Dr. Frank Wilczek is a prominent theoretical physicist. He is a 2004 Nobel Laureate in Physics, winner of the 2082 MacArthur Fellowship, and winner of the 2022 Templeton Prize for his “exemplary achievements advance Sir John Templeton’s philanthropic vision: harnessing the power of the sciences to explore the deepest questions of the universe and humankind’s place and purpose within it,” plus many other academic positions.
To these already tremendous achievements, I want to add his immense contribution to humanity’s understanding of reality, indirectly through Buddhism, when a simple scientific statement of fact he made in an interview led to the knowledge of precisely where Buddhism and quantum mechanics meet.
Knowing where Buddhism and quantum mechanics intersect benefits both. It can lead to a breakthrough understanding of Buddha’s teachings in the quantum realm where some of Buddha’s fundamental teachings, such as consciousness, debut. At the same time, giving consciousness to quantum mechanics benefits quantum mechanics by making the Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum mechanics a matter course.
In this episode of the series How is the Cosmos Constructed? on Closer to Truth, Dr. Frank Wilczek described the current scientific understanding of what constructs the universe as follows: “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, particles have become secondary phenomena arising from the ripples of the fluctuating quantum fields.
In his Opticks, Newton invoked his God and wrote the following about the particles that he thought build the universe, “It seems probable to me that God in the beginning formed matter in solid, massy, hard, impenetrable, movable particles, of such sizes and figures, and with such other properties, and in such proportion to space, as most conduced to the end for which he formed them; and that these primitive particles being solids, are incomparably harder than any porous bodies compounded of them; even so very hard, as never to wear or break in pieces; no ordinary power being able to divide what God himself made one in the first creation.”
However, with the advent of quantum mechanics, as Dr. Wilczek acknowledges, the universe’s building blocks are no longer “solid, massy, hard, impenetrable.”
So, what is the quantum energy field made of? By definition, energy “is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat and light.” Furthermore, “energy is a conserved quantity.“
Therefore, a universe from energy is a universe of “quantitative property.” While numbers in equations are helpful for scientific investigations, do you not want to ask yourself, “Am I really made up of numbers?” Indeed, with quantitative properties as the foundational blocks of the universe, quantum scientists such as Dr. David Tong in this video lecture, acknowledge that the reality that quantum mechanics presents is “abstract and nebulous.”
Can you not but wonder, “Where is my consciousness?” After all, is consciousness not an obviously present reality in all humans, invisible though it may be?
This is where Buddha comes in to help.
Like quantum mechanics, Buddha also teaches that the universe is constructed from a fluctuating field. However, the materials making up these fluctuating fields are different. While the fields in quantum mechanics consist of quantum energy, the constituent making up Buddha’s field is mentality.
By equating epiphenomena with ripples in the fluctuating quantum energy field, Dr. Wiczek makes it possible to equate the same in Buddhism because a field of fluctuating mentality also has its ripples. However, Buddha never mentions the concept of ripples in a field of fluctuating mentality in Sutras. By linking ripples as epiphenomena, Dr. Wiczek makes it possible to relate Buddha’s version of epiphenomena and the ripples in the fluctuating mental field to understand where consciousness and other Buddhist fundamental teachings originate.
This image is the rendition of epiphenomena by quantum scientist Dr. David Tong. While epiphenomena take the form of ripples, they are actually just fluctuations in the quantum energy field. In Buddhism, however, these ripples are fluctuations in the mentality field, making them pure consciousness because the definition of consciousness in Buddhism is a fluctuating mentality. On the contrary, the definition of the quiescent mentality is awareness.
In other words, in Buddha’s universe, consciousness debuts in the epiphenomena, the smallest particle possible in the universe and the first building block of the universe. Therefore, neurons, dendrites, or brains have nothing to do with originating consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the other way around. Epiphenomena, the smallest building block of the universe, is, in Buddhism, the consciousness that gives rise to all beings in the phenomenal world. Indeed, everything in the universe, all its forms, bodies, and materiality, originate from fluctuating mentality, making consciousness a state of being for them all.
Indeed, in Buddha’s universe, not only can human babies be born conscious, but consciousness can be present in amoeba and its prey, plants, memory in water, and other mammals. This is also why, in Buddhism, all beings are sentient, and Buddha teaches that body-mind duality does not exist in nature.
However, the intersection of Buddhism and science does not stop there. In various sutras, Buddha teaches not only the mental version of epiphenomena but also the mental version of Higgs Boson and deems it nominally physical/material.
However, this article, “Reality is an illusion: The scientific proof everything is energy and reality isn’t real,” goes beyond the “abstract and nebulous” nature of reality as it gets even closer to what Buddha teaches. Not only does it agree with Buddha that reality is not real, but its interpretation of Copenhagen Interpretation as believing that “reality does not exist without an observer to observe it” perfectly aligns with Buddha’s teaching. In Buddhist sutras, Buddha describes the reality in which all beings reside “imaginary.”
Additionally, by declaring that “everything is energy,” the article points out another significant relationship between energy in science and consciousness in Buddhism. Instead of everything being energy, Buddha teaches that “everything is consciousness.” Of course, the origin of that teaching flows from the fact consciousness gives rise to all phenomena in the universe.
In other words, energy and consciousness are two sides of the same coin. In their respective doctrines, energy and mentality both represent the essence, the invariable nature, of all phenomena in the world. While quantitative property is the essence of all phenomena in science, it is consciousness in Buddhism.
When understood this way, the meaning of where Buddhism meets science gets even broader. If energy can help explain all phenomena with the quantitative property as their essence, why can energy not describe the same phenomena with mentality as their essence? When mathematical mechanisms can help explain Buddha’s conscious universe, it opens up a new way of understanding Buddha’s teachings, which was previously unavailable.
Indeed, in addition to their shared teachings on the foundational block of the universe, epiphenomena, and Higgs Boson, other examples suggesting that energy can explain Buddha’s teachings using mentality are abundant.
One example is the conservation of energy in science. In Buddhism, however, what is conserved is not energy but mentality in the form of karma. Another example is that while science considers energy, such as dark energy, to be spread throughout the universe, Buddha teaches the same about mentality. Another convincing example is Buddha’s teaching that “mentality is contrasted with the physical body and materiality.” In science, energy can also fit that description.
Indeed, Einstein, who allegedly said, “If there is any religion that would cope with modern scientific needs, it could be Buddhism,” alone provides three examples in this blog. Indeed, if energy is replaced by mentality in scientific teachings, Buddhism and science become compatible. The most well-known example is Einstein’s famous formula, E=mc2. When E, representing energy, is replaced by mentality, it perfectly explains Buddha’s teaching in the Heart Sutra that the essence of materiality is mentality, as discussed in Post 27.
The discovery of the intersection of Buddhism and science at epiphenomena, Higgs Boson, and the quantum energy field, the ability to explain Buddha’s fundamental teachings in what science calls the quantum realm, and the ability to clarify Buddha’s teachings using mathematical mechanisms all lead to a newfound understanding of Buddhism and motivate the writing of this blog.
If you are interested in Buddhism or just curious, please join me on this journey of discovery in Buddhism. Not only is Buddhism unique, but Buddha’s teachings will also help you live a calm, contented, and peaceful life and become a better person at the same time. Even if you are a double Buddhist, you are invited to join in this journey of newfound Buddhism and see if your opinion changes with the help of science and epistemology. Those already familiar with Buddhism are also welcome, as you may find many previously hard-to-understand Buddhist concepts clarified with the help of science and epistemology.
If you are not scientific, please do not worry. The difference between the fluctuating and non-fluctuating fields is about as profound as we get scientifically. Moreover, there will be no mathematics. If you are new to Buddhism, do not be concerned, as definitions in Buddhist dictionaries help you understand all Buddhist concepts presented here.
This blog is organized into the following several main categories:
1) Introduction: This section overviews the blog, our historical Shakyamuni Buddha’s journey to enlightenment, and several fundamental Buddhist concepts, such as Buddha’s definition of enlightenment.
2) Such is The Way of Dharma: This category contains all one needs to know about Buddha’s foundational teachings on the nature of reality. Starting with Buddha’s teachings dividing all cosmic phenomena into two categories, Such is The Way of Dharma category includes discussions on the Ultimate Reality/Truth, the realms of cosmic enlightenment and unenlightenment, the three self-natures of all phenomena, and the four ways of understanding the realities where all beings reside.
3) Verification: To my understanding, verifications of Buddha’s teachings on reality have never been done before. This category is significant because it verifies all Buddha’s teachings discussed in the Such is The Way of Dharma category. Besides the verification of the Ultimate Reality/Truth, which requires meditation, all others, such as non-luminosity through what scientists call “empty space is not empty,” four ways of understanding, etc., can all be verified using quantum field theory and other scientific teachings. Verifying Buddha’s doctrines on the nature of reality improves faith in Buddhism and separates it from religion, philosophy, and science.
4) Epistemology: Epistemology is one of the most important topics to discuss to understand Buddhism completely. The uniqueness of Buddhism comes from the uniqueness of Buddha’s epistemology, where he provides two means of knowledge, inference and direct perception, to understand both the visible phenomenal world and the invisible realm of mentality. With the help of a prominent scholar of history and philosophy, we discuss how Buddha’s unique epistemology allows him to realize the Ultimate Reality of the cosmos and to teach that the same ability is available for all to learn and use to understand what he realized. Epistemology further separates Buddhism from religion, philosophy, and all the other teachings worldwide. In addition, we discuss why the scientific method can only discover mentality by incorporating direct perception.
5) Buddhism in the Quantum Realm: This category discusses Buddha’s teachings in the quantum realm, as mentioned earlier. It also includes discussions on Buddha’s versions of epiphenomena, Higgs Boson, the nominal nature of physical reality, etc.
6) Causality: Causality is Buddha’s most impactful teaching for humanity. With the help of Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity, we discuss how science now agrees with Buddha’s teaching on Causality and acknowledges “that one person’s past may be another future.” Additionally, by replacing energy with mentality, as mentioned earlier, Einstein’s Special Reality not only affirms that “the immutable ordering of cause and effect” occurs over time and space but also that mentality is the driver of causality, as Buddha teaches.
