Is our Universe inside a Wormhole?

A long time ago, in a universe much larger than our own, a giant star collapsed. Its implosion crammed so much mass and energy together that it created a wormhole to another universe. And inside this wormhole, our own universe was born. It may seem fantastic, but a theoretical physicist claims that such a scenario could help answer some of the most perplexing questions in cosmology.

A number of facets about our universe don't make sense. One is gravity. Scientists can't construct a mathematical formula that unites gravity with the three other basic forces of nature: the strong and weak nuclear forces and electromagnetism. Another problem is dark energy, the mysterious phenomenon that seems to be expanding our universe at an accelerating rate, even though gravity should be contracting it or at least slowing the expansion.

These conundrums may be a result of stopping the search for the riddle of the cosmos at the big bang, says Nikodem Poplawski of Indiana University in Bloomington. The big bang theory holds that our universe began as a single point—or singularity—about 13.7 billion years ago that has been expanding outward ever since. Perhaps, Poplawski argues, we need to consider that something existed before the big bang that gave rise to it. Such a scenario could address the quandaries about gravity and the expanding universe. If another universe existed before our own, gravity could be traced back to a point where it did unite with the nuclear forces and electromagnetism. And if our universe is now expanding toward the other end of the wormhole, this movement—rather than the elusive dark energy—could account for our expanding universe.

James: This reopens the door I feel to the "Cyclic Model" of the Universe, which basically states that our Universe (just like everything else) is impermanent and will be reborn again and again through a series of expansions and collapses.

The other implication I considered in regards to this theory is that perhaps rebirth of our karmic energy could occur through smaller, similar wormholes or channels toward a new incarnation. "Lorentzian traversable wormholes [not yet fully proven] would allow travel from one part of the universe to another part of that same universe very quickly or would allow travel from one universe to another."

And that new form could be in a whole other world at the opposite end of the Universe, which would explain why the population on Earth is growing. Because if other life isn't possible somewhere else in our Universe or within a parallel one then how do you explain the growing population on Earth? Some of the expansion of human lives could also involve the billions of insects.

Obviously this is mostly conjecture on my part and some of it has still yet to be proven. It really doesn't have too much to do with living in the present moment but being an intellectual I can't resist but see how science might marry up with Buddhist cosmology and thought. In doing research for this post I came across a very concrete and scientific explanation of rebirth by Bhikkhu Pesala:

Light a candle with a match, or visualise doing it. Hold the wick directly above the lighted match, but not actually touching the flame. Watch carefully. The wick will begin to smoke, and will then burst into flame. Does the flame jump from the match to the candle? Is the candle flame the same as the flame on the match, or is it a different one? If we describe the process scientifically we will say that the heat from the flame on the match vaporised some paraffin wax from the candle, and the paraffin vapour ignited, producing a new flame. The two flames are separate and burn from different fuels, but are causally related.

Likewise, kamma done in one existence is like the heat. The candle is like the physical basis provided by the parents. The candle flame is like the newly born being that arises dependent upon previous causes and present supporting conditions. One important difference between rebirth and the two flames is that the last conscious moment of the previous existence ceases totally, then rebirth consciousness arises immediately afterwards. No mental or physical phenomena “transmigrate” or pass between the two existences. Rebirth is simple a process of cause and effect.

James: The compact potential energy within the match is like the energy of our consciousness and when the flame from the match dies out the transfer is complete and the match is tossed as our worthless carcass would be. The flame that was the match and the flame in the new form (body/being/form) of the candle are neither different from each other nor the same.

~Peace to all beings~

Read More

Rebirth, Karma, Radio Waves, Supernovae and Electromagnetic Fields.

A lot of the questions that I hear most often from non-Buddhists, new Buddhists and/or skeptical westerners is about rebirth and how it happens. To begin this post I'd like to talk about my personal beliefs toward rebirth. I believe in rebirth because even from just a scientific perspective one can see that there is an order, structure and meaning behind the Universe and the patterns of life. On a more subtle level science has proved that nothing disappears but rather it simply changes form. The same applies to energy; Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only converted from one form to another.

A radio in a car is run by the energy produced by the engine, which is run by the energy of gasoline, which came from the energy of pressure and heat converting decomposing organic matter into oil. The organic matter (mostly plants and animals including dinosaurs) was fueled by the radiation from the sun (plants) and other organic matter (plants being eaten by animals and dinosaurs). Before that the potential organic energy in plants formed as a result of carbon dioxide energy released by other plants and animals, which transformed into chlorophyll that fed the plants via photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is a process fueled by the transformation of the sun's energy into sunlight. The sun's energy and mass was likely the result of a dying star, which created a supernovae (stellar explosion). This expelled massive amounts of energy and matter, which was reborn as our Sun. So our Sun is nothing more than the rebirth of a star.

Ultimately the energy of all super bodies in the Universe resulted from the powerful, trans-formative energy produced by the Big Bang itself, which is my view was the result of collapsing/dying Universe that existed before the current incarnation of our Universe. This would have been achieved through something called the, "cyclic model" which is basically a model where the Universe goes through an infinite number of self-sustaining cycles or Big Bangs and Big Crunches or collapses.

It's not unlike the energy created as an accordion expands and contracts in the form of sound waves. The power, which fuels our galactic accordion is said to be that of a substance known as "dark energy" which would solve the entropy build up problem and be in keeping with the second law of thermodynamics. I could get even more in-depth with the "cyclic theory" but I'm worried I'll lose you. Thus, if you're interested in reading about it further I'd suggest reading this page and the book mentioned within. So finally, there you have the massive cycle of an infinite number of deaths and rebirths of energy and matter occurring upon our Earth and within our Universe. So seeing how we are literally made from the guts of stars exploding their matter and energy; why would we humans be exempt from that paradigm of cycles, which even the giant, celestial bodies must adhere to?

The same is true of the seasons, which was the first cycle I contemplated that led me toward believing the birth, life, death and rebirth theory. Spring (birth), Summer (mid-life), fall (old age and sickness), Winter (death) and it would seem to end there if rebirth wasn't real or possible. However, it doesn't stop there as we know Spring is reborn anew and the cycle continues until the cycle of Earth's life ends. Then when Earth is absorbed one day by our dying sun before it explodes via new supernovae to expel the seeds and energy needed to be reborn anew as another planet or star somewhere else in our vast Universe. The cycle continues. So again, why would the rebirth of our energy into a new form of being not be possible? The potential energy of the body is absorbed into the earth, air, water and fire of our planet to be reborn as a flower, a tree or a mushroom, which would be eaten by a living being.

However, what of the energy left over in the mind upon the death of the body? In my view, that energy of our mind is nothing less than our karma but how does that karmic energy released find it's way into a new form? This often baffles many western, science based Buddhists. At this point I'd like to borrow an explanation of this from the Venerable S. Dhammika at Buddhanet:

Think of it being like radio waves. The radio waves, which are not made up of words and music but energy at different frequencies, are transmitted, travel through space, are attracted to and picked up by the receiver from where they are broadcast as words and music. It is the same with the mind. At death, mental energy travels through space, is attracted to and picked up by the fertilized egg [or receiver]. As the embryo grows, it centers itself in the brain from where it later "broadcasts" itself as the new personality.

James: The question then arises, "Why does that karmic energy get picked up by a particular egg/embryo?" To answer that I'd refer back to our example of our Solar System.

According to the nebula hypothesis, the Solar System began as a nebula, an area in the Milky Way Galaxy that was a swirling concentration of cold gas and dust. Due to some perturbation, possibly from a nearby supernova, this cloud of gas and dust began to condense, or pull together under the force of its own gravity. Condensation was slow at first, but increased in speed as more material was drawn toward the center of the nebula. This made gravity strong, making condensation faster.

As we saw earlier, supernovae are the expulsion of energy from a dying star. So imagine the supernovae as being the karmic energy of the mind being dispersed upon the death of the body. In our example the swirling spiral arms of the galaxy where all this takes place is the womb (called star nurseries). The dust particles within these nursery clouds are the tiny, unfertilized eggs while the gas is the sperm. This swirling, growing star cloud (now an embryo) is then charged with blasts of superheated energy (karma) from the supernovae (dying mind) thus infusing it with the energy (karma) of the former star (deceased body/mind). The energy released by a supernova is trapped by the gravitational pull of these star clouds (embryos) and converted into new stars (new birth). In this "new life" example the gravitational pull is similar to that from the karmic pull of the parents of our next life. They say that like energy attracts similar energy. So given that understanding it's no wonder that the Great Buddhist Masters teach us that our next rebirth will depend in part upon the karmic energy of our future parents. We will be attracted to the karmic energy that mirrors what our karmic energy demands.

Another possible explanation is electromagnetism. Electromagnetism pervades everything and everyone. It's not unlike an uncountable number of intersecting energy grids of infinite sizes, which permeates and connects all things to the power station (our sun) and to each other's homes (minds). It's possible that our karma travels from old body to whatever new birth occurs via the electromagnetic field that acts like a true Indra's net. The brain is charged with electromagnetic neurotransmitters, which act as pathways for the energy created to reach every cell in our body. Our brains are basically organic batteries and could very easily be emitting energy waves that can be received by a new life form or other type of entity when the death of the body occurs via the electromagnetic field/grid. We certainly know that our brains are good conductors of traditional electricity!!

I'll end with something to keep in mind about rebirth. There are many things like electricity and radio waves, which we can not see but we accept that they are real because we see their effects. Just because we can not see the exact details of rebirth doesn't mean that it we don't see it's effects and thus its reality. Why are some of us born with traits and characteristics that don't seem traceable to the genes or behavior of immediate family members? Why are we born with a fear of water for example and our siblings are not? These could very likely be the effects of karma fueled rebirth. My examples might not fully explain the process but I think they come close and at least show that rebirth is very, very likely.

UPDATE: I will admit whole-heartedly that my examples and ideas are by no means definitive. If rebirth is real then there has to be a missing puzzle piece to bring it all together. I welcome new science to help us fill in the blanks a bit. I have faith in the end that this process is true but it's not blind, unflinching faith. I'm not married to it. I could very well just die and that's it. I have no problem with that scenario. I don't fear annihilation of the body and mind though it's hard to square that with the central Buddhist teachings that nothing every really goes away but that (as science explains) it simiply changes for. Perhaps though the most likely change is on a more subtle level of our ashes become apart of a patch of flowers being fueled by the minerals in our ashes. I am open to many interpretations, which I think Buddhism embraces as a whole unlike many religions, which is partly what attracted me to it in the first place.

~Peace to all beings~

Read More

Buddha Inside, Buddha Outside.

Each form, each particle, is a Buddha. One form is all Buddhas. All forms, all particles, are all Buddhas. All forms, sounds, scents, feelings, and phenomena are also like this, each filling all fields. -Pai-chang

James: This sentiment pretty much sums Buddhism up for me. It is the wisdom that sees my DNA as apart of Buddha just as it is apart of star dust, refuse, the air, birds, other sentient beings, rocks and subatomic particles. This is a huge reason why I believe in the cyclic universe theory that the Universe will die but will also be reborn only to die again and be reborn, etc. It reminds me that Buddha is both eternal and not eternal just as all things.

The cyclic model is a theory that has gained popularity with the recent discovery of dark matter and dark energy. It says in part that there is a net expansion each cycle with each new big bang thus preventing entropy from building up (which was a critique of the earlier cyclic model). I won't go further into the particulars of the cyclic universe model but if you're interested check out the book, "Eternal Universe: Beyond the Big Bang." I'm currently reading it and it's absolutely fascinating especially reading it from a Buddhist perspective of rebirth.

The cyclic model agrees with the Buddhist concept that something can not come from nothing because all things are subject to the doctrine of pratītyasamutpāda or dependent origination. In conclusion, if Buddha is eternal and not eternal and Buddha is within all things known and unknown then the cyclic model makes perfect sense. This all said, the answer to the questions of the fate of the Universe is not essential to our awakening as understood in Buddha not answering this very question. In the end, the only moment is now.

P.S.~The blog counter topped 200,000 over-night and I just wanted to type a note thanking everyone for making this blog possible. Thank-you for reading and for commenting. I look forward to the next 200,000!! To celebrate I might give away a couple of books.

~Peace to all beings~

Read More

The Big Crunch, The Big Bang and Buddha.

Nothing lasts forever, we know this thanks to the grand awakening (enlightenment) of Buddha and the more we learn about science the more science backs up Tathagata's insights.

We understand now that the universe was most likely created by, "The Big Bang" but what happened before, "The Big Bang?" What caused it? Well as it turns out many scientists believe it was the result of something called, "The Big Bounce" or "The Big Crunch." If cutting edge scientists' equations, known physics and observations are correct then our universe was the result of a previous universe collapsing in on itself into a gigantic gravitational implosion--"The Big Crunch." This mass then exploded via some bizarre physics that is only now being understood to inflate into a different but somewhat similar universe--our own.

We also know that this explosion, "The Big Bang" was so powerful that our universe is still expanding and faster with time that (some theorize) will result in another, "Big Crunch" or "Big Rip." Once this stretching of the universe gets going fast enough, (which many scientists purpose will happen) it will push galaxies, stars and solar systems apart until eventually even atoms will rip into pieces.

If gravity becomes too great it would collapse under its own weight and cause all matter to collapse again until it coalesces into black holes which would eventually coalesce into one super massive black hole that would concentrate all the energy of the dying universe. At that point, the theory goes that this mass of super dense energy would become so great that it would explode into another big bang creating another universe.

This is no surprise to Buddhists as we have been taught by Buddha that all things are interconnected and impermanent and thus the very universe that we call home must in fact "die" itself only to reborn anew as is the nature of all things.

It turns out that Buddha was not only the Supreme Buddha of this age but it now seems he was one of the first scientists if not the first scientist. Is it not interesting that science at its very foundation is about observations and awareness as is the crux of Buddhism?

This beautiful process reminds me of my favorite verses of poetry from the larger poem, "Auguries of Innocence" by William Blake:

To see the World in a Grain of Sand And Heaven in a Wild Flower, Hold Infinity in the palm or your hand And Eternity in an hour.

~Peace with all beings~

Read More