Life Existence - How it begins and continues to begin?
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All existence contain with basic elements - Energy, Matter and Space.
Basic elements would subject to conditional balance and imbalance phenomena.
Under balance phenomena, 3 basic elements start to integrate with each other to create aggregate activities.
Under imbalance phenomena, 3 basic elements start to disintegrate from each other to create segregate activities.
The principle in effect: -
A stream of balance phenomena would conjure up aggregate activity;
A stream of aggregate activities would conjure up information;
A stream of information would conjure up memory;
A stream of memories would conjure up ignorance;
A stream of ignorance would conjure up volitional impulse;
A stream of volitional impulses would conjure up consciousness;
A stream of consciousness would conjure up body and mind;
A stream of body and mind would conjure up six sense bases;
A stream of six sense bases would conjure up contact;
A stream of contacts would conjure up feeling;
A stream of feelings would conjure up craving;
A stream of cravings would conjure up clinging;
A stream of clinging would conjure up becoming;
A stream of becoming would conjure up birth;
A stream of births would conjure up aging;
A stream of aging would conjure up death;
A stream of deaths would conjure up segregate activity;
A stream of segregate activities would conjure up imbalance phenomenon;
A stream of imbalance phenomena would conjure up new balance phenomenon.
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Energy and Matter
Energy or Matter is actually the same thing; both reflected in a different form. Just like, Cause or Effect is the same thing; both reflected in a different time of event.
Matter is simply something that contains mass and takes up space as a solid, liquid, gas or plasma. The atom is a basic unit of matter that consists of a dense, central nucleus surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. The atomic nucleus contains a mix of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons. In other words, matter is also known as concerted, aggregated or concentrated or wrapped energy.
As scientists have discovered, energy cannot be created or destroyed – it only transforms itself based on any subjected conditions. Therefore, we could summarise that all activities would evolve around the orientation of energy or matter in the platform of space at all times.
Law of Nature & the Buddha’s teachings
If one was to observe one’s surroundings intently, everything that exists would always try to achieve the state of balance. All things would only exist in perpetual conditions when there is a balance circumstance.
Thus, when things run off-balance or when one stirs up in any phenomena of existence (volitional or non-volitional term), the law of nature would take its course to balance it in another way across time and plane of existence. This law of nature is also known as law of balancing.
In the Buddhist context, the law of balancing can also be classified as the law of Karma in the nature across time and plane of existence. Karmic Law is a natural phenomenon law that is not shaped by someone else; no one owns it; neither Buddhism. It is merely a law of balancing for all things in order to achieve the circumstance of equilibrium in the nature.
Also, we need to understand that long before the rising of Buddha Dhamma 2,600 years ago, the realm of existence already running its course as according to the natural bounding laws. And the wise Buddha has seen through the reality of it, recommended with permanent remedies to liberate one from these natural bounding laws.
Wisely, the Buddha recommended “Middle Path” (path of balancing) in facing the realm of Karmic Law (law of balancing) as the fundamental route to taste enlightenment.
"Middle" means neutral, upright, and centered. It means to investigate and penetrate the core of life and all things with an upright, unbiased attitude. In order to solve a problem, we should position ourselves on neutral, upright and unbiased ground. We investigate the problem from various angles, analyze the findings, understand the truth thoroughly, and find a reasonable conclusion.
The Middle Path in Buddhism does not mean having a biased view or superficial understanding only. The "Middle Path" represents a distinct theory and way of Buddhist practice that is not common to other religions. Buddhism is a religion with high moral values. It lays great emphasis on human thought and action in dealing with the natural environment, society or individual problems. It is concerned with the relationship between thoughts and behavior, and the relationship between behavior and its consequences.
In short, the Buddha recognised all thoughts and actions as wholesome or unwholesome only. The meaning of wholesome would be in totality of perspective and unwholesome would be in non-totality of perspective. There is no holy or sinful act or thought in the eyes of the Buddha except for skillful or unskillful one.
Basic elements & Conditional phenomena
When the 3 basic elements (energy, matter and space) interacted together, the very first dot of becoming process (integration process) begins under balance phenomena. When billions and trillions of dots come together, it would manifest into some sort of beings or things.
Respectively, each dot contains a sort of genetic information that is unique and aggregation of dots would subsequently develop into a pool of behaviour. Such unique behaviour would be enclosed within the same being or thing until the next unbecoming process (disintegration process) begins upon a specific time of maturity.
During the disintegration process, the basic elements encompassed in the same billions and trillions of dots would liberate from each other and sustain freedom of sorts under imbalance phenomena. When more different beings when through the same disintegration processes, more different billions and trillions of dots would sustain freedom and thus assimilate among each other in the realm of existence before waiting for another new balance phenomena to arise again.
For instance, when a being is lying dead, the energy, matter and space elements would separate of each other. Both conscious and subconscious (energy) aggregates would depart the body (matter). It is the same case scenario for plants, insects or any material things – but only subconscious aggregates exist and would depart from the body.
Law of Dependent Origination (Profound Version)
The principle in effect: -
A stream of balance phenomena would conjure up aggregate activity;
A stream of aggregate activities would conjure up information;
A stream of information would conjure up memory;
A stream of memories would conjure up ignorance;
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So far, all the available texts or sutras on the Buddha’s teachings have pointed out ignorance as the first link or cause in the wheel of life.
However, if one was to observe this aspect of ignorance intently, it simply could not arise out of nowhere or out of thin air. Definitely, it has to arise out of "memorised" events that have taken place beforehand.
In psychology, memory is defined as an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences. So, when aggregate activities began, some sort of information would be produced, stored and recalled in the integrated elements. In a layman term, this process is called creation and pro-creation within beings or things. If memory aggregate is absent, the process of replication could not arise in all beings or things at all.
Let us illustrate in the learning of speeches among young children. If a child has no memory ability, then whatever lessons that were taught on would instantly be forgotten or erased and progression to the next advance level would be deemed impossible.
Similarly, it was the Buddha’s recommendation for one to always see and lives in the present, neither in the past nor in the future. When one lives well in the present, one would lead to the cessation of memories of the past and this would subsequently lead to the cessation of ignorance in the future.
The principle in effect: -
The seeing of Ultimate Truth leads to the cessation of balance phenomenon;
The cessation of balance phenomenon leads to the cessation of aggregate activity;
The cessation of aggregate activity leads to cessation of information;
The cessation of information leads to cessation of memory;
The cessation of memory leads to the cessation of ignorance;
The cessation of ignorance leads to the cessation of volitional impulse;
The cessation of volitional impulse leads to the cessation of consciousness;
The cessation of consciousness leads to the cessation of body and mind;
The cessation of body and mind lead to the cessation of six sense bases;
The cessation of six sense bases lead to the cessation of contact;
The cessation of contact leads to the cessation of feeling;
The cessation of feeling leads to the cessation of craving;
The cessation of craving leads to the cessation of clinging;
The cessation of clinging leads to the cessation of becoming;
The cessation of becoming leads to the cessation of birth;
The cessation of birth leads to the cessation of aging;
The cessation of aging leads to the cessation of death;
The cessation of death leads to the cessation of segregate activity;
The cessation of segregate activity leads to the cessation of imbalance phenomenon;
The cessation of imbalance phenomenon leads to the cessation of conditional phenomenon;
The cessation of conditional phenomenon leads to the cessation of time;
The cessation of time leads to unconditional freedom of basic elements - Energy, Matter and Space.
Ultimately, pure Energy, Matter and Space elements would sustain in permanency with absence of time – that is Nibbana. -
Shakyamuni Buddha said, “Everything which can be returned is clearly not you, while as for what there is of you that cannot be returned, what is it if it is not you?” Therefore I know that your mind is fundamentally wonderful, bright, and pure. But you still don’t understand. You can’t admit that it is your true mind. So you yourself are confused and deluded. There is no place your true mind returns to, but you yourself are confused – you don’t understand – and you are deluded – it seems to be right and yet is not. This is what I meant when I said earlier that you lost it. It is something which originally belongs to you, but you don’t realize it, so it seems lost. You are caught in the turning wheel of the six paths. Your fundamental, true mind escapes you. If one fails to understand one’s true mind, then life after life one falls and does not ascend. Although the true mind is not actually lost, the fall is genuine enough. One falls into the sea of suffering, and one turns this way and that, tossing and floating on the stormy sea of birth and death all the time. Being in the sea where one suffers birth and death is just like being tossed about on the surface of the open ocean and being drowned. If birth and death have not been ended, then even if you can handle the water and swim, after being tossed about for long enough you will drown. No wonder the Thus Come One says that you are the most pitiable of creatures. The waters of the sea of birth and death are composed of the karmic offenses you create. And in these waters you are tossed back and forth in your human body. That represents the giving rise to delusion and the creation of karma. One creates karma because one does not recognize the true mind. It is said, “The sea of karma is vast.” It has no boundary. Sometimes you are tossed about on its surface, sometimes you sink to the bottom. It is dangerous to be in that water. “Ananda, all things, near and far, have the nature of things. Although each is distinctly different, they are seen with the same pure essence of seeing. Thus all the categories of things have their individual distinctions, but the seeing-nature has no differences. This essential wonderful brightness is most certainly your seeing-nature.
He said to Ananda, “Although you have a strong memory, it only benefits your wide learning. But your mind has not yet understood the subtle secret contemplation and illumination of shamatha. Listen attentively now as I explain it for you in detail.
“Ananda, all living beings turn on the wheel of rebirth in this world because of two upside-down discriminating false views. Wherever these views arise, revolution through the cycle of appropriate karma occurs.
“What are the two views? The first consists of the false view based on living beings’ individual karma. The second consists of the false view based on living beings’ collective share.
“What is meant by false views based on individual karma? Ananda, it is like a person in the world who has red cataracts on his eyes so that at night he alone sees around the lamp a circular reflection composed of layers of five colors.
More interesting revelation of your essence that can be realized in a scripture by Buddha known as The Shurangama Sutra. Kindly obtain a free copy at the monastery or any circulation site for much more good insight. Internet also has free circulation. Feel free to have one of your essence. Enjoys!!!
Amituofo