Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Thank you! I was not aware of that account.
1 user thanked author for this post.
I have the following observations.
1. Modern science is based on physics, which is the study of the physical world. Starting with physics (trying to probe elementary constituents of matter and its related properties like heat and electromagnetism), scientists have expanded into more complex entities with chemistry, biology, and zoology.
- In the early days, scientists studied the physics of matter (gravity, motion of particles, etc.) and energy (heat, electromagnetism, etc.) separately. However, Einstein’s mass-energy equation (E = mc^2) made the connection between matter and energy.
2. In the meantime, mental phenomena and inquiries into fundamental reality (unchanging principles that underpin reality itself) were studied separately and fell under the category of philosophy.
- These were termed “metaphysics” (implying “beyond physics” or “not amenable to physics”). For example, questions like “Why does anything exist at all?” or “What is the ultimate structure of existence?” are metaphysical because they can’t be settled by experiments
- They were mostly philosophical in nature. Different philosophers presented vastly different ideas, which could not be proven or disproven with the tools of physics (or science and mathematics in general).
3. As we saw in #1 above, Einstein’s mass-energy equation (E = mc^2) made the connection between matter and energy.
- Furthermore, quantum mechanics has some features (quantum entanglement, Heisenberg uncertainty principle, etc.) that make it appear “mysterious” compared to classical physics, where the predictions are intuitive and transparently deterministic.
- The “hard problem in consciousness” (discussed in philosophy) is also mysterious, just like quantum phenomena: the question of how consciousness can arise in a brain made of inert matter.
- When quantum mechanics emerged in the early 1900s, many people began to connect the two, speculating that the newly discovered quantum theory would explain how consciousness arises in the brain.
4. However, the root problem of the approach in #3 is the following.
- Most of those proposals to connect quantum phenomena to mental processes presume that consciousness arises in the brain. In other words, they attempt to identify quantum processes in the brain, and more specifically, in neurons. Yet, neurons are macroscopic particles and not in the quantum regime!
5. The proposed theory of “Quantum Immortality” based on the “Many-Worlds interpretation of Quantum Mechanics” does not specifically refer to consciousness arising in the brain.
- It is a very general theory (more like a philosophical argument) without specificity.
- It is solely based on the time development of a wave function. Wave functions are used to calculate the trajectories of microscopic particles or energy packets.
6. Buddha’s worldview is exactly the opposite. Mental phenomena are the root cause of material phenomena.
- However, there is a connection to quantum mechanics in the following way. Kammic energy (generated in javana cittas defiled with raga, dosa, moha) is the precursor to both living and non-living matter, i.e., both the living beings and their environments.
- These subtle energies overlap the energies involved in quantum mechanics (QM). The “unusual properties of microscopic particles/energies addressed in QM” are also displayed by kammic energies. A good example is “quantum entanglement”, which is the ability of two spatially separated “entangled particles” to respond to each other instantaneously. See “Quantum Entanglement – We Are All Connected.”
7. However, I believe the paper on “Quantum Immortality: The Missing Element” should be published because it can initiate a productive discussion on the intriguing subject of consciousness between the two camps.
_____________
I am not sure a review like the above can be helpful for getting the paper accepted. If so, I would be happy to do so, and I can address any other points you can bring to my attention.
1 user thanked author for this post.
Yes. You are correct. Saññā ALWAYS arises in the manomaya kaya, whether it is a Brahma, human, or animal.
- All thoughts (with rupa, vedanā, saññā, saṅkhāra, and viññāṇa) arise in the manomaya kaya, NEVER in a physical body. P.S. For those who think thoughts arise in the brain, most animals do not have brains.
- Also, remember that in the suttas, rupa, vedanā, saññā, saṅkhāra, and viññāṇa refer to the respective upādānakkhandha, i.e., rupaupādānakkhandha, etc.
Regarding (ii) above, see “Rupa, Vedanā, Saññā, Saṅkhāra, Viññāṇa – Mostly Misunderstood.”
Thank you.
- That summary looks very impressive. These AI bots are quite useful and productive. They can cut down the “research time” to an incredible level.
- If anyone consults AI bots, please keep a log, as Seng Kiat did. If it is to be posted in the forum (and one does not know how to do that), please email me the PDF file ([email protected]), and I can add the link.
1 user thanked author for this post.
Seng Kiat, I am curious about what you “fed” to ChatGPT.
- Did you “feed it” those suttas or just ask the questions, and it scanned the internet on its own and found the suttas?
1 user thanked author for this post.
Thank you for the summary, Seng Kiat.
- The first two suttas in that summary are discussed in “Four Conditions for Attaining Sōtapanna Magga/Phala.”
1 user thanked author for this post.
Thank you, Jittananto.
- I have not had the time to read the post.
- However, the basic idea of a sappurisa is explained in the “Paṭhamaasappurisa Sutta (SN 45.25).”
- According to the above sutta, there can be two types of sappurisa: (i) one who is on the mundane eightfold path and generally a “moral person” (ii) one who is on the Noble Eightfold Path, i.e., a Noble Person or Ariya. The one on the mundane path could be there temporarily, because one can change one’s views and become an asappurisa at any time, especially in future births. On the other hand, one on the Noble Path will never become an asappurisa.
- By the way, the English translation in the link translates sappurisa as ” true person.” That is not a good translation.
1 user thanked author for this post.
I received the PDF. Following is an easily downloadable file:
QuantumImmortality-Dipabhasadhamma-Aug 6 2025
- I will try to read it over the weekend, as I need to work on the new post first. Thank you!
OK. I will read the revised paper. Could you please send me a PDF copy to my email so that I can replace your link with a directly downloadable link? That will be convenient for others as well.
- If the file is too large to be sent via email, please let me know via email.
Very good. I have made a few revisions.
- Regarding “First. Freedom from pañca nivārana“: This does not mean a Sotapanna has permanently removed pañca nivārana. At the moment of realizing the Sotapanna phala, one’s mind temporarily transcends “kāma saññā” and gets into the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi. That is the first time ever that one will be without any type of “distorted saññā.” However, one may not realize it if the mind remains there only for a brief time. I set the background for that discussion in the new post “Growth of Pañcupādānakkhandha – ‘Anusotagāmi’.” More details in the next post.
- The following will be discussed in later posts: A Sotapanna can cultivate the Satipatthana and return to the Satipaṭṭhāna Bhūmi. With practice, one can remain longer there, contemplate Dhamma concepts without interference from “distorted saññā” and attain higher magga phala.
Welcome to the forum!
1. It is a lengthy process to be able to cultivate the Enlightenment factors. One must understand the futility of the “sensory pleasures” to understand the value of cultivating the Enlightenment factors. I will summarize the steps briefly below.
- First, one must live a moral life, abstaining from the dasa akusala as much as possible. See “Ten Immoral Actions (Dasa Akusala).”
- Trying to adhere to the five precepts will help: “The Five Precepts – What the Buddha Meant by Them“
- More posts on the fundamentals in the following section: “Moral Living and Fundamentals“
- You don’t need to read all. Just read those that you think could be helpful.
2. Once the fundamentals are understood, only then can one start understanding the deeper concepts.
- The following section may be helpful in the transition: “Transition to Noble Eightfold Path.”
- More relevant posts in “Living Dhamma.”
3. Please feel free to ask questions as you go through the suggested posts. It may seem overwhelming first, but it is better to take the time and grasp the fundamentals.
Very good. Yes. You are correct, and I just revised it as follows:
“This is the first stage of cakkhu viññāṇa (the same as “bahiddha viññāṇa,” which is immediately elevated to “ajjhatta viññāṇa”);..”
1 user thanked author for this post.
Thank you very much for sharing your work with us.
- Please don’t hesitate to ask questions as you navigate through the links I’ve pointed out.
- Our goal is to comprehend the “previously unheard teachings of the Buddha” to the best of our capability. They have been hidden for centuries, and now we are starting to recover them, thanks to the efforts of Waharaka Thero.
- However, I believe there is still much more to be done to refine our understanding. This has been an amazing experience for me, and my hope is that many more will be interested in Buddha’s teachings as we uncover deeper aspects. Your work could get more people exposed to the teachings.
1 user thanked author for this post.
I appreciate your efforts to incorporate the issue of an Arahant into your model.
1. While reading your paper, I realized the following: the root problem I have is with the original theory of Quantum Immorality, grounded in the Many-Worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics.
- Quantum mechanics (QM) — in any form whatsoever — will never be able to describe the world. The reason is that all theories of QM are based on theories that attempt to describe the world in terms of elementary particles of matter.
- In contrast, according to Buddha’s teachings, all phenomena have mental activities as their precursor.
2. I have discussed this in several posts on the website.
- See, for example, “The Double Slit Experiment – Correlation between Mind and Matter?” and “Views on Life – Wrong View of Materialism.”
- Those are two posts in the sections, “Buddhism – Inconsistencies with Science” and “Origin of Life.”
3. I think you have done a good job of trying to incorporate the issue of an Arahant into your model per the other QM theories out there. So, the other reviewers are likely to accept it.
- But it may not be a good idea to put me as a reviewer due to the above reasons.
- To emphasize, my key issue is the following: QM adopts a mathematical formulation (wave functions) to describe the motion of particles. Thus, QM at its core is trying to view the world as composed of particles. However, the Buddha taught that all material phenomena arise based on mental processes. This is also discussed in the new series, “Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta – New Series.” In other words, mental processes cannot be expressed in terms of wavefunctions.
