From a speck of dust in space to a planet, a star and a galaxy, we can't see anything "alive" except life on earth. Of course, we can't stop some people from trying to create a distant star in their minds, or there are "immortals" and "gods" in several dimensions.
what shall we do next? Quite simply, we are not "creating imagination" to create a reality, but to touch it. So, what reality can be touched in the universe? Next, let's think within the framework of physical science: a planet hundreds of millions of light-years away, with creatures like the earth living on it. The fabric of these creatures may be dominated by silicon, although it is somewhat different from that of terrestrial creatures dominated by carbon, but they are all composed of matter. At the same time, on this planet, as in any galaxy, you can't find anything except atoms (you can't see the soul and God).
by installing a super microscope on the super-large space telescope (in reality, scientists have already seen atoms), scientists have seen a magical phenomenon from the microscopic level: when a bunch of atoms that were originally unrelated to each other gathered together in one way (pregnancy), they began to magically coordinate with each other and make orderly movements. From this, there appeared something that the earth people called "biology". When these atoms, after moving for a period of time (for example, 7 years), suddenly "scatter" without any warning, that is, they become chaotic: this means that a creature is dead (if there is no conscious person to distinguish, any matter in the universe is not orderly or disorderly, but "people" distinguish it)
Even so, for scientists, Because all kinds of atoms that make up this creature still exist, and every atom in the universe, including your own, will live for 1 years to the 35th power, that is, 1 is followed by 35 zeros-about 1 billion billion years (the age of the universe today is only 15 billion years, and if the age of the universe is compared with the life span of atoms, it is like the disparity between 1.5 yuan RMB and 1 billion RMB).
In fact, we are looking at ourselves through the imaginary alien creatures. Examine what? That is, what can be questioned in the universe? Simply put, we can feel it now. The breeze on the face, the flowers on the mountain, the food in the mouth, the teacups and the TV are all substances. And what is matter? The famous physicist richard feynman once said: If the history of human science is condensed into one sentence, it is that "everything is made up of atoms". You can look around. The table, hands, lips, air, the sun, the planet, and the eyes that observe it are all made of atoms. So the only thing that exists in the universe is matter, that is, atoms. And the reality we seek can only be the physical reality.
However, we know very clearly that there is another thing in the universe besides matter: the thing you use to feel the existence of matter, to feel pain and love. That thing psychologists call "psychology". Religious scholars are called "soul" and "mind"; Philosophers are called "consciousness" and "spirit". The function that Buddhists call "the original mind" (if you intend to find a "original mind" that exists alone without the mind, it is unrealistic, and you can understand the "original mind" as the essence of the mind. In addition, please refer to the Buddha's "Seven Empathy Points, Eight Discernments"). Today, scientists have unified this term, which is called "consciousness" (this is not the consciousness compared with the subconscious in psychoanalysis, but the philosophical concept of "consciousness"). Therefore, the reality we are looking for is not only a tangible reality, but also a "conscious" reality that feels the existence of matter.
the first section, the reality of matter and consciousness
now, the reality we are looking for suddenly becomes the reality of mind and matter. How to pursue the reality of mind and matter?
If there is no consciousness, there is no life and there is no life. For us, there is neither you nor me. Furthermore, flowers, the earth, the sun and galaxies are all equivalent to non-existence. Because without consciousness, there would be no awareness; Without awareness, everything in the universe "for a person who has never existed" cannot talk about existence or non-existence. Of course, you can also imagine that tornadoes, the earth and galaxies are still rotating normally if there are no conscious humans. However, this reasonable idea is proved to be wrong by the laws of physics in essence.
from the above illogical and illogical thinking (you may think it is a bit far-fetched, but it is not a "hidden variable"), an illogical theorem is "the unity of mind and matter". And the way to finally understand the reality is here. What is the doorway? It is both a "path to enlightenment."
in essence, the basic concept of Buddhist scriptures is the unity of mind and matter. So, how did the Buddha express "unity of mind and matter"? In the Diamond Sutra, the Buddha stated that "the one who is in harmony is unspeakable". In the Shurangama Sutra, the Buddha said, "I don't know the color and body, but the mountains and rivers outside are empty and the earth is salty." That is to say, the "original mind" contains all things in the void, and it is also clear that everything in the universe is where the "original mind" lies, that is, the so-called "three realms of idealism, all laws only know."
how to realize "the unity of mind and matter"?
Simple, "All phases are illusory; If you see different things, you will see the Tathagata "(Tathagata means the true heart). How to prove the "monism of mind and matter" in practice? More simply, "the mind can change things, that is, the same Tathagata." A very simple answer, but it requires you to understand and realize it very hard. So you need to work hard and think about the west. Therefore, being able to touch the "one mind and one thing" is everything.
Now let me put in a sentence, that is, what question did Einstein think about and finally published the "Theory of Relativity"? The answer is that Einstein thought about this question: "If a person runs at twice the speed of light, is his speed 6, kilometers per second (the speed of light is 3, kilometers per second)?" After asking this question, Einstein finally proved that even if a person runs at 1 times the speed of light, his speed will always be fixed at "3, kilometers per second", and there is no speed in the universe that can exceed the speed of light.
According to this theory, Einstein had to accept the result that when a person can run close to the speed of light, his time will have to slow down and his space will have to be shortened. When he can run at the speed of light, time is static for him and space will lose its meaning. Einstein vividly explained this illogical phenomenon through the famous sci-fi expression of "Gemini paradox" thinking (Gemini paradox: suppose a pair of 2-year-old twin brothers. My brother stayed on the earth, while my brother sailed in the universe at the speed close to light in a rocket. Fifty years later, my brother returned to the earth, and it was only one month for my brother, and my brother was 7 years old.) < P > It was many years after Einstein published his theory of relativity that people proved the existence of this phenomenon with physical experiments. Today, the theorem of further thinking about the theory of relativity is that if a person can fly beyond the speed of light, his time will not stand still, but will move to the past through the wormhole in space, that is to say, he will go back to the past. This theory has directly led to the emergence of a large number of science fiction movies about time travel in the world in recent decades.
Einstein only used his brain to think logically about common-sense things, and he calculated a very cognitive thing, that is, the theory of relativity. The Buddha's thinking about the "oneness of mind and matter" is a kind of "enlightenment" (Einstein is only a scientist, while the Buddha is the "Buddha"). At the same time, the most important thing is that the Buddha realized the reality (supreme enlightenment) with meditation as a tool.
To sum up, from what is the Prajna, we ask about wisdom and reality, and then ask about the reality of what. After analysis and re-questioning, we found that only the touchable matter and the consciousness of perceiving the existence of matter in the universe can be questioned. Then we suddenly hit a wall, that is, how to ask about the reality of matter and consciousness.
Buddha has pointed out a correct way for us to jump out of the limitation of "I don't know the true face of Lushan Mountain, but I live in this mountain". Let's realize the reality by proving that "mind and matter are unified" from a higher level.
what's the use of "enlightenment", or realizing that "mind and matter are unified"? A: It's just a thought of dying in the western paradise. Of course, there are extremely profound contents, and we should analyze them step by step. In the process of approaching enlightenment, meditation practice will also advance by leaps and bounds; Controlling vital functions will also be even more powerful. So, how to realize "the unity of mind and matter"? There are two questions that you need to keep thinking about.
1. If you admit that mind and matter are one, you have to admit that a drop of water, a brick, a meteorite and a galaxy all have life and consciousness, or have souls. But you know very clearly that this is impossible, because you are very affectionate: the sea, the stone, the breeze and the sun are unconscious. What the hell is going on here? How is the mind and things one yuan?
second, when you accept the result of monism of mind and matter, you have to accept that "matter presents the existence of mind, and mind in turn determines the existence of matter". And the ultimate question is, how does matter present the existence of mind? How does the mind "create" matter? The answer to this question is eternity, that is, reality and Tathagata.
the monism of mind and matter is an ancient and fresh topic. It is ancient because people have been searching for its inner answer. What is new is that today we will be enlightened with an unprecedented scientific thinking mode, instead of "thinking" enlightenment in the way we look at things. For example, when many people are studying the "Zen case-solving", they are all put on the case by the "case-solving"! What I'm talking about is not Buddhism in general, but the ultimate reality.
monism of mind and matter is prajna, reality and the answer to all questions. Realizing how the mind and things are unified, that is, realizing how the five aggregates are empty, is enlightenment. So, how is the mind and matter one yuan? Next, let's ask what life is.