How
many minds are there? One Universal Mind or many fragmented minds?
Is the mind of God separate from the minds of His creatures? Do
we all have a spark of divine mind? How many minds does God have? How many Gods does
God have? Is He the ultimate God?
- Atheists don't think there are any divine minds.
- Unitarians and monotheists think God has only one mind.
- Most Christians think there's between three and five divine minds -
Father, Son, Holy Ghost, Mary and maybe the Devil - with the Father being the ultimate
boss and the Devil the drop-out of the family.
- Feminist theologians disagree and think that Mary is the ultimate
boss because she's the Mother of God and the Bible says ' Honor your father and mother'.
- Polytheists believe there are many hundreds of divine minds, often
arranged in a hierarchy.
Seriously though, all this stuff isn't just academic. Wars have been
fought, persecutions launched and heretics burned over these issues.
'Intolerance is something that arose
with monotheism. As soon as human beings allowed themselves to say, 'There's only one true
God, and that's mine, so I have the right to annihilate anyone who doesn't believe
in him', the cycle of intolerance and religious wars began. [REF1]
Innumerate theologians
Buddhists regard these theological arguments as a bit pointless. They can
demonstrate that asking how many minds there are, divine or human, is ultimately a
meaningless question.
There is a Buddhist teaching known as 'The extreme of singularity
and the extreme of plurality'. This applies to physical things and also to minds,
Extreme of singularity and extreme of plurality in physical
systems
If we dissect any piece of matter into its ultimate parts we don't find a single
entity or point-like monad. Instead, a subatomic particle smears out into a
plurality of probabilities and virtual semi-existent subcomponents, which can be inferred
but never observed (quarks). The extreme of singularity leads to paradoxes.
If we therefore accept that everything consists of a plurality
of particles then we are equally mistaken. For every particle in the observable universe
exercises forces (at least gravitational and maybe also electromagnetic) on every other
particle. It's all one single physical system.
Extreme of singularity and extreme of plurality of mind(s)
The paradox of the two extremes is most easily demonstrated in the case of
mind(s). Set theory proves that the entire number system,
from zero to infinity, is generated purely and simply by the play of mind on
emptiness, in the complete absence of the need to refer to any objects being counted.
The theological implication of these findings is that mind ontologically
precedes number. In other words in the ground of being, mind is more fundamental
than number. Asking 'How many minds are there?' is equivalent to asking 'What is the
color of electromagnetism?'
The unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics
Mind and emptiness are the ontological roots of mathematics. Mind,
emptiness and the mathematics of fundamental particles are the ontological roots of the
physical universe. This is the reason why the physical universe is so (comparitively) easy
for our minds to understand in mathematical terms. (see Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics)
The innumerate enumerating the innumerable.
If the theologians of the last 2000 years had been more numerate, they would have realised
that applying any concept of number to God or Mind(s) was putting the cart before the
horse. This would have avoided many of the holy wars, persecutions and auto-da-fes carried
out by the monotheistic religions.
Mind(s) is/are the source and origin of enumeration. It/they
therefore cannot be enumerated. Understanding that the multiverse neither has
the extreme of one mind, nor the extreme of many minds, makes Buddhist practices such as
tantra, exchanging self and others, receiving blessings from
enlightened beings, and generating great compassion easier to understand. It also explains
why the operations of the mind are non-computable (ie
non-algorithmic).
- Sean Robsville
See Also:
Meditating
on emptiness
'....For a qualified meditator single-pointedly absorbed in emptiness, there is no
difference between production and disintegration, impermanence and permanence, going and
coming, singularity and plurality - everything is equal in emptiness and all problems of
attachment, anger, and self-grasping ignorance are solved...'
Arguments against Buddhism
' People get spiritual experiences under the influence of
electromagnetic fields such as Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), and from
psychedelic drugs such as mescalin, LSD, Psilocybe semilanceata and Amanita muscaria. All
these transpersonal experiences are simply delusions caused by disruption of the normal
electrochemical activity of the neurones.'
' - Yes and No. There's no doubt that people experience other realms of
reality under the influence of TMS or psychoactive drugs. In these conditions the
functioning of the brain is indeed abnormal. But - you've got to ask yourself - what
is the purpose of the normal functioning of the brain?
The brain is a device which has evolved by selection of the
fittest (not the most truthful) to project the delusion of the inherently-existing self
onto the mind. This delusion of a permanent, unchanging self is 'imputed' over the
ever-changing transitory collection of biochemical building blocks that makes up the
physical aspects of a sentient being. Disruption .... by biochemical or biophysical
agents, enables the mind to temporarily push the doors of perception ajar and peek beyond
mundane biologically-determined appearances. '
The Mind is not the Brain
'...scientific and philosophical evidence that the mind is a non-evolved,
non-biological and non-physical entity. '
Emergence
' The mind cannot be an emergent property of the brain or any other physical
system, since emergent properties and emergent phenomena are psychological in origin, and
require the pre-existence of an observer's mind in order to become manifest.'
Mind, Soul and Afterlife in Christianity and Buddhism
' A High Bodhisattva, as Jesus undoubtably is, has the obligation to rescue all
sentient beings. One of the Boddhisattva Vows is 'Never to abandon any sentient
being' Christian thealogians appear to be putting their own limits on Christ's
abilities and intentions.'
The Three Poisons in Buddhism
Rage, Greed and Irrationalism
Buddhist Teachings
on the mind, personal relationships, meditation and the spiritual path.
[REF 1] 'The Monk and the Philosopher' Revel,
J-F and Ricard, M. Tr. Canti, J. Publ. Thorsons/HarperCollins, London, 1998. ISBN 0 7225
3649 6, Page 115.
RATIONAL
BUDDHISM
If we regard Buddhism as a combination of a philosophy, psychology and religion, then how
much mileage can we get from the first two aspects before we have to start invoking
religious faith?
Christian
versus Buddhist worldviews |
