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I’ve been doing a lot of work trying to come to an understanding about how science and Buddhism can be reconciled, if that’s at all possible. In the reading that I’ve been doing on theoretical physics, one thing that seems abundantly clear that there is no consensus, even among physicists, about the fundamental underlying reality of the universe. Is the wave form a theoretical model, or does it represent reality itself? Is the reductionist, materialist view absolute, is the Universe deterministic, or probabilistic at its core? Blah, blah blah.
What occurred to me is that both theoretical physics and, in fact, all scientific inquiry, and Buddhism, and all genuine spiritual, contemplative study, are the same. There is the bringing of attention to the quality of existence, either directed outward, towards the phenomenal world, or inward, towards the nature of inner experience.
This quality of attention results in the accumulation of knowledge about the area of inquiry. There is nothing that can be attended to that fails to respond by granting the seeker a greater level of understanding. You can ask a theoretical physicist, quantum physicist, researcher, applied physicist, about the underlying nature of reality, and how it relates to their working model- is it just a functional model or does it actually tell us something about reality itself? What you are likely to hear is that some people will say that it is reflective of reality, and others will say that it isn’t, it’s simply a functional model that helps scientist do the actual business, creating the work of science on a functional level. Still others will say that the mystery is unsolvable, at least for now, and that further inquiry is, and may always be, necessary.
The same questions exist in Buddhism. The teachings reflect a model of reality that provides for aspiring Buddhas to do the spiritual work that will lead them to enlightenment, all Buddhists would agree on this point. But are the Buddha’s teachings reflective of an actual fundamental reality about the nature of the universe itself? Or are they just models, ways of thinking about self and the external world, but not anything fundamentally real? I think that there would be some dispute among high-level practitioners. In fact, a fundamental tenet of Buddhism says that once enlightenment has been reached, the models of Buddhism, the teachings, the practices, the Buddha himself, are left behind. Once you’ve crossed the ocean, you don’t have to drag the boat along behind you anymore. You no longer have need of it.
Anyway, what occurred to me is that it may be helpful to look at both pursuits as synonymous- the pursuit of knowledge, the pursuit of deep understanding. Both systems allow for profound understanding of what is going on in the universe. In both systems, things that appear to be common sense and true to everyone at the beginning of the journey are revealed to be illusory- the earth isn’t flat, the sun doesn’t go around the earth, matter isn’t solid, time isn’t a fixed quality, etc. Conversely, the things that seem true to you once you’ve delved deeply enough sound absolutely insane to outsiders. The self doesn’t exist, phenomenon are empty of a real, independent existance, samara is endless, enlightenment is possible and attainable by all.
It’s all the same thing. And there’s no agreement, even among the most knowledgeable and skilled practitioners as to how exactly the theories correspond to what you might call “real” reality. But they are totally necessary to understand if you want to get anything done. You can do limitless work without knowing how, exactly, your model might be representative of the ultimate “truth. ”
If you want to send a rocket ship to space, study physics. If you want to become an enlightened being, study and commit yourself to the contemplative sciences. The universe responds to the act of attention, and where you focus that attention determines your result.
That’s what I was thinking about this morning.
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May you be happy, may you be free from suffering, may you be at peace.
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Namaste.
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The Dishwasher's Tears 
How beautifully and plainly written! For me, it all boils down to “All is One” which means nothing and everything all at the same time. The older I get, the more I realize what a part the mind plays in our perception of it all and the mind can be a tricky little coyote, not to mention the unreliability of the senses which bring the data to the tricky mind to fool around with as it will, all of it based on that which may have nothing to do with reality. And of course- what IS reality? Really?
But isn’t it glorious?
“Once you’ve crossed the ocean, you don’t have to drag the boat behind you anymore.”
I love that. I am far from that place but it reminds me that there are many things I have no need of anymore and should quit dragging. Thank you for this and many more things, Scott.
Well, I always feel a bit overblown compared to your groundedness, but I think you are right- we are all one. It isn’t any more complicated than that. And it is just fucking glorious, every single bit of it.
Thanks for sharing the trip with me.
Yrs,
Scott
If you knew the work I am engaged in over here you would see why it sometimes feels as it the universe has sent you to teach me these things, to help me understand. i don’t write of it on my blog, except in the most glancing way because i don’t even have all the words for it, just the sense, the feeling, the intuitive knowing that we all possess but don’t all listen to on any given day. The suffering is real in the dream. And while I know, I actually do know it is a dream, matrix like, but not as industrial dark as that, still, there are some things i would like not to be tested on, and maybe that is an indication of how far i have to go yet. i love the search you are on, the answers you are finding, the things you see behind the veil of our human sight. but i confess i don’t believe you love us all equally. you love yolie and your baby and your grand babies more. or at least i would.
i suspect i am not making sense, but you are making sense to me. thank you, dear scott, for all of it.
I always love to hear from you, your thoughts bring a great clarity and wisdom with them.
And you might be right about Yolie and those grand babies!
Yrs,
Scott
I love our capacity to ponder all of these things and am grateful for the desire to do so as well. Having a daughter with what most humans would determine little “intelligence,” and certainly I would confirm no verbal language or ability to convey her humanity and integrity in terms that we understand, all of this thinking and pondering is turned upside-down. Sometimes, when I really intuit Buddhist thought, I realize from my experiences with Sophie (her silences, her eye expressions, the vast emptiness and fullness of her life) that I’m already “there.” Does that make sense? The journey — thrust upon me, imposed on me — is already the end. I know these things.
In any case, I am grateful to come here and look at your art and the workings of your amazing brain.
Yes, I think you’re “there”, too. One of the great benefits of the kind of suffering you have endured is that you’ve been stripped of many of the kinds of protective emotional barriers most of us erect in order to try to protect ourselves from pain. With those false structures stripped away, you’re left with what’s real and you must make your peace with that. It isn’t easy, but it does make you wise and more openhearted.
Sophie is blessed to have you as her mother, as are all of your children.
thank you as always for sharing your thoughts with me.
Namaste,
Scott
A little over a year ago, I embarked on a rambling and roundabout study of quantum physics/theoretical physics/astrophysics in an attempt to assign meaning to some particularly vexing quandaries. But instead of finding answers, I discovered instead the lack of consensus among experts in the field on the nature of what we call reality. Perhaps your practice of Buddhism alongside a study of physics is a better plan, for balance, or perspective.
What I did gain, ultimately, and completely unexpectedly, is an incredible sense of peace. When what one understands as substance, or solidity, dissolves under either magnification or in the utterly incomprehensible expanse of the universe and beyond, the day to day problems and anxieties begin to lose their power.
Last summer, when the Cassini spacecraft sent back photos of Saturn’s rings and the earth in the far distance, I nearly wept with the joy of it, for the clarity it afforded me. There we all were, on a pinpoint of light — for all intents and purposes a star — all of us with all of our oh-so-important lives, our trials and our loves, our fears and desires.
A speck of light, all our lights: one light.
Anyway, thank you for writing. It’s a comfort to find someone else who gets it, and who helps me to understand, as you do.
T-
It is always a great gift to hear from you. Your write with great clarity and wisdom and I feel a great affinity and kinship with you. You are truly on the path, and see everything with a penetrating insight, one that has been honed by the great knife-edge of suffering.
Thank you, thank you. I’m glad we are doing this together.
Namaste.
Scott
It’s been a couple of years since I’ve taken the time to read any blogs, and yours is one I chose to come back to. For all the right reasons. I feel like I’ve been to church, in the best kind of way.
Melinda-
Thank you so much for your kind comment, I’m really honored you feel that way!
I hope you’ll keep reading and drawing benefit from this place.
Namaste,
Scott