The Mahayanization of Modern Science Wyatt Griffith May 2016
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Abstract The Mahayana school of Buddhism has a unique method of maintaining rel-
evance by reinterpreting older Buddhist texts and incorporating different beliefs into the current Buddhist dogma. This leads to a faith that is both adaptable to a change in geography and relevant throughout the advancement of time. As Buddhism spread throughout Asia, local beliefs were melded into the Buddhist ones to create various schools of Buddhism. This is happening again in the 20th century with one key difference. The “beliefs� that are being incorporated into Buddhism are scientific, not religious. This has allowed Buddhism to coincide with modern science, and science to progress using Buddhist ideas. It is also bringing the foundations of science into question and leading to a shift in how we understand the world in which we live.
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The Mahayana Tradition
2.1
Origins
Mahayana Buddhism emerged out of existing forms of Buddhism during a period of religious instability in India called The Great Schism.[8] This schism
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took place long after the death of the Buddha Shakyamuni. During the Buddha’s life, sutras were passed on orally from teacher to student.[9] After hundreds of years of this, Buddhists began to question the authenticity and interpretation of certain rules and ideas that were being preached. A divide formed among the sangha, creating divisions among Buddhists, and allowing Mahayanist ideas to surface. Mahayana Buddhism was not invented during The Great Schism, it had been developing for quite some time.[8] The Great Schism simply gave these views equal footing with other interpretations of the Buddha’s teachings. Different groups of Buddhists were all claiming their set of teachings as the teachings of Shakyamuni, this gave the Mahayanists more credibility when claiming the originality of their canonical text: The Lotus Sutra.[14]
2.2
The Mahayana Process
The Mahayanists take an interesting approach towards convincing and converting people. They do not claim that all other beliefs are false and Mahayana Buddhism is the only way. Instead, Mahayanists claim that Mahayana Buddhism is a complete view of the big picture, while all other ways are only incomplete views of that same picture. The Lotus Sutra is intended to show this truth to Buddhists by revealing an ancient and important sutra, preached by Shakyamuni himself. The Lotus Sutra begins with all of the well known Buddhist figures and Bodhisattvas gathered at “Mound Gridhrakuta” to hear the Buddha preach “The Great Vehicle sutra”. After the Buddha finishes preaching there is a miraculous sequence of events including the Buddha entering samadhi and the raining of manjushka flowers. Afterwards, Maitreya gathers his thoughts and asks Manjushri “what is the cause of these auspicious portents?” [14][5] In traditional Buddhism, Maitreya is the only Bodhisattva. A Bodhisattva is someone on the path to becoming a Buddha. In The Lotus Sutra
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Maitreya is not only one of many Bodhisattvas, he isn’t even the wisest one. He needs Manjushri, to explain the significance of “The Great Vehicle Sutra”. This is the process of Mahayanization: Drawing connections to the preexisting culture and affirming peoples beliefs in order to strengthen your argument. By referring to Maitreya, The Lotus Sutra makes a connection to the traditional Buddhist culture and gives potential followers a sense of familiarity. This allows The Lotus Sutra to present its dogma as an extension of the current Buddhist beliefs and claim superiority over other forms of religion.
2.3
The Spread of Mahayana
This practice may have begun in India, but it can be seen spreading throughout Asia. As Buddhism spread to China, Japan, and Tibet, it built upon the beliefs of each place it went, Mahayanizing them into different schools of Buddhism. In China the dominant religion was Confucianism. In Confucianism, “traditional rituals (are) the basis of human civilization.” [1] By practicing these rituals, groups of individuals form a “civilized society” with “a stable, unified, and enduring social order.”[1] This emphasis on structure and ritual can be seen in the Daily Life in the Assembly. This selection details the “standards of behaviour for monks and nuns” in the Chan school of Chinese Buddhism. [7][339] It helps inform Chan monks what to do any given day in the monastery. Everything is covered from how monks “should quietly get up before the bell of the fifth watch” to how they should “face the fire” during the winter. [7][339,356] These rules are intended to create a civilized society of monks. They are a set of rituals for engaging in daily life that help define monastic society, much like the rituals in Confucianism help define Chinese society. “Shinto is the indigenous faith of the Japanese people.”[16] It revolves around the existence of spirits called Kami that take physical forms in life and nature like
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“wind, rain, mountains, trees, rivers and fertility.” [16] Practitioners of Shinto will worship specific Kami at shrines dedicated to that spirit. In Japanese Buddhism it is common to worship Bodhisattvas in the same way Shintoists worship Kami. The Shinto Kami associated with fertility has been developed into a Buddhist Bodhisattva named Jizo. Jizo shrines are often indistinguishable from Kami fertility shrines because both share the same physical appearance and function.[6] When Buddhism reached Tibet, structured religion had not fully formed yet. The systems of beliefs were very mystic and pagan in nature. “This ancient Tibetan shamanism and animism, the pre-Buddhist spiritual and religious culture of Tibet, was known as Bon.” [10][2] The shamans who practiced this art were called Bonpo, and they were “expert(s) in the use of mantra and magical evocation.” [10][2] These chants were used to communicate between the natural and spiritual world in order to heal people or guide them to the afterlife. This use of rituals and chants to invoke change, along with the use of spirit guides can be seen in Tibetan Buddhism. The Tibetan Book of the Dead, as it is popularly known in the West, is a stunning example of this. The book details the best way to guide a soul to the afterlife. It contains instructions for both the deceased and whomever is guiding them through their death. Included in this text are several prayers that “ are meant to be memorized and then recited at different points.” [5][97] These prayers along with “longer instructions” are meant to guide the recently deceased to the next step in the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. [5][97] This is the Buddhist version of Bonpo death rituals. Over the course of time Buddhism has found a way to spread throughout Asia and adapt to whatever system of beliefs it encountered. In this globalized era Buddhism is able to continue doing this by targeting new systems of beliefs.
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The Quantum and the Lotus
3.1
Introduction
The Quantum and The Lotus is a contemporary Mahayana text written by Matthieu Ricard and Trinh Xuan Thuan. Matthieu Ricard is a former molecular biologist turned Buddhist monk, currently residing in the Shechen monastery in Nepal where he is the french translator to the Dalai Lama. Trinh Xuan Thuan grew up in a Buddhist family and went on to get a PHD in astrophysics.[11] In The Quantum and The Lotus they discuss topics like space, time, and causality from the perspective of a scientist and that of a Buddhist. In doing this, they reach conclusions that agree with both the scientific and the Buddhist point of view. On the surface it appears to be an open discussion between two brilliant minds. Upon further inspection, the Mahayanist nature of the text reveals itself. The book is divided into 17 chapters. The first 15 of these are each dedicated to one concept or set of questions, while the last two are the Monk’s and Scientist’s conclusions respectively. Each of the conceptual chapters follows a fairly well defined format that is very reminiscent of The Lotus Sutra.
3.2
The Format
The best way to explore this format is to look at one of the chapters, for example Chapter 3: In Search of the Great Watchmaker. Each chapter begins with a leading statement or question that tries to sum up the conceptual theme of that given chapter. In our example, the theme being discussed is the existence of a higher power and the chapter begins by asking “Is there a principle of organization?’[11][37] This statement is not attributed to either author, it is simply there to frame the discussion. After the concept has been stated and explained, one of the authors 5
will take over and give their initial reaction to the statement. In our example the scientist opens up by explaining the scale of humanity relative to the rest of the universe: “Humanity is just a grain of sand on this vast cosmic beach... if the universe is so large, then it evolved that way in order to allow us to be here.” [11][38] This is followed by the Buddhist asking questions and probing the scientist to explain his stance in more detail. In this example, Trinh goes on to explain the anthropic principle: “the universe... carried the seeds that allowed for the emergence of consciousness.” [11][39] After the initial reaction is thoroughly explained from one point of view, the other author brings their perspective into the discussion, often opposing the initial reaction. “As far as Buddhism is concerned.. some principle.. (that has) tuned the universe perfectly so that the conscious mind could evolve is fundamentally misguided.”[11][42] He then goes on to explain why Buddhist theory negates the anthropic principle. To which Trinh replies: “I can certainly see that Buddhism has no need of an anthropic principle. [11][42] Trinh goes on to support his initial reaction but in doing so, slowly agrees with different steps in Matthieu’s reasoning. This progresses to the point where Matthieu will have large paragraphs of Buddhist ideas on the concept of God and all that Trinh will say in response is: “That’s logical.”[11][56] 6
Eventually both authors will be in agreement and the chapter will end with a large paragraph summarizing the conclusions that they have agreed upon. In 14 out of the 15 conceptual chapters, this summary is done by Matthieu, showing some clear preference in the structure. This format is tweaked and used in every chapter that is aimed at discussing concepts.
3.3
A Modern Sutra
Analyzing the format and structure of this text gives great insight into the hidden Mahayana agenda. The first signs of this agenda can be seen on the front cover. Both the title, The Quantum and The Lotus, and the subtitle, A journey to the frontiers where science and Buddhism meet, imply that this text is equal parts Buddhism and quantum physics. If one were to try and assert any form of inequality the favor would fall towards science, simply because it is mentioned first. This apparent equality between the scientific and spiritual worlds will draw in a certain type of people. In this day and age, these people will likely take science as absolute truth and be looking for some form of spirituality that coincides with that. This is a niche that The Quantum and The Lotus fills perfectly. It fulfills the same role as The Lotus Sutra did in ancient India, except in a modern globalized world. This can be seen in the similarities between the format of The Quantum and The Lotus and that of The Lotus Sutra. Both texts have many incidents of individuals respected by the target audience asking for clarification from a wiser Buddhist source. The audience will follow Trinh as he asks Matthieu “what does ‘and God created the universe’ mean?” [11][52] in the same way that ancient Buddhists followed Shariputra as he asked “For what reason does the World Honored One earnestly praise this Law?” [14][27] This asking and answering is a common form of explaining Buddhist concepts that is utilized frequently in
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The Quantum and The Lotus. Another method used by Buddhists to convey ideas is with upayas or expedient means. In The Lotus Sutra, these upayas take the form of similes and parables, like the rich man who used three types of carriages to entice his sons to leave a burning building.[14][62] In The Quantum and The Lotus, these upayas take the form of various well known scientific experiments and principles like Einstein’s theory of special relativity. [11][128] These scientific theories are analogous to the similes and parables because they are serving the same purpose; they explain complex Buddhist concepts in a way that is more familiar to the reader. In ancient India people were familiar with stories and tales while the readers of The Quantum and The Lotus are familiar with important scientific discoveries and theories. A great example of this is the use of Schrodinger’s concept of particles to describe the illusory nature of the physical world. “It is better not to view a particle as a permanent entity, but rather as an instantaneous event. Sometimes these events link together to create the illusion of permanent entities,” thus “The ring of light created by a rotating flashlight isn’t an ‘object’” and “reality doesn’t lie in the solid concepts we attach to things.” [11][85] These upayas are extremely effective because they are all grounded in the currently accepted version of absolute truth, science. This is very similar to the way ancient Buddhists were convinced to follow Mahayana Buddhism. The presiding “Absolute Truth” is used as evidence to support the Mahayana agenda.
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Scientific Thought Using Buddhist Ideas
4.1
Classical vs Modern Physics
The history of physics can be divided into two periods; classical, and the modern physics. Classical physics “began in the seventeenth century with the work of Galileo.” [13][290] Physicists of this era were obsessed with finding out how physical processes worked and modeling them with math. This is when most of the Newtonian equations that govern the motion and interaction of objects were formed and it was thought that humans had a good understanding of how the world works. Scientists of this era believed they could develop one theory to describe the relations of all matter. This all changed in 1905 when Einstein published his theory of special relativity. [13][290] In his paper, Einstein linked the concepts of space and time into one unified space-time. This undercut some of the basic notions and assumptions of physics, opening the door for quantum physics. Quantum physics is “an effort to explain .. phenomena on the atomic and molecular level.” [13][293] Newtonian mechanics do a great job of explaining phenomena on a level that humans can interact with, but quantum physics and special relativity are necessary to describe certain phenomena. Special relativity was created to explain the phenomena like galaxies that are too large for humans to interact with . Quantum physics was created to explain objects on an atomic level that is too small for humans to interact with. Both of these theories have been tested to the best of humans ability and seem to work independent of each other. This was very frustrating for scientists seeking complete understanding of the universe or a one size fits all theory.
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4.2
Special Relativity
Special relativity is a theory that describes the interactions of macroscopic objects that is based upon two important principles. The first being “the same laws of electrodynamics and optics will be valid for all frames of reference for which the equations of mechanics hold.” [2][1] Which states that the laws of physics are the same everywhere. The second sates “that light is always propagated in empty space with a definite velocity c which is independent of the state of motion of the emitting body.” [2][1]. These two postulates have consequences that seem to defy Newtonian physics and natural instinct. The most notable of these consequences is time dilation. Time dilation occurs when an object is moving at speeds close to the speed of light. If there were two synchronized clocks, one on the object moving fast and one at rest, then they would read different values. If they both record the amount of time some event takes to elapse, the clock moving fast will record the event as happening faster than the stationary clock. The difference between these times can be calculated using Lorentz transformations. This has been verified experimentally with atomic clocks on supersonic jets. [4] This result is extremely puzzling and counter-intuitive when viewed through a Newtonian lens.
4.3
Quantum Physics
Quantum physics is a theory that describes the interactions of microscopic particles. It was formulated after experiments attempting to understand the dualistic nature of light returned unpredicted results. The nature of light was (and still is) a very troubling subject for most scientists and has taken many hours of thought. Einstein once remarked that “For the rest of my life, I will reflect on what light is.” [12][1] The pinnacle of this confusion came from the results of the double slit experiment. This experiment was designed to determine
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if light is a particle or a wave. The method for determining this was to fire photons at two small slits and look at the pattern of light that makes it through the slits. If particles were fired at theses slits, they would leave a pattern of two vertical bands (representing the particles that made it through each slit). If waves were launched at these slits they would leave an interference pattern. Waves from each slit would interact with one another causing an interference pattern of maxima and minima to appear behind the slits. When photons were fired through the slits, an interference pattern developed.[15] This was not congruent with the predictions for such an experiment. Thus it was hypothesized that the photons were interacting with each other as they went through the slits. To test this, the experiment was modified such that photons were fired one at a time through the slits, which should produce the two band pattern that a particle would demonstrate. However, after a few hours of firing photons one by one, an interference pattern emerged.[15] This was even more puzzling for physicists, so they decided to try one more thing. They placed a detector at each slit to determine which slit an individual photon went through. When they did this, the photons produced the two band pattern expected of a particle.[15] This result was even more confusing and disheartening than the last. The act of observing which slit a photon went through, changed the results of the experiment. After much thought on these results a hypothesis was formed that would change the course of physics forever. As each photon approaches the slit, there is equal probability that it will go through one slit, both slits, or neither slit. Each of these probabilities can be represented as a wave of potentials. [12] When a photon goes through the slit, the wave of potentials also go through the slit and interact with each other generating the interference pattern. The photon simultaneously goes through one slit, goes through the other slit, goes through both slits, and goes through neither slit. Then some
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of these possibilities makes it through the slit and some of those possibilities interact with each other. The interference pattern is generated by the photon interacting with itself.[15] When physicists detect which slit it is going through, the other possibilities disappear because now the particle must go through the slit it was detected going through. The wave function collapses and the result is strictly from the possibility that was observed going through the slit. [12] This result was confounding for scientists, how could the results of such a precise experiment be determined by probabilities? Einstein expressed his dismay at this situation in a letter to Max Born where he stated “God does not play dice with the universe.” Clearly more thought was necessary to come to terms with these discoveries.
4.4
Buddhist Influence
It is unclear if Buddhist ideas contributed to the discovery of either special relativity or quantum mechanics. These discoveries are the results of confounding experiments and meticulous math combined with clever thinking. It is unlikely that any Buddhist philosophy went into the math or experimental results, but it is possible that it helped with some breakthroughs and developments. When working on special relativity, Einstein was having trouble making his equations work “until at last it came to me that time was suspect.” [4][39] Then he was able to derive the postulates of special relativity. A similar process is likely how Heisenberg came up with the uncertainty principle and how Schrodinger came up with the Schrodinger Equation. There is no real evidence linking these discoveries to Buddhist ideas, but there is evidence that the development of these theories were influenced by Buddhist thought. Heisenberg visited India in 1929 (2 years after publishing his paper regarding uncertainty) as a guest of the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore. [3] There they discussed sci-
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ence, Indian, and Buddhist philosophy which helped Heisenberg come to realize that “some of the ideas that had seemed so crazy suddenly made much more sense.” [3] Einstein also found some level of comfort in Buddhism. He believed that “If there is any religion that would cope with modern scientific needs it would be Buddhism.” This idea is reciprocated by the 14th Dalai Lama when he stated that “If scientific analysis were conclusively to demonstrate certain claims in Buddhism to be false, then we must accept the findings of science and abandon those claims.” Thus we can assume that Einstein and his colleagues had at least some knowledge of Buddhist theory. In order to deal with some of the disturbing results of their experiments they needed to shift perspectives to move forward.
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The Fall of Science
5.1
The Era of Science
Throughout the course of history people have always looked to some system of beliefs to explain the phenomenon around them. Up until the 20th century that system of beliefs has almost exclusively been religion. As technology and information became more readily available people began to find facts more compelling than blind faith. This has lead to a generation that uses science as a system of beliefs. Science explains how the world works in a way that can be proven with experimentation. In addition science has flat out disproved some claims made by religions, particularly regarding the age of the Earth. At this point in time science is the system of beliefs, the basic concepts of Newtonian mechanics are considered laws of physics. This does not mean that religion is dead, it is just a secondary system of beliefs. Most people who still choose to identify as some religion embrace certain aspects and ignore others. People are
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looking to science to understand how the world works, even if they look to Jesus to understand how to treat other people. There is a basic understanding of how things work that is shared by all people and disputed by a few outliers. Science is viewed as the ultimate authority that can answer any question. When science is no longer able to do this, its position of authority comes into question.
5.2
Questioning the Foundations of Science
The results of quantum physics and special relativity have proved that science is fundamentally unable to answer every question. The uncertainty principle states that we cannot accurately know both a particles position and velocity. [12] The more we know about one, the less we know about the other. Special relativity has combined the separate notions of space and time and proved that neither is stable nor consistent. [4] Science has proven that it is not capable of explaining everything. As a result more people will turn to religion to answer the questions that science cannot. This will not be a regression back into the religious fervor of the past millenia. Science still holds true for day to day interactions and basic concepts, religion is necessary to explain that which is outside of ordinary comprehension. The two will be used together in an attempt to understand and navigate the universe. Religious concepts will resurface once more to fill in the holes that cannot be filled with experimentation.
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Conclusion Mahayana Buddhism is a unique system of beliefs that is capable of evolving
to adapt to any circumstance. The Mahayana tradition adapts by incorporating the predominant belief system into its own system of beliefs. This is both reflective of its origins and visible in its spread throughout Asia. This technique can be seen in The Quantum and the Lotus being applied to the scientific system 14
of beliefs. Through this process, science and Buddhism can coincide and borrow ideas from each other in order to flourish. This has been useful, if not necessary, in dealing with the consequences of special relativity and quantum mechanics. These discoveries shook the foundations of science and proved that the old goal of trying to reach complete knowledge is impossible. Science is still used in everyday life to describe how things work. However, science is unable to answer every question or get to the bottom of things, so people are turning back to religion to help them navigate life.
References [1] Berling, Judith A. ”Confucianism.” Kenyon. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 May 2016. Focus on Asian Studies, Vol. II, No. 1: Asian Religions, pp. 5-7, Fall 1982. Copyright AskAsia (Asia Society), 1996. [2] Einstein, Albert. ”On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies.” (1905): n. pag. Web [3] Heisenberg, Werner. ”Howling With The Wolves.” Westminster. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2016 [4] Helliwell, T. M. Special Relativity. Sausalito, CA: U Science, 2010. Print. [5] Karma-glin-pa, Padma Sambhava, and Robert A. F. Thurman. The Tibetan Book of the Dead, as Popularly Known in the West: Known in Tibet as The Great Book of Natural Liberation through Understanding in the between. New York: Bantam, 1994. Print. [6] LaFleur, William R. Liquid Life: Abortion and Buddhism in Japan. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1992. Print.
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[7] Lopez, Donald S. Buddhism in Practice. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1995. Print. [8] O’Brien, Barbara. “The Elusive Origins of Mahayana Buddhism: Converging Streams.” About.com Religion & Spirituality. N.p., 28 Nov. 2015. Web. 01 May 2016. [9] Red Zambala. “Theravada and Mahasanghika : The Great Schism.” Red Zambala. N.p., 2013. Web. 01 May 2016. [10] Reynolds, John M. ”Ancient Tibetan Bonpo Shamanism.” Ancient Tibetan Bonpo Shamanism. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 May 2016. [11] Ricard, Matthieu, and Xuan Thuan. Trinh. The Quantum and the Lotus: A Journey to the Frontiers Where Science and Buddhism Meet. New York: Crown, 2001. Print. [12] Townsend, John S. Quantum Physics: A Fundamental Approach to Modern Physics. Sausalito, CA: U Science, 2010. Print. [13] Wallace, B. Alan. Buddhism & Science: Breaking New Ground. New York: Columbia UP, 2003. Print. [14] Watson, Burton, and Kumarajiva The Lotus Sutra. New York: Columbia UP, 1993. Print. [15] Albert Eintein: The Secret of Quantum Physics. Perf. Dr Quantum. Youtube. BBC, 27 Dec. 2010. Web. 8 May 2016 [16] ”Shinto.” Shinto.Japan Guide N.p., n.d. Web. 09 May 2016. MLA formatting courtesy of bibme.org
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