, but more
than 2500 years ago, by explaining an awakened memory:
"He recalls to mind his various temporary states in
days gone by - one life, two
lives or
three or four or 5 rebirths, 10 or 20, 30 or fifty, a 100 or a 1000
or a 100.000 rebirths,
through many aeons of cosmic contraction
and many aeons of cosmic
expansion...
Now there comes a time, friends, when, sooner or later, after the
lapse of a long, long
period of contraction, this world-system
implodes away. And when
this happens beings
have mostly been reborn at the level of radiance, and there they
dwell, made of mind,
feeding on joy, radiating light from themselves, traversing space,
and dwelling in glory;
and thus they remain for a long, long period of time. Now
then there
comes also a time,
friends, when, sooner or later, this world-system begins to
re-evolve by expansion..."
The Buddha thus
clearly knew about big bangs! Source:
Digha Nikāya 1: Brahma-Jala Sutta
Video on Buddhist
Cosmology, Reality, and Genesis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyVijoNjrZo
Buddhism and Space-Time
Relativity:
Time
& space are not universal! Albert Einstein presented the special & general relativity
theory almost a hundred years ago. Still the philosophical implications is
only assumed by
few mathematicians. Mainly Einstein's relativity theory points out that
time and locality
in
space cannot be regarded independent, if the observer & object is moving
fast relative
to each other. Differently moving observers will experience different
speeds of time even
when using the same watches. They will disagree on the time order of
observed events!
A 'Universal' or 'Absolute' or 'same' time does therefore not exist! Time
is relative...
Buddha also told about this > 2500 years ago, when comparing the life-lengths
of beings:
"Bhikkhus, 50 human years is one night and day to the four guardian devas.
The life span of
these four guardian devas
are
500
of those very long divine years...
Bhikkhus, 1600 human years is one night and day to the devas with power
over other
beings
mental & physical creations.
Their
life span are
16 thousand of those very long divine years!"
Buddha thus also knew about time relativity!
Source:
Anguttara Nikāya III.71: Muluposatha Sutta
Relativity: Gravitation Curved
Space-Time!
Buddhism and Quantum
Mechanics:
Matter is quanta of discrete events and not a permanent same and solid
enduring substance!
Another implication of both Einstein's theory and also of quantum mechanics,
is that matter
cannot truly be regarded to be continuously existing neither
in time, nor
in space. A movement
of a body is thus -absolutely speaking- events of disappearance in one
place and its re-arising
in the next place! This process is though so incredible fast, that we
experience it as continuous
moving existence. This discreteness of quantum theory is also found
exactly so explained in the
Higher Buddha-Dhamma ie: The Abhidhamma considers movement of a 'formed' body to be a
serial decaying and re-arising in adjacent locations! The world thus blinks, rather
than endures...
So modern Science, even regarding physical phenomena (Buddhist concept:
Rūpa is simply 'form'),
is not so modern after all. Most seem to be rediscovering of what was
already known
millenniums
ago, but now ignored & forgotten! Same wine on new bottles: We are going in ring! How
comic ;-)
The
stuff of the world is mind-stuff.
(Eddington, The Nature of the Physical
World)
The old dualism of mind and matter... seems likely to
disappear ...
through substantial matter resolving itself into a creation
and
manifestation of the mind.
(Jeans, The Mysterious Universe)
The only acceptable point of view appears to be the one that
recognizes
both sides of reality—the quantitative and the qualitative,
the physical
and the psychical—as compatible with each other, and can
embrace them
simultaneously. (Pauli, Writings on
Physics and Philosophy)
The conception of the objective reality of the elementary
particles has
thus evaporated not into the cloud of some obscure new
reality concept,
but into the transparent clarity of a mathematics that
represents no longer
the behavior of the particle but rather our knowledge of
this behavior.
(Heisenberg, The Representation of
Nature in Contemporary Physics)
