Todayand#8217;s FBA Dharmabyte, and#8220;What Can We Be Sure Of?and#8221; is a taste of Jnanavacaand#8217;s fabulous take on Einstein, Schroedinger, and all that stuff you wished you understood about quantum physics but despaired of ever knowing so as to impress at partiesand#8230; Well, now you can learn all about it — as well as how it relates to Dharma practice and the Buddhaand#8217;s view of a truly luminous Reality. Very classy stuff from a great speaker with the most infectious laugh on the planet! We wonand#8217;t give any more away here — settle back and enjoy a brain-expanding, soul questioning except from the talk, and#8220;Buddhism and Quantum Physicsand#8221; given at the Triratna Buddhist Order Convention, 2005
Dharmabytes from free buddhist audio
What Can We Be Sure Of?
[Music] Dharma Vites is brought to you by Free Buddhist Audio, the Dharma for real life. Our work is funded entirely by donations from our generous listeners. If you would like to help us keep this free, come and join us at freebuddhistaudio.com/community. Thank you and happy listening. [Music] So what can be sure of? So I just wanted to ask what we can be sure of. Well, the first thing, and this is sort of by way of conclusion. The first thing that we can be sure of is that things are not what they've seen. Even if quantum physics proves to be incorrect and is superseded by a more impressive theory, we're never going to, I think, be able to return to a simple common sense view of matter, of reality. Relativity, which I've not been able to go into, says that space and time are not what they seem. So not only is matter not what it seems, space and time are nothing like what we take them to be. The past, the present, and the future, this notion of time as flowing through an absolute space is not how physics sees things. Well, I just want to read another bit of Einstein. He was writing a letter of condolence to the widow of a friend that had died. It's a lovely thing to write. He says, "Now he has departed from this strange world, a little ahead of me." That means nothing. People like us who believe in physics know that the distinction between the past, the present, and the future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion. So things are not what they seem. Secondly, if the Copenhagen interpretation is correct, then we can't talk of an objectively existing reality separate from our consciousness, separate from the subject. It's almost as if physics, starting from the assumption of objectivity, comes to the very limits of the subject object duality and starts to come unstuck because its assumptions are that there was an objective world, it comes unstuck. And, unfortunately, even if the interpretation of the Copenhagen interpretation, even if that's proven to be wrong, even if there is an objective reality, it seems to be now indisputable that everything's connected to everything else. The interconnectedness of that objective reality is a fact, and that we're woven into that. So I find all of that very fascinating. Hopefully some of you at least have found that interesting. But I think I want to conclude by saying, well, of course, it's very limited, even if it's all true. World quantum physics doesn't really say anything about how we live our lives. It doesn't say anything about ethics, it doesn't say anything about values, even though it might hint at such things. However, it can influence our worldview, and I think that that's an important thing to try and take on board. It can influence our perspective. I think for me, it can help me stay in touch with a sense of wonder, and a sense of wonder for me is very connected with a sense of shred heart of reverence. It's when I think I know it all, that the sense of shred heart seems to go. So I want to finish now with some words again from Einstein, who seems to, I think, have been a man of spiritual insight. Certainly his writings seem to me to imply that, genuine depth. These words that I'm going to read, they're my favourite thing that I've read of Einstein. They echo, for me, words in the Manjidosho Stuttisardna, well, perhaps you'll see why, but they definitely seem to me to be words of wisdom. I just want to conclude with them. A human being is part of a whole called by us, universe, apart limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to the affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison, by widening our circle of compassion, to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in all its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but striving for such an achievement is in itself a part of deliberation and a foundation for inner security. We hope you enjoyed the talk. Please come and help us keep this free at freebutestaudio.com/community. And thank you. [BLANK_AUDIO]