May 28, 2024 at 6:50 am
#49950
Keymaster
This is an excellent question. You are engaged in the correct type of “insight mediation” (Vipassana.)
1. You wrote: “In Science, energy is defined as the capacity to do work.”
- It is the same definition in Buddha Dhamma.
- However, Buddha Dhamma addresses a special type of energy called “kammic energy.” It has the ability to create the most fundamental types of matter (hadaya vatthu and five pasada rupa). Those are the basic elements a living being is made of. Hadaya vatthu is the “seat of the mind” where all cittas (“thoughts”) arise, not in the brain as scientists believe. The five physical sensory units (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and the physical body) are tools that collect data on sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches. Those signals are processed by the brain and passed onto the five pasada rupa associated with the hadaya vatthu (in the manomaya kaya or gandhabba).
- The above “picture” is put together by combining information from the Suttas and Abhidhamma.
- There are many posts on the subject scattered throughout this website. See, for example, “Manomaya Kaya (Gandhabba) and the Physical Body“, “Brain – Interface between Mind and Body“, and “Bhūta and Yathābhūta – What Do They Really Mean.”
2. Kammic energy is unbelievably tiny compared to the types of energy involved in moving a car or even lifting a finger.
- However, the critical constituents of a living being (whether it is a human, animal, Deva, or Brahma) can be created ONLY by kammic energy.
- That kammic energy is created by our thoughts (cittas), specifically in a special type of cittas called “javana cittas.”
- Javana cittas produce and release energies preserved in the “vinnana dhatu” as “dhammā” for very long times. Those are the kammic energies that bring kamma vipaka, including rebirth.
- See, for example, “What are Rūpa? – Dhammā are Rūpa too!“
- The first verse in the Dhammapada points out this fundamental aspect: the mind is the precursor to everything in this world. See “Manōpubbangamā dhammā..“
3. This is a fascinating and deep subject. I hope not only Taryal but also others will look deeply into it.
- This is why I say that the Buddha was the greatest scientist who ever lived! Nowadays, people are fascinated with quantum mechanics, but the Buddha described the most fundamental quantum system (the mind) 2600 years ago. Scientists’ discoveries match and confirm Buddha’s teachings: “Quantum Mechanics and Dhamma.” This section is mostly suitable for those with some physics background.
4. There are many relevant posts on the website. We can discuss more as we proceed.