(continued)
Q: Interest im the discoveries of
modern astrophysics and the "Big bang" theory reveal both a great
fascination in the cosmos and a probing interrogation by members of
our generation into their origins, their destiny and the meaning of
their existence. The "Big bang" theory has had a significant impact
on our way of looking at matter and nature; it has introduced
considerable conceptual innovations. The formation of the
structures of the universe, which function in interdependence, and
which new research continues to reveal, is a seemingly endless
source of wonder. Like all spiritual traditions, Buddhism conveys a
cosmogonic myth. And yet Buddhism rejects the idea of creation.
Why?
Most Western scientists think that life and consciousness are a
magnificent result of the universe's material evolution, and yet
they know neither how nor why matter emerged in such a way as to
fulfill the conditions necessary to engender life and
consciousness. What they do know is that these conditions are very
strict, yet have nevertheless been fulfilled in our universe in an
astonishing way. You have a very different point of view on this
subject. Would you therefore speak to us about consciousness in its
relation to matter and the universe?
A: Why is there no creation possible in Buddhism? It has been said
that one cannot find living beings at the becoming of the universe
for the essential reason that causes have no beginning. If there
were a beginning to the universe, there would also have to be a
beginning to consciousness. If we accepted a beginning to
consciousness, we would also have to accept that its cause has a
beginning, a sudden cause which would have instantly produced
consciousness; this would lead to a great many other questions. If
consciousness had arisen without cause, or from a permanent cause,
that cause would have to exist on. a permanent basis, always, or
not exist at all, ever. The fact that a phenomenon exists
intermittently proves that it depends on causes and conditions.
When all the conditions are met, the phenomenon is produced. When
those conditions are absent or incomplete, the phenomenon does not
appear. As causes have no beginning and stretch back to infinity,
the same thing must apply for living beings. Creation is therefore
not possible.
Let us now consider a particular phenomenon, a glacier for example:
it does indeed have a beginning. How was it created? The outside
world appears as a result of the acts of sentient beings who use
this world, These acts, or karmas, in turn originate in the
intentions and motivations of those beings who have not yet taken
control of their minds.
The "creator of the world," basically, is the mind. In the Sutras,
the mind is described as an agent. It is said that consciousness
has no beginning, but we must distinguish here between gross
consciousness and subtle consciousness. Many gross consciousnesses
appear as dependents of the physical aggregates, of the body. This
is evident when you consider the different neurons and the
functioning of the brain, but just because physical conditions are
met does not mean that this is enough to produce a perception. In
order for a perception which will have the faculty to reflect and
know an object to arise, it must have a consubstantial cause. The
fundamental consubstantial cause, of the same substance as its
result, will in this case be the subtle consciousness. It is this
same consciousness or subtle mind which penetrates the parental
cells at the moment of conception. The subtle mind can have no
beginning. If it had one, the mind would have to be born of
something that is not the mind. According to the Kalacakra Tantra,
one would have to return to the particles of space to find the
fundamental consubstantial causes of the external physical world as
well as of the bodies of sentient beings.
Buddhist cosmology establishes the cycle of a universe in the
following way: first there is a period of formation, then a period
where the universe endures, then another during which it is
destroyed, followed by a period of void before the formation of a
new universe. During this void, the particles of space subsist, and
from these particles the new universe will be formed. It is in
these particles of space that we find the fundamental
consubstantial cause of the entire physical world. If we wish to
describe the formation of the universe and the physical bodies of
beings, all we need do is analyse and comprehend the way in which
the natural potential of different chemical and other elements
constituting that universe was able to take shape from these space
particles. It is on the basis of the specific potential of those
particles that the structure of this universe and of the bodies of
the beings present therein have come about. But from the moment the
elements making up the world begin to set off different experiences
of suffering and happiness among sentient beings, we must introduce
the notion of karma -- that is, positive and negative acts
committed and accumulated in the past. It is difficult to determine
where the natural expression of the potential of physical elements
ends and the effect of karma -- in other words, the result of our
past acts -- begins. If you wonder what the relation might be
between karma and this external environment formed by natural laws,
it is time to explain what karma is.
Karma means, first of all, action. We distinguish one type of karma
which is of a mental nature, a mental factor of volition or
intention. There also exist physical and oral karmas. To understand
the connection between these physical, oral, or mental karmas and
the material world, we must refer to the tantric texts. The
Kalacakra Tantra in particular explains that in our bodies there
are to be found, at gross, subtle, and extremely subtle levels, the
five elements which make up the substance of the external world. It
is therefore in this context, I believe, that we must envision the
connection between our physical, oral, and mental karmas, and the
external elements.
- Q&A with the Dalai Lama
