Science and Buddha Dhamma

Strategies in the Analysis of Buddhism

There is a doctrinal schism in Buddhism which gave rise to the Hinayana and Mahayana branches of Buddhism.

For several hundred years prior to the Christian era, the Buddha’s practices were preserved using the historical Śrauta tradition. This is a way of preserving information by group chanting. The reliability of this method is well proven in India, but there are questions about the origins of some teachings in the Pali Canon and its development. The Buddhist Pali canon is a collection of teachings attributed to Siddhatta Gotama, collated from various centuries and locations, in and around India. Serious inconsistencies have found their way into the Canon. But credit to the compilers for passing on to us the opportunity to make up our own minds. Many of the discourses often start not unlike witness statements, stating who, where, when and what was said. The Buddha chastised those listening to his teachings to judge and exercise reasonable doubt.

My attempt to exercise reasonable doubt became particularly burdened by the history of Mahāyāna Buddhism and the arrival of the Church in Southern India. They provide a date, location and motive, to support the possibility that Christianity catalysed the rise of Mahāyānaism. Christianity is well received wherever it goes. Significantly, one can reach the ultimate in one lifetime, compared to the countless incarnations taught in Buddhism and other Hindu faiths.

I believe Christianity’s arrival in Kerala, southern India, circa several hundred years after the Buddha’s death, motivated Buddhist revisionists to modify teachings that could compete with the appeal of Christianity. I believe the result came to be known as Mahāyāna and created the Hināyāna-Mahāyāna schism. Let’s be honest, competition is very human. One might also wonder if the Trinity found in the Vedanta, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, was also inspired by the Holy Trinity of the Church. Significantly, all Buddhist texts are from the Christian era, as are most Hindu texts¹⁰⁵.

Before I go on, please understand that the implied conclusions in this book do not negate all extra-Buddhist wisdom in the Pali canon. Christians should not think I am blaming Christianity in any way for the Schism in Buddhism. This book is about what is right, not who is right.

I had to develop some bespoke tools of analysis to differentiate curiously Biblical teachings from Buddhist ones. This alone created several years of work.

To distinguish what constituted a Buddhist teaching, I needed some tools, some templates as I came to think of them, to winkle out what was Buddhistic and what wasn’t. These templates were attempts to distinguish how much a teaching was fact, faith, fable, fiction and fear. Having established which template a teaching best fits, in accordance with my modern mindset, I was then better placed to assess a teaching for Buddhistic-consistency.

I also needed more templates to apply to the curiously Christian teachings which appear in the Pali Canon. To isolate Buddhist characteristics I relied on the templates of solitude, asceticism and extinction. To isolate Monotheistic church teachings, I thought in terms of hierarchy, succour and externalism. Now let’s compare and contrast these two paradigms of church and Buddhism.

Extinction Vs Eternal Succour Of The Church

Eternity means dead for ever and forever is an eternity. Little wonder, for example, the Buddha remained agnostic on whether there was a creator God. The Buddha described this question as “a thicket of views… beset by suffering, by vexation” (MN72:14). He said he never found the start of his existences, nor found a house builder (Dhammapada 153-54).

Buddhist doctrine does not assert nor deny an eternal anything, but it does ask, how could a compounded thing not pass away? The Buddha did however teach Nibbana to be the extinguishing of the flame of passion and attachment.

By contrast the Monotheistic church teaches there is eternal succour available in the Eternal City that God will build at the end of time. So, we have a contrasting pair: extinction and externalism.

Nibbana, the blowing out of the flame, the end of attachment to passion, is taken by tens of millions of Buddhists to mean no more lives upon death. And that is it, period. No more lives means no more suffering because the First of Four Noble Truths states The Truth Of Suffering is that life is suffering. However, this is in fact not all the Buddha said on the subject.

The Buddha was clear that all existences, even the finest of godly realms, are transient and transiency carries with it the potential to suffer. Therefore, if Nibbana is the permanent end of suffering, then Nibbana cannot be found as an existence. However, later we will see how Nibbana is referred to as Temporary Liberation amongst other names, suggesting extinction is only ever temporary. This opens up the suggestion that we are talking about the quality of consciousness when we talk about Nibbana.

Asceticism Vs Desire fulfilment

Asceticism is very much the opposite of desire fulfilment. There are a lot of words that can be used to denote and are apposite to desire; opulence, ownership, status, satisfaction, materialism, ambition. While the fulfilment of mundane desires and ownership are acceptable to the Church and Catholic practices, the bhikkhu’s life of asceticism is the road of perdition. The bhikkhu traditionally owns two robes, a begging bowl, something to keep the sun off the head and eats one meal a day.

Isolation Vs Hierarchy

We can see how hierarchy, succour, and eternity are exalted in the Biblical paradigm. By contrast, Buddhism can be reasonably defined by solitude, asceticism, and extinction (Parinibbāna). These three pairs of diametrically opposed characteristics make it difficult to see how Buddhist renunciation and monotheistic ideals can sit comfortably in the same canon. While the bible expects deference, Buddhism invites scepticism.

Anything not visible here and now, and realisable for oneself, should be flagged up, and one should ask, “is this what the Buddha would have taught?”

Fact Based Teachings – Meditation and ethics

Crucially, Buddhist meditation is practiced in the context of an ethical life, collectively known as the Dhamma. This Dhamma can be found presented in the form of many lists, for example, the Three Aggregates: the Aggregate of Wisdom, the Aggregate of Ethical Conduct, and the Aggregate of Mental Development. Ethics are universally used for attenuating expressions of gross energy, and this is so in Buddhism. Minding one’s gross instincts through ethical behaviour is not only a socially acceptable way to behave, but essential training for Buddhist meditation.

Ethical practice is training in the attenuation of gross mind states for more refined ones. An earnest Buddhist layman will likely spend most of his life endeavouring to live ethically, and might never engage in formal seated meditation. Ethical practice is where the layman largely earns his kammic merit.

We can see from the above that Buddhist ethics and meditation are fact-based teachings. They are doable, realisable, here and now.

Faith Based Teachings (Reasonable or Unreasonable)

A faith-based teaching can be reasonable or unreasonable. Even though Siddhatta Gotama’s teachings are first and foremost practical and to be made real, they are not without some purely faith-based teachings. By definition, a faith-based teaching is beyond empirical investigation. Even so, a purely faith-based teaching can have a practical function, if only because it is supportive of mindfulness.

For example, the law of kamma is a reasonable faith-based teaching. It asks us to believe that just as there is physical cause and effect, there is also moral cause and effect at a metaphysical level, and that physics and metaphysics are inextricably linked, and run from life to life. This faith-based belief supports the attenuation of expressions of gross energy, out of concern for what we bring upon ourselves tomorrow.

The Buddha did not expect anyone to be able to correlate a particular spiritual deed to a particular kammic consequence. This is a recommendation to see things as they are for oneself.

Cosmology is often also a faith teaching. In the Brahmanimantanika Sutta the Buddha respectfully speaks to the Brahma, the chief god, in the Brahma Loka, about world systems, impermanence and kammic reincarnation. The Buddha says the Sun has an orbit, which is indeed true: the Sun revolves around the centre of the Milky Way.

The above might sound fantastical, but in principle it is not without good reason. After all, there are so many planets in the universe, it is unreasonable to assert there are no other life-bearing planets. Buddhist cosmology is largely reasonable and faith-based. It also implies rebirth, which is also reasonable¹⁰⁶¹⁰⁷.

Unreasonable Faith-based teachings – Pernicious View or Popery

In addition to reasonable faith-based teachings there are unreasonable ones. These are distinguished by their lack of practical and philosophical integrity. Bear in mind, a teaching by the Buddha avails itself to be investigated and realised.

The Mahāsihanāda discourse alleges the Buddha warned a Brahmin, that should anyone think the Buddha hammered out his teaching by logic alone, that person would be assured of rebirth in a world of woe. But why would one go to Hell for thinking so? First impressions of this teaching is that it is more like a blasphemy law than empirical law. Even if logic alone is tantamount to calling the Buddha a fraud, critical thinking is still indispensable to the reasonably minded.

I’ve got the Mahāsihanāda discourse down as being an unreasonable faith-based teaching, as it does more to frighten than enlighten. Angulimāla actually tried to kill the Buddha, but went on to become an arahant. It is hard to support a blasphemy law in Buddhism.

Fiction - Miracles and The 32 Marks

Some teachings are so devoid of philosophical consistency and utility, they come across as fiction. Some miracles in the Pāli Canon are so farfetched they are insulting. An unreasonable teaching is the alleged 32 markings of the Buddha. They have no practical bearing upon the life of a renunciant, and in my view do not add any credibility to the Pāli Canon.

The 32 marks would have us believe the Buddha looked half-gorilla. I can’t help but suspect that the 32 marks are an attempt to exalt the Buddha to the level of Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten. Anciently, and to some extent even today, leaders were commonly exalted to the level of gods.

Fable

Another basic type of teaching, found throughout the ancient world and the Pāli Canon, is the fable. It is different to fiction in that it carries a moral message, as distinct from a questionable event. It has to be noted, the Pāli Canon does present its fabulous teachings as if they were fact. Mara the Evil One is one such example, although in the Saṃyutta Nikāya the Buddha makes it explicit that Mara the Evil One is allegorical¹⁰⁸.

Table 2 Types of Teaching

Using these templates proved very useful for identifying inconsistencies in the Pali Canon and comparing its teachings to other doctrines. I have identified over eight fundamental teachings in the Pāli Canon that are inconsistent with other teachings in the Canon and that have a curious resemblance to a biblical teaching. Inconsistency needs investigating.

Thermodynamics and Impermanence

A particularly interesting comparison to make is the Buddhist doctrine of impermanence and thermodynamics. The Anicca doctrine treats all compounded things as transient. A compounded thing is anything made up of two or more fundamental building blocks. This doctrine is also applied to the self, in which case it is called the Anatta doctrine. It says there is no immutable self, as consciousness is dependent on conditions.

Studies of the microscopic and macroscopic universe reveal nothing is truly motionless, which is consistent with the Anicca doctrine of impermanence. All things apparent are in a constant state of flux. Science attempts to qualify and quantify heat, movement and disorder with a concept called entropy.

I say Siddhatta Gotama expounded a law of thermodynamics when he taught all compounded things are impermanent¹⁰⁹. Some scientific thinkers believe the entropy of the universe is increasing, meaning it is becoming less sophisticated, less structured. But there are forces in the universe that bring about order and sophistication and store energy. A universe that is constructive as well as destructive is cyclic. This is the nature of the Steady State Universe, and it is the universe of the Pāli Canon.

A particularly poignant consequence of impermanence for sentient beings is that nothing is eternally reliable, and so there can be no permanently unbroken succour in the universe. All heavens are temporary, even if they last for aeons. The doctrine of impermanence is the kingpin in the Buddha’s teaching¹¹⁰¹¹¹.

Cause and Effect – A Scientific Principle

The Principle of Action and Reaction, and the Principle of Conservation of Energy are the bedrock of scientific thought. The Principle of Action and Reaction says there can be no reaction without an action. The Principle of Conservation of Energy says the extent of a reaction is proportional to the amount of energy doing the actioning.

The Principle of Action and Reaction can be compared to the Universal law of Kamma. Just as there are physical mechanics operating to create cause and effect, there are metaphysical mechanics operating that form part of the machinery of cause and effect at kammic and moral levels. In Buddhism, kamma can be described as heavy, that is dark kamma with dark kammic comeuppance, or light, that is bright kamma with bright kammic comeuppance.

The Principle of Conservation of Energy is also found in Gotama’s teaching which compares our passions to a fire. The Buddha taught that in order to end the cycle of birth and death, we must stop putting fuel on the fire of our passions. Hence, a bhikkhu practices meditation, celibacy, humility and frugality with equanimity.

The Importance of Perspective and Understanding

The Buddha taught that our perspectives, and what we believe, are not without consequence. Some perspectives lead to one’s enduring welfare for a long time. Some cause unwholesome states to increase, some cause wholesome states to diminish, some preclude enlightenment, and some can damage oneself and others for a long time.

This is not because disdain for the Buddha’s teaching is naughty. It is because the universe requires navigating, and this necessitates a perspective, a roadmap so to speak, that is faithful to reality. Our beliefs and perspectives significantly determine what we feel, say, and do.

The Buddha taught nihilism precludes rebirth in the heavenly realms. Anyone who genuinely does not believe in cause and effect at the moral level is less likely to respect others, or believe in the value of self-discipline. Without self-discipline to refine our energies, rebirth in a refined place is less likely.

Even though Buddhism is born of empiricism, faith-based teachings still play a crucially practical role.

Readying for meditation

Part of scientific experimentation requires being able to identify the variables from the constants. Thus, if a scientist conducting an experiment adheres to the same set of conditions, he expects to get the same result. Compare this with the Buddha’s teaching that his doctrine is visible here and now, timeless, inviting inspection, leading onward, to be realised by the wise each one for himself.

There is nothing vicarious about the Buddha’s discipline. It is timeless because he reveals fundamental truths about existence which one can observe, inspect, and introspect for oneself, right here and now. There is no act of faith involved. Gotama is clearly calling for a scientist’s empirical approach. Therefore, by the same logic of scientific verification, a meditator can expect the same results from the same conditions.

Buddha’s Empiricism

The Buddha taught that teachings from secondary sources should not be passively accepted, but should be compared with the suttas, and reviewed in the light of the discipline. Note the two recommendations: compare and review. The many references in this book are provided for those who care to search the Canon for themselves and make comparisons.

The Buddha’s truth is universal. Piecing it together from the Pāli Canon is a considerable task to say the least. Beginner friendly it is not. So, the text proposes starting not with the discourses, but by exploring our mutual experience of the here and now, and how to meditate, using non-technical, ordinary language. This provides some grounding in real experience to bring to the discourses, and helps minimise leaps of faith.

A key part of Buddhist ethics is the doctrine of perfect speech, which calls for the use of accurate, meaningful and helpful speech. Ideally, a Buddhist should be aware of the meaning of every word he uses. Similarly, we should make the effort to evaluate what we read and hear, particularly when it is attributed to the Buddha.

Using the right words is also a mental discipline. It is crucial to the Aggregate of Wisdom, the Aggregate of Ethical Conduct, and the Aggregate of Mental Development. Exercising control over what one is thinking brings some control over what one is feeling^112113114.

Imagination and the Here-And-Now

The here and now is the eternal moment. It is the only moment we experience, and the one in which all happens, including our efforts to contemplate and meditate. Meditation starts with the effort to stay in the here and now.

If we sit for a moment with nothing to do, the likelihood is that within seconds the imagination will start to stir, often for no apparent reason. If we look at what constitutes these mental stirrings, and how they manifest in the imagination, we see they are threefold. They consist of the faculty of vision, the faculty of sound, and the faculty of feeling or sentience.

The imagination can be problematic. It is always at the centre of worry and dreaming. It can run away with us, and even make us paranoid. It never seems to stop, day or night, regardless of whether it is wanted. This is because the imagination’s faculties are stimulated by hunger, thirst, tiredness, loneliness, discomfort and illness. The imagination is an integral part of the body’s survival mechanism.

Recognising the condition of the mind-body mechanism is the starting place of self-transcendence. Without self-transcendence, we are animalistic. A contemplator and meditator, on the other hand, trains in knowing the imagination for what it is, and is not so readily persuaded by it.

The Technique of Apperception

There is in fact a very effective tool for detaching from the imagination. We can stop the audio and visual faculties in their tracks, and consequently exercise control over the feeling faculties, by a simple act of apperception. The technique of apperception is to simply look and listen inside the head, and cognise anything and everything that could excite the imaginative faculties into involuntary activity, that is distraction. Just enough energy is used to do this, and no more.

Physical and emotional feelings are very often stubborn. Nevertheless, you can stop an upset becoming a distress with a resolute use of apperception. The stop button for the imagination is spring loaded. The second you take your apperceptive finger off the imagination’s stop button, the imagination will start up again, but the technique works while ever it is applied.

The apperceptive gaze is the gateway to suññata, voidness. The reader might try the following empirical investigation.

Exercise 1 The Apperceptive Gaze

Spend the next 30 seconds, or so, looking, listening and feeling inside the head and body. Notice that the harder you look, listen and sense, apperceive, the less the imaginative faculties produce. If any imaginings do arise, it is because you have lost focus, in which case simply refocus straight away. Use the minimum effort necessary.

During this exercise, you might have heard noises from the outside world, and perhaps internal noises from the body, such as the stomach grumbling, the sound of your own breath, maybe tinnitus. Even though external and internal stimuli are still cognised, the apperceptive gaze is still able to check the imaginative faculties and keep consciousness pure. In such a moment, the forces of selfishness no longer dominate you. You are meditating. You are practicing equanimity. It is the road to liberation.

The apperceptive gaze is how to do nothing, and that requires the minimum of effort. The here-and-now is the eternal moment and that makes the apperceptive technique eternally useful. Ordinary consciousness means ordinary experiences. No one gets to walk about in a permanent bubble of bliss, not even the Buddha.

Other Meditation Techniques

The apperceptive gaze is not the only meditation technique in the Pali Canon. There are techniques to focus the mind by putting the imagination to work, using nimittaṃ. These include mindful awareness of the breath, body posture, visualising a colour, or holding a wholesome sentiment in mind. These objects of attention are the basis for samadhi meditation, which the book studies shortly. Relatively speaking, these are gross mental states, more tangible forms of contemplations and meditation than the apperceptive gaze, but less gross than some more mundane psychological states.