..續本文上一頁must leave. From this point we know that life is constantly changing and impermanent. Let”s look at Chinese character "Tao" meaning "the Way" (道). The Tao itself signifies changing and impermanence. Let me talk about another word "yi" (易) first.
The word "yi" (易) meaning "change" is made up by the sun and the moon. The sun is Yang (陽), the moon is Yin (陰). When Yin and Yang are unified, it is the Way (道). It is the state of equilibrium of a moving system, the constant operation of cosmic law. So in the Book of Changes it says, "It keeps on going without cease like the revolution of heavenly bodies. One makes earnest efforts to stand on his own feet." Follows the principle of Yin and Yang, and the Way, the law of Nature is in operation.
Shiva, the Indian god of dance, visualizes the process of universe as a four-step dance. People undergo the process of birth, old age, sickness, and death; the universe undergoes the process of formation, existence, destruction, and emptiness; a year has spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Everything operates within this four-step dance.
In the Tao Te Ching (Classic of the Way), Lao Tze said, "Being great, it flows. It flows far away. Having gone afar, it returns." The phenomena of the universe constantly change and flow like this, with no permanence.
Aside from impermanence, the most important phenomenon in the universe is no born and passing away. Smaller than the cell, are atoms each containing a nucleus and electrons. In the end they become waves of energy. Among people, there are magnetic fields and energetic fields, which are like great waterfalls. Waves of energy interact without interruption. We are all connected by an inseparable, single substance. Therefore, the whole universe is a great web spanning heaven and earth. With the idea of no self, we won”t give rise to thoughts of hatred or revenge towards people. A person is not an independent unit, but rather an integral part of the world. In reality, we ourselves are the universe.
There is a principle in the universe: a single thought is a sea of kshanas (instants). Kshana refers to time, and sea refers to space. Thus, one single thought means the universe. Vertically, it has no beginning and no end. Horizontally, it has no bound and no end. Such a minute thought can represent the great continuous stream which has neither beginning nor end.
According to the Christian account of history, God created life ten thousand years ago. However, modern geological research into the various strata and structures of the earth indicates that the creation of life happened not ten thousand years ago, but rather much earlier. In Christianity, people want to find the first cause that caused the Big Bang which created the universe. They think God is that first cause. But Buddhism says there is no first cause because the whole universe is just causes and effects, interconnected back and forth, without beginning or end. Thus, the universe is the great continuous stream of causes and effects.
Modern science affirms the reality of reincarnation. Reincarnation is the bringing of all consciousness from previous lives into the present life; it is just a dialogue with yourself. It you did well in your previous life, you will have wholesome retribution in this life. The cultivation accumulated in this life will result in proper fruition in the next life. This is the natural physical law of the universe; this natural force cannot be deterred. Nevertheless, this is not absolutely one to one: As a Buddhist saying goes, "Good is always rewarded, and vice is always punished. It is not there is no result; rather, it is just that the right time has not come yet." In physics, this is called, the "principle of uncertainty" - an unknown number. "not …
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