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Cosmic Design from a Buddhist Perspective
Author(s) -
THUAN TRINH XUAN
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2001.tb02139.x
Subject(s) - anthropic principle , buddhism , nothing , universe , consciousness , epistemology , perspective (graphical) , philosophy , big bang (financial markets) , theoretical physics , physical cosmology , cosmic cancer database , physics , de sitter universe , computer science , astronomy , artificial intelligence , theology , finance , economics
A bstract : The Buddhist view of the origin of the universe is discussed. One of the basic tenets of Buddhism is the concept of interdependence which says that all things exist only in relationship to others, and that nothing can have an independent and autonomous existence. The world is a vast flow of events that are linked together and participate in one another. Thus there can be no First Cause, and no creation ex nihilo of the universe, as in the Big Bang theory. Since the universe has neither beginning nor end, the only universe compatible with Buddhism is a cyclic one. According to Buddhism, the exquisitely precise fine‐tuning of the universe for the emergence of life and consciousness as expressed in the “anthropic principle” is not due to a Creative Principle, but to the interdependence of matter with flows of consciousness, the two having co‐existed for all times.