Having discussed non-luminosity as the originator of the universe, we discuss epiphenomena in this post. Epiphenomena are the tiniest phenomena in the world. Epiphenomena are important because they are where Buddhism and quantum mechanics precisely intersect. The fact that Buddhism and quantum mechanics interset at epiphenomena leads to the understanding that non-luminosity is equivalent to the quantum realm, which further leads to the possibility that the scientific mechanics using energy can help understand Buddha’s world.
Let’s have Dr. Frank Wilczek, a 2004 Nobel Laureate in Physics, tell us what epiphenomena are. In this episode of Closer to Truth, he said, “The most basic objects out of which to construct the universe are not particles but objects we call quantum fields. We think of them as space-filling ethers that create and destroy the objects, the particles. …….. We see particles as epiphenomena. They are kind of ripples on the deep structure.”
In other words, not only do Newton’s “solid, massy, hard, impenetrable” particles no longer exist, but particles have become epiphenomena, secondary phenomena arising from the ripples of the fluctuating quantum fields, as shown in Dr. Tong’s image.
Insert Dr. Tong’s image.
As Dr. Tong’s image shows, while ripples in the quantum fields may look like their own phenomenon, they cannot exist without the underlying fluctuating field. Therefore, quantum physicists consider them secondary phenomena or epiphenomena.
Insert Dr. Tyson’s image.
As Tysons’s image illustrates, this concept applies to all phenomena in the universe. From the ripples in the quantum realm to the giant galaxies in the sky, all phenomena in the universe are epiphenomena, ripples that connect all beings in the world.
The whole concept of ripples being epiphenomena applies to non-luminosity because fluctuating mentality also has ripples.
Buddha’s version of epiphenomena is known as “neighbor-to-emptiness dust (Chinese=鄰虛塵).” Here, “dust” can be considered Buddha’s terminology synonymous with particles in science.
In Śūraṅgama Sūtra (Chinese: 首楞嚴經), Buddha explains what the “neighbor-to-Emptiness dust” is: “If the “neighbor-to-emptiness dust” is analyzed further it would be actual Emptiness (Chinese=更析鄰虛，即實空性.)”
As discussed earlier, Emptiness is a term for Citta of the Ultimate Reality. Since Citta is quiescent, its closest neighbor can only be when mentality starts fluctuating in non-luminosity. Indeed, when mentality starts fluctuating, the ripples are the only entity that, if analyzed further, would be just Emptiness.
However, associating “neighbor-to-Emptiness dust” with ripples in non-luminosity is not something Buddha provided in sutras. Therefore, by describing epiphenomena as ripples in a fluctuating field, Dr. Wiczek provides a critically missing fundamental understanding that Buddhism and quantum mechanics intersect at the epiphenomena. When one understands that Buddhism and quantum mechanics meet at the epiphenomena, it becomes possible to link non-luminosity with what quantum physicists call the quantum realm.
Linking non-luminosity and the quantum realm helps to understand non-luminosity and, therefore, Buddhism. Indeed, everything is energy in the quantum mechanical world, which originated from energy. On the contrary, everything is mental in the Buddhist world, originating from mentality. Consequently, it is natural that it becomes possible to help understand Buddha’s conscious universe through scientific mechanisms using energy.
In addition to their shared teaching that fluctuating fields are where the universe originated, an example is that Einstein’s famous formula, E=mc2, can help understand Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara’s realization that mentality and materiality are the same. As discussed earlier, another example is when dark energy helps understand Buddha’s teaching that the expansion of the cosmos occurs in the realm of the quiescent Citta. Another example is the conservation of energy. In Buddhism, mentality is conserved in the form of memory. Because memory can be preserved across lifespans, samsara is possible even as the physical bodies are destroyed at the end of each lifespan. We will discuss this when discussing causality.
Of course, with their different construction materials, the universes built from mentality and energy are drastically different. In the next post, we will discuss how Buddha’s conscious universe begins with the “neighbor-to-Emptiness dust.”
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