Having discussed epistemology, we focus on Buddha’s teachings on reality. Since their means of knowledge differ and are mutually exclusive, one can expect that Buddha’s teachings on reality substantially differ from the scientific ones.
Let’s start with the universe that science tells us.
https://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/media/121236/121236_NewPieCharts720.png
In the scientific view, ours is the lone universe in the cosmos. Furthermore, the universe is bifurcated into a large “dark” slice occupying 95.4% and a smaller atomic slice occupying the remaining 4.6%. While the atomic slice is the equivalent of “the world we experience,” the dark slice consists of dark energy and matter, which does not seem to correspond to anything in Buddha’s cosmos.
But what are dark energy and matter?
According to NASA, “dark matter and dark energy are mysterious substances that affect and shape the cosmos, and scientists are still trying to figure them out.” These enigmatic entities, “dark” to scientific discovery and investigations, continue to pique the curiosity of researchers after decades of research.
Contrary to the scientific teaching that ours is the only body in the cosmos, Buddha’s cosmos has two bodies of reality that exist separately based on the conditions of their existence. This unique setup, resulting from their mutually exclusive means of knowledge, highlights that the divergence between the Buddhist and the scientific cosmos starts from the most fundamental level because no unconditioned phenomenon exists in the scientific cosmos.
In the Sandhinirmocana Sutra, Buddha elucidates that all cosmic phenomena fall into one of two categories. One type of phenomenon exists unconditionally, while the other is conditional.
Sandhinirmocana Sutra (Chinese=解深密經) “is a Mahāyāna Buddhist text and the most important sutra of the Yogācāra school. It contains explanations of key Yogācāra concepts such as the basal-consciousness (ālaya-vijñāna), the doctrine of appearance-only (vijñapti-mātra), and the “three own natures” (trisvabhāva). It is “one of the most important texts of the Yogācāra tradition…..The sūtra presents itself as a series of dialogues between Gautama Buddha and various bodhisattvas. During these dialogues, the Buddha attempts to clarify disputed meanings present in scriptures of the early Mahāyāna and the early Buddhist schools; thus, the title of the sūtra, which promises to expound a teaching that is “completely explicit” and requires no interpretation *9in order to be understood.“
In the Sandhinirmocana Sutra, Buddha teaches that “there are two types of dharma, one conditioned, and the other unconditioned (Chinese=一切法者，略有二種，一者有為，二者無為.)”
First, let’s begin by defining the meaning of dharma and condition.
Dharma (Chinese=法), according to The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, is “in Sanskrit, “factor,” or “element:” a polysemous term of wide import in Buddhism and therefore notoriously difficult to translate, a problem acknowledged in traditional sources; as many as ten meanings of the term are found in the literature.” However, “one of its most significant and common usages is to refer to “teachings” or “doctrines,” whether they be Buddhist or non-Buddhist.” “A second (and very different) principal denotation of dharma is a physical or mental “factor” or “fundamental” “constituent element,” or “simply phenomenon.”
When discussing Buddhist reality, dharma means simply phenomena.
Condition (Romanized Sanskrit=pratyaya; Chinese=緣), according to The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, refers “to the subsidiary factors whose concomitance results in the production of an effect from a cause.” “For example, in the production of a sprout from a seed, the seed would be the cause (Hetu), while such factors as heat and moisture would be conditions (pratyaya.).”
A) Conditioned Dharma (Sanskrit=samskrtadharma), according to The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, is “a term that describes all impermanent phenomena, that is, “all phenomena that are produced through the concomitance of causes and conditions.” Furthermore, “Buddha is said to have taught: When this is present, that comes to be, / From the arising of this, that arises. / When this is absent, that does not come to be. / From the cessation of this, that ceases.”
Our universe consists of only conditioned dharma because everything is “produced through the concomitance of causes and conditions.”
Dr.David Tong’s Image showing ripples in the quantum realm
Dr. Tony Tyson’s image showing clusters of galaxies as spikes of ripples
As shown by Dr. David Tong’s and Dr. Tony Tyson’s images above, everything in the universe, from ripples in the quantum realm to giant clusters of galaxies in the sky, are epiphenomena. They are called epiphenomena because their existence is derived from ripples in the fluctuating quantum energy field in science. In Buddha’s universe, they are secondary phenomena because the existence of everything in Buddha’s universe is derived from ripples in non-luminosity. In other words, whether in the world of Buddha or quantum mechanics, the existence of all universal phenomena depends on their respective fluctuating fields. Without fluctuations, there are no ripples and, therefore, no phenomena in the universe. This phenomenon can be verified by any enlightened person, such as Adyashanti.
B) Unconditioned Dharma (Romanized Sansrkrit=asamskrtadharma; (Chinese=無為法), according to The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, “is “in Sanskrit, (also called) “uncompounded,” …. not conditioned and therefore perduring phenomena that are not subject to impermanence.”
Traditionally, unconditional dharma has belonged to the domains of religions or philosophical thoughts. Many deities in religions worldwide are deemed to exist unconditionally and permanently. In philosophy, philosopher Immanuel Kant postulated the realm of Noumenon, which exists unconditionally as a “thing-in-itself” outside of human perception, in contrast to the phenomenal world.
In Buddhism, however, the unconditioned dharma belongs to the Ultimate Reality of nature. Known as Citta, the Ultimate Reality exists unconditionally because it is a quiescent mentality. In other words, its existence is not conditioned on any ripples because there are none when the mind is still.
Scientists think the universe should be simple. Indeed, they are correct, and Buddha offers them a very simple cosmos with two bodies of reality. However, there is only one reality between these two bodies: mentality. The two bodies are separated by their different fluctuating statuses.
Indeed, Buddha’s two bodies of reality are the Ultimate Reality and non-luminosity. Both consist of “Nothing but Mentality.” What separates them is their different fluctuating statuses. While the mentality of Citta is quiescent, the mentality of non-luminosity is permanently fluctuating.
As an unconditioned and quiescent mentality, Citta must be directly perceived to be understood. Therefore, Citta is “dark” to the scientific method and inquiry, which are limited to using inferentially connected words.
However, given that non-luminosity is a realm of fluctuating mentality, its fluctuations make it a visible phenomenon, much as the quantum energy fluctuations manifest the quantum realm. Therefore, while its mental nature eludes science, non-luminosity can be partially understood as the equivalent of the quantum realm in quantum mechanics, only with consciousness.
In the next post, we will discuss the eternal nature of these two realms and how Buddha’s cosmos is a three-body system because an enlightened person, such as our historical Buddha, must be part of it to help us understand what science cannot.
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