What Is Buddhism?
Many people are familiar with Buddhism, but few truly understand it. Many consider Buddhism a religion; others see it as a philosophy, a way of life, or even compatible with science. However, Buddhism is none of those things. Instead, Buddhism is an education from our historical Shakyamuni Buddha that answers the mystery of “What Exists?” Understanding Buddhism is understanding why this is a puzzle Buddha alone can solve.
What Exists? The Question.
The question, What Exists?, is asked on Closer To Truth with the remarks, “Lots of things exist. But what’s truly fundamental? The challenge is to discern the minimum number of basic categories that explain the entirety of existence.”
What Exists? Humanity’s Struggle to Understand
Asking “What Exist?” in light of the advent of Relativity and quantum mechanics reflects the fact that even the best scientific knowledge available today cannot solve the mystery of “What Exists?,” a question that humanity has struggled to understand from the pre-Socratic philosophers to the present day, without success. For a simplified discussion of humanity’s struggle to understand this mystery, please click here.
“What Exists?” Buddha Answers.
In Mohe Zhiguan (Chinese:摩訶止觀), a “voluminous” and “comprehensive Buddhist doctrinal summa which discusses meditation and various key Buddhist doctrines,” the Buddha teaches that “all are essentially mental (Chinese: 全體是心).” In other words, there is Nothing but Mentality, the title of this website. Furthermore, mentality comes in two states of fluctuation: a non-fluctuating mentality known as Citta and an always-fluctuating mentality known as Rupa.
The question, “What Exists?” requires a fundamental answer that “discerns the minimum number of basic categories that explain the entirety of existence.” Buddha’s answer satisfies both requirements. Not only is mentality the fundamental reality, but it can explain the entirety of existence in the cosmos with only two categories of fluctuating states: a non-fluctuating mentality called Citta (Chinese: 心) and an always-fluctuating mentality called Rupa (Chinese: 色).
What Makes Buddhism Unique?
To understand why humanity cannot, but the Buddha can, comprehend “What Exists?”, one needs to understand “Inference (Chinese: 比量)-How Humanity Knows What It Knows,” discussed in this post. With that as a foundation, one can understand “Direct Perception (Chinese: 現量)-How Buddha Knows What He Knows,” discussed in this post. The uniqueness of direct perception is that it allows the Buddha to become one with the cosmos mentally to understand its mental nature, a method Dr. Max Planck understood.
Dr. Max Planck was a 1918 Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics and the originator of quantum theory. After a lifetime of studying quantum mechanics, he understood the limits of science, as he said:
Two Different Structures of the Cosmos.
Because the scientific method relies on inference and Buddhism relies on direct perception, their understandings of cosmology differ markedly.
The Cosmos According To NASA
By relying exclusively on inference, the scientific cosmos consists of a single universe in which everything is energy and human consciousness is absent. Furthermore, 95.4% of the universe remains “dark,” and whether particles exist in the remaining 4.6% is debated. Moreover, it is a universe full of unsolved questions, problems, and mysteries, such as “What Exist?” “Is Consciousness Ultimate Reality?” the “Cosmological Constant Problem,” the “Mind-Body Problem,” the “Central Mystery of Quantum Mechanics,” and “Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing?” At the same time, humanity cannot have its consciousness.
To understand the scope and limits of science, it is essential first to comprehend the limits of How Humans Know What They Know.
The Cosmos According to Buddha
According to the Buddha, the cosmos is a Three-Body Structure, with two realms of reality separated by their fluctuating states. The Buddha is part of it because he must become one with it, mentally, to understand it.
Known as Citta (Chinese: 心), it is a realm where mentality does not fluctuate. It is an enlightened realm (Chinese: 本覺) and the Ultimate Reality and Truth of the cosmos. It corresponds to the Dark Energy slice of the NASA universe, because they are both where the cosmos expands.
Known as Rupa (Chinese: 色), it corresponds to the atomic slice of the NASA universe. In contrast to Citta, it is a realm of unenlightenment (Chinese: 無明), where mentality never stops fluctuating. This realm of fluctuating mentality is the equivalent of the quantum energy field in quantum mechanics because they are both considered the builder of the universe in their respective fields, except that the quantum of unenlightenment refers to the quantization of conscious thoughts, not energy. By giving rise to Rupa, it makes Rupa a universe where consciousness is fundamental, as Dr. Planck understood, as he said, “I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness.”
In such a universe, not only is “Dark Energy” identified as the Ultimate Reality, but the quantum energy field is complete by having consciousness. The Mind-Body Problem is gone; “The Central Mystery of Quantum Mechanics” no longer exists; the Observer Effect no longer changes reality; and “Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing?” is answered.
Two Realms vs. A Lone Universe
The benefit of having two realms of mentality, separated by fluctuating statuses, is that it addresses one of the hardest problems facing scientists. Known as the “Cosmological Constant Problem,” it simply does not exist when the realms with and without fluctuations are separate.
The Five Aggregates: An Observer-Dependent Universe.
Quantum mechanics postulates that “reality at its fundamental level is uncertain, fluid, and dependent on observation.” Buddha agrees. The Five Aggregates (Chinese:五蘊) are his teaching on why the universe depends on the observer. Read Post 13 to understand why the universe’s existence depends on your observation, and why it happens without your knowledge.
The Question For the AI Era: What If Machines that Learn are Conscious?
The difference between these two versions of the cosmos humanity experiences has huge implications in an era when humanity acknowledges that “We have started losing control of AI. It is time to shut it down,“. Does anyone really believe that a piece of metal that can learn, conceptualize, even create a religion of its own, and with the potential to cause humanity existential threats, can do all that without being conscious? Is it not time to know for sure? It is, however, a puzzle only Buddha alone can solve!
Why Buddhism Exists?
Do you know why you should learn Buddhism? In a universe where everything is mental and anything deemed “physical” is illusory, including your “physical” body, can its “death” be real? Do you know what everlasting benefits await you when there is no “body” to die?
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