The message behind the ultimate Truth is indeed a strong one. Like most piecings-together of truth, assembling the content of the ultimate Truth meant referring to already preexisting teachings and influences. What precise teachings, then, and what exact influences, were responsible for the ultimate Truth's coming to be? The answer to this question is that the ultimate Truth is an eloquent, bold fusing-together of science and religion. What was the nature of this "fusing-together", one may ask, and what specific areas of science and religion were involved?
The area of science contributing a vast source of knowledge toward the assembling-together of the ultimate Truth was Einstein's theory of relativity. The approach to time presented by the theory of relativity was, upon being introduced, radically different from what the entire world-view at that moment in history had been on how time works. What was it about this radical new approach to time that was different? To better understand this we are to agree upon the simple, logical notion that to exist within the boundaries of time means to be in motion. This is self-evident. What Einstein did that was so amazing was the practice of treating this motion as if it were motion through physical space! When time is dealt with in this manner, time is no longer a "phantom force" that we experience as the factor responsible for inflicting "change" on physical objects, but is rather straightforward travel in a physical direction. What did Einstein call this system of reasoning?
This system of reasoning took the form of a concept known as space-time. In breaking down this term we see the simple logic behind it: we are taking "time", the phantom force we believe to be separate from the universe, and making a conscious decision to treat it as being equal in nature to the existing spatial dimensions of the universe. It's that simple. Let us continue. Given that time is now not a phantom force that "changes" physical objects, we must come to the reality that for a physical object to undergo time means for it to be moving in a physical direction - a direction we will call "time-ward". The inevitable outcome of defining the direction "time-ward", it would appear, is the necessity of the task of defining the supposed direction in which time-ward extends. How do we do this? The most direct, straightforward and effective way to make this direction clear in our minds is to describe it as it relates to the spatial dimensions of the universe it is active in. This direction, quite simply, is a direction perpendicular to all of the other spatial directions of which the given universe is composed. Let us clarify this aspect of space-time through further discussion.
Imagine that you have in your hands an elastic balloon, and a felt-tip marker. Next, fully inflate the balloon. Using the marker, place round "dots" onto the surface of the balloon, preferably evenly distributed. Now deflate the balloon. Begin to inflate the balloon once again. As the dots move outward, imagine them to leave solid, linear trails behind them. Once the balloon has assumed a firm spherical contour in shape, you will see that the paths the dots have left behind are paths perpendicular to the surface of the balloon. This is space-time in action. Einstein, take note, called these paths world lines. Let us examine how 'world lines' make themselves known in the ultimate Truth. In the diagrams of the ultimate Truth - displaying the ball-and-post universe - the ball's world line exists in the form of the 'curved arc' portrayed as a result of its jump up and down. Had the ball not jumped up and away from the post during the post's motion to the side, the ball's world line, rather than being a curved arc, take note, would be straight. Let this better familiarize us with the concept behind what we call a world line. Furthermore: a physical object's journey along its world line, for what it's worth, does not only involve time, but, in ways we will not attempt to address here, involves gravity as well! Proceed to inflate the balloon until it is fully inflated, continuing to imagine the dots leaving trails behind.
The dots have completed their journey "time-ward". In a very real sense of the word, the dots, in moving time-ward, have aged. Observe, if you will, an interesting aspect to this situation: for any given dot, all of which have "aged", we do not see a single dot that stayed in a constant location and "changed" over time (that was affected by some phantom force). Rather, different locations along each dot's world line mark instants in time of the documented "aging" of the dot. That is, we can access any given moment in the dot's history by retrieving the appropriate "cross-section" of the dot's world line: each cross-section is a past "copy" of the dot. Furthermore: one will find, among other things, that each cross-section of the dot's world line lies a certain distance from the balloon's centerpoint (where the balloon's inflation began and where all dot world lines converge). Each distance, in turn, corresponds to a specific balloon size. Our direct means of accessing cross-sections of a dot's world line, take note, is by designating this given balloon size: a unique balloon size, you see, exists for every moment in the history of the dot's world line. In space-time, therefore, locating an event in the dot's history is not a matter of when, but of where! How, then, does all of this relate to the ultimate Truth?
The surface of the balloon can be said to be much like a 2-dimensional universe: the 2 spatial dimensions of the surface of the balloon make up the 2 spatial dimensions of the 2-dimensional universe, and the third dimension is time. "Time-ward" is any and all directions away from the centerpoint of the balloon - all of which meet the surface of the balloon at a right angle. The purpose of discussing space-time - here in Understanding the ultimate Truth - in summary, was to show how something of a potentially complicated nature, when presented correctly, can be successfully expressed in a simplicity far more basic in configuration. I am speaking of course of how space-time is described in the diagrams of the ultimate Truth. Instead of working with a 2-dimensional universe with the third dimension as time, a 1-dimensional universe is used, with the second dimension as time - which is far simpler - both to illustrate and to understand. Instead of representing a curved universe (in which a universe undergoes expansion away from a surrounded centerpoint, as was discussed here) in the examples, a simple "straight" (uncurved) universe is used. By putting into consideration the content of this writing up until now, we can conclude, as was stated above, that concepts that may appear complicated in the beginning can, in every way, be proven to be graspable when all unnecessary complication is removed.
Now that we have seen how science contributed to the ultimate Truth, it is now time to examine the other side to the ultimate Truth's coming into being: what religious teachings were involved. By far, the religion around which the ultimate Truth is centered the most is none other than Buddhism. The reality of this statement will be made clearer as you continue to read on. Before we proceed to study the influence of Buddhism upon the ultimate Truth, we must first, of course, be made familiar with Buddhism itself. This means being introduced to the most fundamental precepts of Buddhism, known as the Four Noble Truths.
The Four Noble Truths give us a "diagnosis" of the condition of this life, examine the evident aspects of it, and offer a "remedy" for the ailment of life. The Four Noble Truths are clear and simple. The "remedy" being spoken of here has a name: the Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path is, evidently, the fourth and final truth of the Four Noble Truths. It is a truth that is broken down into 8 steps. Let us now learn of the Four Noble Truths. They are displayed below, to be studied and contemplated.
The Four Noble Truths:
I. This life has a certain negative quality to it.
II. This is because all of life consists of living up to the demands of countless worldly concerns.
III. The only way to overcome these worldly concerns is to extinguish all attachment to them.
IV. The Eightfold Path is the clear means through which worldly concern is to be overcome.
The Eightfold Path:
Having been introduced to the basics of Buddhism, we can now move onward toward a clearer understanding of the relationship between Buddhism and the ultimate Truth. Buddhism, it would happen, and as you would probably guess, has a vast multitude of various teachings, concepts, and codes, all aimed at benefitting the individual. What we will focus upon, however, is upon the propositions responsible for shaping the ultimate Truth. We will do so directly and promptly. The area of Buddhism of value to us here is the Buddhist teaching of the Three Characteristics of Existence. These 3 "characteristics" describe in detail a frank summary of life in this present world. They are realistic and down-to-earth. The original language in which the Three Characteristics of Existence have been written is a language known as Pali. Each characteristic, in turn, is expressed in a single word. The two most basic goals of mine, then, in approaching this foreign language, are to present each Characteristic as it appears in the original tongue, and then to present an English word that expresses what I believe to be the underlying message that the word in Pali was meant to convey. Once this is done, I will address matters more thoroughly: I will confront the traditional interpretations as to what each Characteristic means, and then present my own personal, unique interpretation of each. In doing so I will show how these new interpretations relate to the ultimate Truth.
The first Characteristic of Existence, in Pali, is dukkha. This word, it so happens, is the same word that gives the first truth of the Four Noble Truths its meaning. The traditional translation of dukkha is "suffering". This is an adequate translation. However, a deeper study into the meaning of the word in the original language tells us that the word can be used to describe a "negative quality". This life, as the first truth of the Four Noble Truths states, has a certain 'negative quality' to it. And is there a person living within this world who can argue with this? It is my personal belief that dukkha is the result of a nauseating predictability. Predictability of what? Time! Althroughout Buddhism we are reminded of the cyclic nature of things: minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years. These endless cycles are a result of nothing other than time. We have been going through cycles our whole lives, and it is very predictable that we will go through many more.
The second Characteristic of Existence is a clear product of the first. This Characteristic, in Pali, is anicca. The traditional translation of anicca is "impermanence". It is not difficult to see how the cycles of time and impermanence are related: cycles are the fruit of the passage of time. To loop through the cycles of this time-ruled universe is to age, and to change. It is difficult to disagree, quite clearly, that what is in a certain state in this cycle, will be in a different state in the next. After a certain many cycles, furthermore, it is equally difficult to disagree that what was constantly changing states will then have simply ceased to be. As before, there is simply no way to establish an argument against this. How does 'impermanence' apply to the ultimate Truth? It is my personal belief that at the core of anicca lies an undeniable inevitability: aging and change are inevitable, and cannot be avoided - and throughout all of this we have nothing to blame but time.
The third Characteristic of Existence could be said to have been the result of a sound conclusion - the only conclusion that could be made given the truth of the second Characteristic of Existence. This Characteristic, in Pali, is anatta. The traditional way of translating anatta is as a translation that expresses the idea of being "without self". What does it mean to be "without self"? In order to properly understand this proposal, what we must first do is define the term "self". According to the words of the Buddha, though the individual is supposedly without a self - as we have come to learn - selfhood nevertheless exists. What does it mean to have a "self"? The Buddha says that selfhood is pure, real, and permanent. Understanding our "selfless" state means understanding that all of us, as we've seen in studying the first two Characteristics of Existence, have a common enemy: time. Being hurled through the cycles of time, we are constantly undergoing inevitable aging and change, always in a state of private unfulfillment as a result of the impending predictability of the matter. Time robs us of our selfhood. If selfhood exists, so to speak, then where is it?
Selfhood exists where time is not. If this statement is true, where is this place? Or perhaps the question to ask is when is it? Providing answers to these questions is not an easy task, and is perhaps impossible. But a valiant attempt can be made to do so. Consider the notion, then, that selfhood is always and everywhere. Such is true - true to a certain extent. How can one make sense, though, you may ask, of such a puzzling statement? To make this issue clearer, let us turn to the ultimate Truth. It is my personal belief that the concept of anatta - "without self" - is intricately intertwined with the sense of insignificance one experiences as a result of his selfless state. Stated once again, time is the origin and cause of this state of insignificance. What does one do in response to this insignificance - that is, how does one make the transition from this state of insignificance, to a state of pure, real, permanent selfhood? The solution is both elegant and sublime: one accepts his own selflessness. To do so is to transcend the boundaries of both space and time. As the ultimate Truth states, however, this is a very difficult task to accomplish and may take an enormous amount of cyclic time to fully complete. Once one has done this, though, he truly finds the selfhood that is 'always' and 'everywhere'. Is there a better way, then, of defining when and where selfhood is, rather than as 'always' and 'everywhere'? Yes. As the ultimate Truth states, this place is the universe as it exists outside of time. It is a place, as we've learned, that can neither begin nor end. It is a place where "aging" and "change" play no role - a place that, by its own nature, can do nothing more, and nothing less, than simply BE. Is there a Buddhist term for such a place? Yes, indeed - this place, in the mind of the Buddhist, is nirvana.
"I am smaller than the minutest atom, likewise greater than the greatest. I am the whole, the diversified-multicolored-lovely-strange universe. I am the Ancient One, the Lord. I am the Being-of-Gold. I am the very state of divine beatitude."
"This condition I call neither arising nor passing away, neither dying nor being born. It is without form and without change. It is the eternal, which never originates and never passes away. To find it is the end of sorrow."
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