Dhamma Talk by Bhante Kovida

Scientists, cosmologists and physicists, and philosophers often speak, discuss and debate about the origin of the universe and even possible scenarios of how it might end. The beginning and ending of the Cosmos. 

Religious leaders and philosophers will often discuss and debate whether the universe was created by a supernatural, supreme and super intelligent Being - God, Brahma,  Allah, Jehovah, Yaweh, Zeus, Thor, etc. Some people will ask, "Why does the universe exists? Is there a reason? Why is there something rather than nothing? What was there before the Big Bang? What caused the Big Bang? Then there is the Zen koan for contempletion - Two hands when clapped create a sound. What is the sound of one hand clapping?

The theory of the Big Bang was developed after Edwin Hubble discovered, in 1929, that the universe was expanding and that this expansion must have gotten started when matter suddenly expanded in vast space, hence the name, Big Bang. And if the Cosmos has a beginning, then it must have an ending. Now, why do we think like this? Because humans are conditioned with dualistic thinking - subject and object, creator and creation, good and evil, beginning and ending, and so on. It is the nature of the conditioned mind..

In the silence and stillness of meditation, dualistic thinking comes to an end and one is in touch with the timeless dimension of the universe. No beginning, no ending. There is profound peace and freedom from time, fear and anxiety. I used to think that eternity was somewhere in the far, far distant future, but in this inexhaustible silence, there is the realisation that eternity is now, the timeless present state of the cosmos. Always existed and always will exist, alway was and always will be.

 

A few times, there was the opportunity to lie beneath the night sky filled with stars and expand one's mind out into the Milky Way. Initially, the galaxy appears as a two-dimensional celestial image, but gradually the mind becomes more silent and spacious, and you begin to experience the three-dimensional reality of the heavens. There is no me, no observer, who is separate from the observed, the night sky. There is no duality. One's being is just vast, unbounded space in which the world, the solar system and the galaxy is happening. There is awe, beauty, joy, immensity and compassion. This is sometimes referred to as Cosmic Consciousness.

During the Buddha's time, there was a monk who's mind was often distracted by metaphysical, speculative questions, and so he was unable to experience samadhi or jhana. Once he asked the Buddha, " Is the universe eternal or not eternal? Is the universe finite or infinite? Is there a beginning or an ending? After death, will the Buddha continue to exist or not exist? Are the body and self/soul separate entities?" The Buddha remained silent. One day, the Buddha said to him, "You are like a man who has been shot by a poisoned arrow and instead of quickly removing the arrow in order to save your life, you insist on asking useless questions, "What is the name of the man who shot the arrow? How tall is the man? What kind of wood is the arrow made? What kind of bird did the arrow's feather come from? What is important is to remove the arrow immediately. What is important is to understand the truth of suffering, unsatisfactoriness and impermanence and the ending of suffering."

When we try to answer speculative questions, we easily cling to views and opinions, and we end up arguing with others and upset our minds. This is not the path to peace, dispassion, freedom and wisdom.

~ Bhante Kovida