When Einstein meets Buddha

1. When Einstein meets Buddha By Yoon Tiem Leong, School of Physics, USM Talk given to Buddhist Society, at DKG, USM, 5 Feb 2009

2. Our Universe • Consciousness (spiritual aspect) • Materialistic aspect

3. Philosophy of science: mind-matter dichotomy • René Descartes • Mechanistic universe paradigm – focus only on materialistic aspect of our universe. • Spiritual aspect lies beyond the domain of science due to its non-empirical nature.

4. Some characteristic features of science • Scientific methodology. • Believe in the existence of a set of elementary laws governing the nature ‘out there’. • Empiricism. • Reductionism. • Logical consistency. • Falsifiablility.

5. Some characteristic features of science (cont.) • Logical consistency (causal effect must be respected). • Quantitative - Mathematical language is used. • Predictive (use of mathematical language of logic leads to prediction). • Experimentally reproducible.

6. Some characteristic features of science (cont.) • Accumulative – existing knowledge is built upon previous knowledge, and then extended and modified when new finding are discovered. • Scientific knowledge evolves, hence the content of science grows over time and changes from time to time.

7. What are not science • Things can’t be measured in principle can not be treated scientifically. • Reproducibility is crucial.

8. What are not science • Ghost? • Consciousness • God • Supernatural power? • UFO? • Resurrection? • X-files? • Past life? • Hell? • Heaven? • Love?

9. Limitation of science due to its nature • Impossibility in principle: • By nature, it is not able to access spiritual aspect of the universe but only the materialistic aspect • Explanation of consciousness impossible by science.

10. Practical limitations of science • Impossibility due to practicality: • e.g. to access deeper into the constituent of matter, or earlier state of universe, higher energy are required. • Practically impossible to access these domain despite they are in principle empirically accessible. • e.g. Superstrings prediction. • Time travel.

11. Scientific knowledge changes over time • We have only ‘the best knowledge’ available to us at the moment. • Hence we can’t claim that we have found the ‘final theory’ in science as we never know what will we discover later. • Example: Lord Kelvin’s premature claim “we have known all the laws of physics” around ~ 1900

12. Science vs. religion • Science only access materialistic aspect of the universe • Science is not everything, and should not be granted a religion-like status • It can’t solve our spiritual and mental suffering even if we know all the law of physics. • This is the job of religions.

13. Science becomes a tool to probe philosophical questions • Science can now answer some fundamental questions that are used to be in the realm of philosophy in the past.

14. Fundamental (materialistic) questions • Is there a beginning of the universe/time? • Is the universe finite or infinite in size? • Is our universe eternal? • What is, if there exist such entity, the fundamental constituent of matter? • Where does all matter come from?

15. Fundamental (materialistic) questions (cont.) • Is there life beyond Earth? • What is the ultimate nature of space and time (or how does space and time arise)? • What is the origin of the universe (how is it come into existence)?

16. Fundamental (materialistic) questions (cont.) • What are the ultimate laws that governs the behavior of the materialistic universe? • Why are the natural constants take on the value as observed? • What is the truth of singularity in the black hole, big bang? (quantum gravity)

17. Fundamental (materialistic) questions (cont.) • How do life and consciousness arise? • Is there such as an ‘objective’ universe, evolves according to this laws and be independent from its observer (consciousness)?

18. No definite answer to most of these questions from science yet… • Modern day science, despite having been progressed at awful pace since the Renaissance, is still uncertain about many open questions pertaining to the true nature of the universe. • Do we still stand any chance to ultimately uncover the ultimate laws of nature?

19. Will we ever get to know the ultimate answer to these questions, through scientific approach? • YES? • NEVER? • The answer is… No one knows

20. Analogy of a lost traveler in a vast desert • The ultimate solution is still a dream far away.

21. Features of Buddhist teaching • Not so much to explaining the nature of materialistic universe. • The answer is suggested ‘top down’ by the Buddha. • Direct insight • Qualitative • The nature of the mind • Consciousness. • Ultimate aim: cessation of suffering.

22. Features of Buddhist teaching (cont.) • Dependent origination (causal interdependence), pañicca-samuppàda • Explanation of the rise and fall of mind-matter • Everything is interconnected, rises and falls according causal inter-relations that ties everything in a web of causality • Equivalent to ‘emergent phenomena’ by scientists – no elementary constituent of matter. All phenomena arises as a result of collective, dynamical behavior within a system

23. The truth taught by the Buddha are… • Experiential. • Transcendental. • Not objectively measurable/quantifiable. • Beyond worldly comprehensibility. • “Absolute”. • “super natural”. • Ehipassiko.

24. Buddha’s description of the nature of our Universe • Three characteristics of existence: • Anicca or "impermanence". This refers not only to the fact that all conditioned things (sankhara) eventually cease to exist, but also that all conditioned things are in a constant state of flux. (Visualize a leaf growing on a tree. It dies and falls off the tree but is soon replaced by a new leaf.) • Dukkha or "unsatisfactoriness" (or "disease"; also often translated "suffering", though this is somewhat misleading). Nothing found in the physical world or even the psychological realm can bring lasting deep satisfaction. • Anatta or "no-self" is use

25. The parallel between science and Buddhism • No blind faith. • Intellectual investigation is emphasized. • Causality – interdependence - wholeness – entanglement • Non-locality vs. locality, EPR paradox.

26. The parallel between science and Buddhism (cont.) • Singularity during creation of universe entangles every single entity in this universe. • As experienced in deep meditation, consciousness is like quantum fluctuation. • Cosmology • E.T. (extraterrestrial intelligence)

27. But still, we should not compare an apple with an orange • Both concern different aspects of the universe • Buddhism – life, mind, consciousness and liberation from suffering • Buddhism suggests the right ways to cultivate spirituality as a means to understand what life truly is.

28. What science does not provide • Science is meant for materialistic aspect of the universe. • It’s an intellectual pursuit that may not lead to insight of spiritual truth of life. • The fundamental purpose of science is in many aspect different from that of Buddhism. • E.g. science does not teach us the cause of suffering and the way leading to cessation of suffering.

29. What science does not provide (cont.) • Science – fundamental laws governing the materialistic universe only (not including the non-materialistic aspect) • Science can’t experimentally investigate quantitative behaviour of kamma since it is not measurable by any apparatus.

30. Closing remarks • The truth expounded by the Buddha does not need science to prove its authenticity. • According to Buddhism, the truth in life has to be experienced directly. • Knowledge in science evolves over time. • What is thought to be a trendy theory may be overthrown tomorrow • Hence parallel or contradiction between science and Buddhist teaching does not constitute an ultimate proof nor falsification to the teaching of the Buddha

31. Suggested reading • L‘infini dans la paume de la main, by Matthieu Ricard, Thuan Trinh Xuan ( Chinese translated version: 《僧侣与科学家-宇宙与人生的对谈》，台湾先觉出版社） • 《哲学是物理学的工具》，方励之，湖南科技出版社 • The Tao of Physics, by Fijtrof Capra.