Certain contents of Theravada Buddhism are gaining recognition as the foundation of Quantum Mechanics, particularly its component dealing with the actions and mechanism of consciousness. Presently, those who work on psychology, neurology and Quantum Mechanics, a new branch of physics, are assiduously engaged in research into the actions, dynamism and mechanism of consciousness.
Nobel laureate Physicist Roger Penrose in his book titled Emperor’s New Mind ( 1989) presents his doubts about the strength and capabilities of modern science to accurately explore consciousness. There, he openly exposes his sincere view by claiming that known laws of physics are inadequate to explain the phenomenon of consciousness.
While saying so, Penrose also suggested a new approach in physics, if the phenomenon of consciousness is to be properly visualised. That new approach, according to him, should be the innovation of a branch of physics with a bridge between classical and quantum mechanics . It is here the question “Could Buddhism be that branch of physics ?” seems extremely pertinent .
Unarguably, the validity and factuality of the doctrinal aspects of Buddhism are getting exposed within the sphere of science. Before proceeding further on this discourse, let us take one simple example to verify the validity of this claim.
Modern science
Modern science attributes the Big Bang which is said to have occurred 13.7 billion years ago, to the birth of the Universe. About 380,000 years later, the temperature generated at the Big Bang dropped to a level that permitted the formation of matter.
Thus, it has been scientifically established that a specific level of temperature is a basic requirement for the formation of matter. Besides, Quantum Mechanics which has revolutionised the thinking of the world of science accepts that consciousness too is a prime condition for the formation of matter. There, it is clearly said that in the absence of consciousness, matter remains in an undetermined state.
The formation of matter under the actions of temperature and consciousness had been first disclosed in the doctrinal phase of Buddhism. It is found in the section dealing with the categorisation of matter. The theorisation embodied there goes further and includes karma produced and nutriment produced materiality also in that categorisation.
Now, let us turn our attention to the “Superposition” theory in Quantum Physics which explains the behaviour of objects in the absence of conscious observers. The superposition theory posits that objects remain in every form possible when not under the influence of an observer, in other words in the absence of consciousness.
The theory further says that the superposition collapses into a single position the moment an observer intervenes into it. For instance, take the case of a tossed coin. In the world we live in, it lands showing either the head or the tail when tossed. But in the quantum world, when it is off our observation, it can land showing both in two different locations.
Nobel laureate Roger Penrose uses this phenomenon to explain the birth of consciousness.
According to Penrose’s view, the collapse of that superposition, upon it being influenced and disturbed by an observer is the mechanism that generates consciousness. Earlier, other scientists like John Von Neuman and Eugene Wigner suggested that the act of consciousness is responsible for the quantum collapse.
But Penrose suggests that it is the quantum collapse that generates consciousness and not the other way around.
It is here the teachings of the Buddha come into play as a storehouse of scientific knowledge which had never been tapped so far.
According to the doctrine expounded by the Buddha, our six sense doors react to their corresponding objects along the five groups of clinging which are the corporeality (rupa), feeling (Vedana), perception (sanna), mental formation (sankhara) and consciousness (vinnana) groups. Thus, if a sense door makes an impact with a corresponding object, the resultant consciousness generates only at the fifth or the final stage of that occurrence.
This premise coincides with Penrose’s view, that consciousness emerges only upon the collapse of the superposition. That collapse occurs along the initial four groups corporeality, feeling, perception and mental formations. It is after these four phases the consciousness phenomenon generates. Thus, the emergence of consciousness upon the collapse of the super position had been explained in Buddhism long before the advent of modern science.
Scientific research
Another area currently being vigorously pursued in scientific research is related to the source of consciousness. It seems apt to make reference to a research program carried out by Dr. Adrien Owen, a Cambridge neuroscientist, who for more than 15 years has used fMRI machines to verify whether consciousness is active in “brain dead” patients. The fMRI machines are used to measure brain functions through the circulatory system.
Dr. Owen’s studies have shown that there were patients who showed extremely normal consciousness levels among those with extensive damage to their thalamus. Such patients were either in vegetative or minimally conscious states.
Another research carried out by him at the Sunny Brook hospital in Canada on a 59 year old engineer, pronounced as fully unconscious without any brain activity whatsoever also had shown signs of consciousness in the patient. All patients pronounced by medical men as “clinically dead or brain dead”, have in their near death experiences (NDE’s) displayed remarkable levels of consciousness.
Other research on the source of consciousness has produced evidence that establishes that consciousness is not a product of the cerebellum or the thalamus. Also, it has been found that the 85 billion neurons in the brain do not contribute to consciousness. Those researches have confirmed that even the reticular formation of the brain is not capable of generating consciousness. A full account of these researches could be found in the publication titled The Revenous Brain by Dr. Daniel Bor.
The most crucial revelation on the brain’s role in generating consciousness is embedded in an article titled “Consciousness came before life – The fundamental cause of evolution.”
There, a question is asked, “What is consciousness ? Most scientists view it as an emergent property of complex biological computation among simple brain neurons. But if so, how do we account for eons of “purposeful behaviour “by earlier, simpler creatures, long before brains or genes?”
This confirms that there had been earlier life devoid of brains or genes, acting “consciously”. This establishes that the brain cannot be the station that generates consciousness. However, it is possible that the brain could act as a medium in delivering consciousness stemming from its source, to the physical organism.
In Buddhism, consciousness is shown as a product of the subconscious stream of existence (Bhavanga Sotha), which is inaccessible to modern science. The way consciousness emerges from the subconscious stream is explained under the cognitive series phenomenon.
Also, modern science is probing into realms beyond the human world where celestial beings live. Buddhism gives a detailed description of the types of consciousness prevailing in them as well as the techniques to access them. But those techniques cannot be activated by mechanical means.
Dependent Origination
The theory that it is consciousness that materialises the universe is also an established norm in Quantum Mechanics. Buddhism presented this theory to the world through the “Dependent Origination Theory” long before the advent of modern science. There, it is said that the rebirth consciousness generates the corporeality, a mentality phenomenon which opens the doors to the Universe through the six sense doors.
Another quote in the article titled “Consciousness came before life”, referred to earlier is thus:
“Most scientists believe that consciousness came after life. But observations of extraterrestrial organic material, along with Roger Penrose and Stuart Hameroff’s quantum theory of consciousness , provide reason to believe that consciousness came before life. In fact argue Hameroff and his collaborators, consciousness may have been what made evolution and life possible in the first place.
The fact that consciousness precedes life is also clearly exposed in the Dependent Origination Theory referred to above. It is clearly visible in its third link which says “Vinnana Paccaya Nama Rupa “ (Corporeality, mentality phenomenon is generated by the rebirth consciousness ).
The contents of Biocentrism, introduced by Dr. Robert Lanza, one of the most respected scientists of the current scientific research sphere seem to be a series of principles based on the doctrinal phase of Buddhism. One examining the closeness between Biocentrism which has an integral link to Quantum Mechanics, and Buddhism would no doubt conclude that the latter bears the original structure of the former.
Undisputable evidence with regard to the validity of the rebirth theory is present in the Biocentric principle that says “The universe is a creation of consciousness, and not the other way around”. This establishes in no uncertain terms that consciousness is indispensable to the survival of the universe. In other words, it says that consciousness continues in spite of a being’s physical death.
The third link of the Dependent Origination Theory presents the view that “rebirth consciousness” leads to the emergence of the corporeality, mentality (nama, rupa ) phenomenon which in turn materialises the six sense doors . Without the corporeality, mentality process and its integral sense doors, there is no universe. Thus, the continuance of the corporeality, mentality process or the rebirth process gets established as an undisputable fact. That points to the fact that shedding the physical body comprising six sense doors with six consciousness components is not “death” in an absolute sense.
But the fact that the Supreme Bliss of Nibbana is the key to liberation from the grip of consciousness and the rebirth phenomenon (samsaric journey) hasn’t still got established in modern science. Hopefully, that situation would emerge if scientists probe into the doctrinal phase of Buddhism, concurrently with their research programs.
