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artful living A New Cosmology
BY
BILL WALZ
“Evolution occurs in a cosmic context, on a planet under a star, so terrestrially evolved brains are well equipped to construct a rich and accurate cosmological story… the Universe has, in a sense, made us in its own image — meaning we’ve evolved with a natural ability to understand Nature… We’re descended from stars… and evolving within Nature has shaped our intuition in such a way that we can comprehend the cosmological story. In a sense, we’re children of Nature, at home in the Universe.”
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~ Mark Whittle, Professor of Astrophysics, University of Virginia
To bring up the topics of spirituality and religion in any cross-section gathering of contemporary society is the proverbial can of worms. To intersect science and religion in the conversation spills the can on to the floor. And to throw politics into the mix can set off a riot. We have a very difficult time talking with each other concerning these topics; we rather have the tendency to talk at each other — vigorously, and at times, violently. A big part of why these topics invoke such energy and argument is because they are conversations into suppositions about truth; they are even stabs at absolute Truth, and what can be more important? Religion is the discussion of the origin, meaning and destiny of existence, and the manner in which these beliefs are institutionalized, with a related conversation concerning ethics thrown in, all in mythic, subjective language. Science also addresses the origin, meaning and destiny of existence, but the emphasis is on the observable, measurable, and quantifiable, in objective language. The social sciences — philosophy, psychology, anthropology, sociology and political science — attempt the same, but since the topics are so subjective, objectivity is very difficult. The ethics conversation is also of great importance in these scientific discussions, although often not as vigorously applied as it ought to be.
Hepatitis C
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“Bruce, can I talk with you for a minute?” Dr. Burnstock spoke quietly to his neighbor. “Sure, Doc. What’s up?” Bruce followed the doctor away from the neighborhood group. “Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?” “Sure,” Bruce responded, though his face registered surprise. “What’s this all about?” “How long have you had those small blistered areas on your neck?” “What?” Bruce slapped his hand on the back of his neck, trying to hide the most recent lesions. “Oh, those. I don’t know. Just a few weeks I guess.” “You have scars from other lesions that are older than a few weeks. How long, Bruce?” “I guess maybe six months. Actually, it’s come and gone for a year or two — or three. I don’t know really,” Bruce’s face changed from
A big part of the problem lies in the failure of religion and science to recognize that they really need to be converging rather than splintering the conversation. We’re caught in our typically human dualistic conundrum of “either-or.” Somehow the simple observation that the discussion concerning the truth of the way things are has to be a single conversation eludes us. The truth has to be the truth, applicable universally. As a saying that has emerged in recent political conversation goes: “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but no one is entitled to their own facts,” yet that seems to be what happens as contradictory opinions are presented as if they are facts. The history of humanity’s conversation about truth has been plagued by a recurring theme where belief, that is, a story about the way things are as we imagine it, keeps getting substituted for the way things actually are. Dogma gets foisted as fact. Metaphor is arguing with metaphor. Trouble is sure to ensue. Buddhism has taken a very constructive approach to this problem for thousands of years. Certainly debates amongst Buddhists occur, but Buddhism, from its very origins has been able to keep these debates rather civil by noticing that dogma is the bane of truth and cautions against confusing the way we think things are from the way they really are.
BY
MAX HAMMONDS, MD
deception to worry. “Why? What’s wrong?” “It’s called porphyria cutanea tarda,” the doctor explained. “It means your body is not processing a particular chemical in your blood. There are several possible causes.” The doctor paused. “I was reading today about a particular disease that sneaks up on you.” He paused again, considering. “You’re about 59 or 60, yes?” “Sixty-one next April. Why?” Bruce was now paying close attention. “Three-fourths of all Hepatitis C is found in those born between 1945 and 1965.” Dr. Burnstock smiled wryly. “Remember those years? The 1970’s?” “Yeah, some years, huh?” Bruce laughed softly. “I was kinda wild back then.” “How wild, Bruce?” The doctor was now very serious. “ Drugs? Shooting up?” “Yeah, pretty wild.” “You might have Hepatitis C, Bruce. It’s a serious disease. Most of the liver transplants
Dark Matter, Millenium Simulation
Neural Network
The very important Buddhist concept of “emptiness” actually allows that all things are empty of absolute nature because we only have a picture of reality as our minds create it. It allows that everyone is free to have their own opinion, but these opinions ought not be foisted off on anyone else. Rather, every opinion, every point of view must be examined very carefully over and over again with the fullest application of all human faculties of observation and understanding to ever-improve our approximation of what any phenomenon actually is. It also states that no phenomenon stands alone, rather always in infinite interconnectedness and interdependence with all phenomena, that there is no single phenomenon other than the Universe itself, beyond actual comprehension.
For years, Westerners attempting to understand Buddhism have surrendered to allowing it to be more a philosophy of life, a psychology, a study of mind, than a religion. The area of Buddhism that does clearly fall into the realms of religion are in its teachings concerning the non-material aspects of existence and about ethics. Here too, however, whereas the major world religions seem to teach perspectives of exclusion and judgment, Buddhism teaches inclusion, insight, investigation and tolerance. The Dalai Lama has even made a very great point of saying that where scientific and modern understanding demonstrate error in Buddhist teaching, it is the religious teaching that ought to bow and give way. With this open, searching, non-dogmatic, even non-dualistic perspective as central to Buddhism, I find it best to consider Buddhism, rather than a religion, a cosmology, the field of exploration that seems to me to be open and integrative, to contain the domains that have been compartmentalized into spirituality, religion, philosophy, science and even politics as basically one gestalt. As we are at a critical historical moment in Humanity’s evolution where divisive dogmas and interests are threatening to tear apart not only the social fabric, but the ecologic fabric of continued on page 36
are done for people who have had liver failure because of Hepatitis C. We also get a lot of liver cancer from this disease. In fact, a recent idea is to test everyone in your age group.” “Wow, I had no idea,” Bruce whispered. “I thought that came from blood transfusions.” “It did — some — before 1992 when we started testing for it in all blood transfusions. But the largest source is IV drug use, sharing needles, getting tats with unclean instruments — that sort of thing. In about 15% of the cases, the body heals itself. In 85% of cases the infection quietly persists over the years, eventually 30-40% getting cirrhosis — with liver failure, maybe 10% developing cancer.” “Can it be treated? How do I know if I have it? What can we do, doc?” “Whoa, slow down.” The doctor patted his friend. “We don’t know for sure if it’s Hepatitis C. And yes, we can test for it. And yes, there are some excellent new treatments for it that are 95% effective. But first, let’s find out if that’s what you have. Can you come in tomorrow?”
Vol. 17, No. 3 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — November 2013 33