In Quest of Cosmic Reality An interpretation and commentary of the great work by Bodhisattva Asvaghosha on ”Awakening of Faith in Mahayana”. WONG KIEW KIT Chapter 1 Introduction to Cosmic Quest Readers are invited to share, if they so desire and find beneficial, some of the most profound wisdom found in Buddhism, and experience possibly the most noble and meaningful attainment man can ever achieve, namely spiritual fulfilment irrespective of the religion, or lack of it, they profess. 1 Cosmic Reality in Science and Religion Cosmic Reality in Science and Religion Since time memorial man has wondered where he came from and where he will go to. Questions touching on man’s origin and destination have been keenly investi- gated not only in philosophy, metaphysics and religion, but also in the latest sciences. Listen to what one of the greatest scientists, Albert Einstein, has to say about Cos- mic Reality: A human being is part of the whole, called by us ”Universe”, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion, of his con- sciousness. The delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires, and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compas- sion to embrace all living creatures, and the whole of nature in its beauty. 2 Cosmic Reality in Science and Religion Fritjof Capra shares with other great scientists like Julius Robert Oppenheimer, Neils Bohr and Werner Heisen- berg the conclusion that: The concepts of modern physics often show surprising parallels to the ideas expressed in the religious philosophies of the Far East. Great teachers of ancient wisdom of both the East and the West have taught men about Cosmic Reality long be- fore modern science reverts to viewing the universe from the concept of a gigantic machine to that of an organic unity. But while modern science seeks to understand Cos- mic Reality by way of inductive, reductionist methods us- ing elaborate precision instruments, ancient masters have always sought to experience this reality directly, an ex- perience that transcends both our normal sensory per- ception and intellectual faculties. Such a direct, intuitive experience of reality is what Lao Tzu means when he says that: The Tao that can be named, is not the real Tao. The name that can be so named, is not the real name. The nameless is the source of 3 Cosmic Reality in Science and Religion heaven and earth. The named is the mother of all phenomena. Hence, those who have no attachment, can see the mystery of reality. Those with attachment can only see its illu- sion. Lao Tzu explains that what we call the Supreme Re- ality or the Ultimate Truth is nameless, but for conve- nience he calls it ”Tao”. Lao Tzu knows what this Tao is because he has experienced it directly, but to his listeners who have not experienced this reality directly, they will not know what Tao is even when they hear and know its name. It is like someone who has not eaten an apple; no matter how much he reads about descriptions of the taste of an apple, he still will not know how an apple tastes. So a Taoist master may describe what Tao is, or give names to any phenomena in the Cosmos, but unless his students have direct experience of Tao or of these phe- nomena, the subsequent concepts they form of Tao or of the phenomena, are different from what they actually are. This nameless Reality, which is called Tao for con- venience, is the source of everything there is; it is om- nipresent and omniscient. When we give a name to this 4 Cosmic Reality in Science and Religion nameless Reality, differentiation begins, with the result that we see countless phenomena as separate entities, to which we provide a name each. These phenomena, al- though they appear real to us because of our sensory and other limitations, are an imitation of reality, not reality itself. If we eliminate our attachment, such as purifying ourselves from selfish desires, we can remove the many layers of distortions to arrive at the mystery of reality. But if we are shrouded by layers of attachment, we can only see an illusion of reality. Nevertheless, for those who are not yet adequately advanced in mysticism or spirituality to experience the Supreme Reality directly, or those who may lack the faith to practise unwaveringly the techniques taught by the great masters, an intellectual understanding of this Real- ity as well as the methods to experience it, will be exceed- ingly helpful, even though such an explanation provides only an imitation of reality, not the reality itself. As- vaghosha’s ”Awakening of Faith in Mahayana”, of which this book is a translation, interpretation and commen- tary, achieves this and other related aims excellently. Al- though it is a fundamental Mahayana Buddhist text, it can be applied to any religion. Indeed, Rev. Timothy 5 Cosmic Reality in Science and Religion Richard, who has written one of the only four available English translations of this great work, goes to the extent of saying: If it be, as it is more and more believed, that the Mahayana Faith, is not Buddhist, prop- erly so called, but an Asiatic form of the same Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, in Buddhist nomenclature, differing from the old Buddhism just as the New Testament dif- fers from the Old, then it commands a world- wide interest, for in it we find an adaptation of Christianity to ancient thought in Asia, and the deepest bond of union between the different races of the East and the West, viz., the bond of a common religion. ... The al- most universal reception of the doctrines con- tained in this book by both the east and the west constitutes to my mind its highest claim to our attention. Buddhism is a very liberal religion; some people even content that it is not a religion, but a philosophy of life. 6 Cosmic Reality in Science and Religion The Buddha himself compares Buddhism to a raft, ferry- ing humanity from the sea of suffering to the shore of En- lightenment. Once you have attained Enlightenment, you may even discard the raft; and if you have other means of crossing the sea of suffering, by all means do so, with full blessing from Buddhists. This means that if a person is already practising his religion rewardingly, Buddhists would not try to convert him into Buddhism, because as he is presently on his way, changing to another religion would actually slow down his spiritual progress. ”Awakening of Faith in Mahayana” provides invalu- able knowledge not only to disciplines like religion, meta- physics and philosophy, but also to various branches of modern science like physics, psychology and cosmology. Modern scientists will be astonished to find advanced con- cepts concerning relativity, united energy field, different levels of consciousness, and the limitless expanse of the cosmos in this fascinating work written twenty centuries ago! 7 The Universality of Religions The Universality of Religions How is ”Awakening of Faith in Mahayana” applicable to other religions when it is a basic Buddhist text? Although the world’s great religions appear to be vastly different in their beliefs and ceremonies, if we study deeply their fun- damental philosophies as taught by their greatest teach- ers, we will find that they are basically similar. This per- haps has to be so, if there is only one Reality or Truth, even if it can be interpreted in and approached from dif- ferent levels and perspectives. The following simple ex- periment can make this clear. Below are five descriptions of the basic philosophies of the world’s great religions, but with their specific, telling terms replaced by the general term ”Supreme Reality”. Can you tell which description applies to which religion? The Supreme Reality is all. From the Supreme Reality comes appearances, sensations, de- sires, deeds. But all these are merely name and form. There is one Supreme Reality and Source of all mankind, who is Lord of all, works 8 The Universality of Religions through all, and is in all. The special purpose of our existence is to en- deavor to work our way back to the Supreme Reality. Our objective in life is to regain union with the Supreme Reality. The Supreme Reality permeates everything. Our aim is to be united with the Supreme Reality. Avoid doing all forms of evil, practise all forms of goodness; ultimately let your heart return to the Supreme Reality. It is not easy to match the above descriptions with their religions not because we do not know their religious philosophies, but because they are all quite similar. In the first description, the term ”Supreme Reality” isused for ”Brahman”, and the passage is quoted from the Up- anishads, one of the most sacred Hindu scriptures. In the second description, ”God” and ”Father” should be used instead of ”Supreme Reality” and ”Source” respec- tively, and the passage is quoted from the Bible. The first ”Supreme Reality” in the third passage refers to ”loving 9 The Universality of Religions Creator”, the second to ”God”, and the passage is quoted from Shaykh Hakim Moinuddin Chishti, a Muslim mas- ter. In the fourth passage, ”Supreme Reality” should be read ”Tao”, and it is a basic concept in Taoism. The fifth quotation is from Zhi Yi, a Buddhist master, and here ”Supreme Reality” refers to ”Void” or ”Universal Mind”.