October 18, 2024 at 7:05 am
#52470
Keymaster
1. There is a danger in reconciling scientific measurements with Buddha’s teachings.
- The main problem is with the assumption of a “Big Bang.” It does not make sense that all this “stuff” came into existence in one moment. It is a good idea to contemplate the immensity of the universe using the image of our Milky Way galaxy in #6 of the draft I posted above. There are billions of such galaxies in the universe.
2. If we accept that all matter has been created somehow in a ‘Big Bang,” what is the origin of matter (in an uncountable number of stars in all those galaxies)?
- Scientists have no clear explanation for this. They say they can calculate the universe’s evolution from a fraction of a second after the Big Bang, but physics cannot explain what happened before that moment.
- Of course, the “Big Bang Theory” has not yet been fully confirmed, even though most scientists believe it.
- Still, some scientists do not believe everything “popped up” suddenly in the Big Bang. See, for example, “Endless Universe – Beyond the Big Bang” by P. J. Steinhardt and N. Turok (2007).
- By the way, English astronomer Fred Hoyle coined the term “Big Bang” to ridicule the concept. See “Fred Hoyle – Rejection of the Big Bang.”
3. Scientists are willing to discard their theories based on new evidence contradicting any given theory.
- I think the breaking point of the “Big Bang Theory” will be the discovery of stars or galaxies older than the supposed “age of the universe of 15 billion years.”
- Better telescopes can probe deeper into space. They are already finding some old stars born very close to the “Big Bang.” Once they find even a single star older than 15 billion years, that would be the end of the theory. The only problem is that most stars blow up in supernova events as they age. I have not looked into it, but that may prevent a star from being older than 15 billion years. That may avoid the negation of the “Big Bang Theory.” That would be very unfortunate.
4. The Buddha looked at the world from a different point of view. He was focused on the issue of suffering and realized that the principle of cause and effect naturally leads to the existence of a beginning-less rebirth process.
- Focusing on the behavior of inert matter (as scientists have) can lead to many technological advances. However, that does not accomplish anything regarding the issue of suffering. We can reap the benefits of technological advances as long as we live. If one is reborn as an animal after death, what good is that? We need to focus on the issue of suffering in the long term, not just while we are living this brief life as a human.
- The following old post discussed that point to some extent, “Complexity of Life and the Way to Seek “Good Rebirths.”
- Ancient yogis realized this problem and tried for rebirths in Brahma realms by cultivating jhanas. But the Buddha realized that it was also a “temporary solution.” Until the causes for the continuation of the rebirth process (raga, dosa, moha) are eliminated, suffering will not stop in the long run.