Tao of Physics: A very brief summary

Murali Jayapala The eternal quest for the ultimate reality, the existance of life and this universe, has been discussed very well in this book. The arguments which are made here are very unique, in the sense that, they are not biased either for the scientific community or to the spiritual ones. The argument is based on the whole picture and explains how each individual or a certain community, be it scientific or spiritual, tries to get an understanding of the ultimate reality. The parallels which he draws b/w the two communities are simply amazing and one of only kind which I have come accross so far. For example, scientists want to understand the ultimate reality and express or explain them through equations and models, while the spiritiualists want to understand by attaining the same through meditation and do not emphasize on expressing or talking about it. With this notes I intend to capture or note down some interesting arguments and facts from the book. However to understand the whole argument and to get all the facts, one has to read the book for him/herself. There are some sublte things which at this point of time I fear that I wont be able to capture it very well i.,e what I write might be misinterpreted very grossly. The fundamental argument based on which the author tries to send the message is that, the view of the world (ultimate reality) given by modern physics and that given by the mysitcs (religious philosophies of Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism) are very similar.

The Way of Physics knowing and seeing

In this chapter he tries to explain the how to make a comparision between an exact science and spitritual disciplines. The former are expressed in highly sophisticated language of mathematics, while the spiritual disciplines are mainly based on meditation insist on the fact that their insights cannot be communicated verbally. This problem is solved by addressing the issues of ``nature of knowledge'' and the ``language in which this knowledge is expressed''. Related to the first issue, the author classifies the nature of knowledge that the human mind is capable of into 2 kinds, namely rational and intutive. Rational knowledge is derived from the experience we have with objects and events in our everyday environment. It belongs to the realm of intellect whose function is to discriminate, divide, compare, measure and categorize. Science as we know of it belongs to the realm of rational knowledge. The author points out that the limitations of any knowledge obtained by these methods are becoming increasingly apparent in modern science. However on the otherhand the intutive knowledge is not structured. The eastern mystics insist on the fact that the ultimate reality can never be an object of reasoning or of demonstrable knowledge. This is so because, it lies beyond the realms of the senses and of the intellect from which our words and concepts are derived. The need for both kinds of knowledge to the physicists is argued pretty well. In regard to the second issue, namely the language of expressing that knowledge, the author brings out the

various limitations of the common verbal day-to-day language, and how the language of mathematics is used to express some of the most difficult abstractions by the rationalists or the scientists. However in the eastern mystics, direct mystical experience is at the core. Hence their emphasis on the second issue is less extreme and would typically take the form of poems, paintings, myths, symbols or paradoxical statements.

Beyond Language
This chapter continues on the discussion of the 2nd issue mentioned in the previous section. The author argues that the study of the world of atoms forced physicists to realize that our common language is not only inaccurate, but totally inadequate to describe the atomic and subatomic reality. Quantum theory and relativity theory, the two bases of modern physics have made it clear that this reality transcends classical logic and that we cannot talk about it in ordinary language. I would like to note down two quotes, one from D. T Suzuki, a philosopher of Buddhism and another one by W. Heisenberg, an atomic physicist. ``The contradiction so puzzling to the ordinary way of thinking comes from the fact that we have to use language to communicate our inner experience which in its very nature trascends linguistics'' D. T Suzuki. ``The problems of language here are really serious. We wish to speak in some way about the structure of the atoms... But we cannot speak about atoms in ordinary language'' - W. Heisenberg. This clearly shows that the problem of language encounterd by the Eastern mystics is exactly the same as the problem the modern physicist faces. The author has few things interesting to say about mathematics as the language of expression. He lays down few of the facts, which are as follows. The view that mathematics is nothing but an extremely abstracted and compressed language does not go unchallenged. Many mathematicians, in fact, believe that mathematics is not just a language to describe nature, but is inherent in nature itself. The originator of this belief was Pythagoras who made the famous statement ``All things are numbers''. However, in the Eastern view, mathematics, with its highly differentiated and well defined structure, must be seen as part of our conceptual map and not as a feature of reality itself. Reality as experienced by the mystic is completely indeterminate and undifferentiated.

The Classical Physics

In this part the author tries to bring out the facts of classical physicis and the inidication of the implication that to some extent the models given out by the physicists (of the universe) were limited and were subject to change as more and more things were discovered. The world view changed by the discoveries of Newton's mechanical model of the universe. This model stated that all physical phenomena took place in 3-D space of classical euclidean geometry. It was an absolute space, always at rest and unchangeable. This view of nature was closely related to a rigourous determinism. The giant cosmic machine was seen as being completely causal and determinate. Later a new physical reality was discovered which made the limitations of the newtonian model apparent and showed that none of its (model's) features had absolute validity. The electromagnetic phenomena which was discovered during that time, could not be described appropriately by the mechanistic model and involved a new type of force. So at the beginning of the twentieth century, physicists had two successful theories which applied to different phenomena: Newton's

mechanics and Maxwell's electrodynamics.

The Modern Physics

The first three decades of this (20th) century changed the whole situation in physics radically. Two seperate developments that of relativity theory and of atomic physics, shattered all the principal concepts of the newtonian world view (absolute space and time, elementary solid particles, strict causality and objective description of nature). The author argues that most of these notions and beliefs were radically changed through modern physics. The beginning of such a change was done by the intellectual feat of one man, Albert Einstein, with his two revolutionary trends of thought. One was his special theory of relativity and the other was a new way of looking at electromagnetic radiation which was to become the characteristic of quantum theory. According to relativity theory, space is not 3-D and time is not a seperate entity. Both are intimately connected and form a four-dimentional continuum, 'space-time'. The most important consequence of this modification is the realization that mass is nothing but a form of energy. He brought out this in his famous and celebrated equation, E=mc^2. Later on he went and proposed his general theory of relativity in which the special theory of relativity is extended to include gratvity. Though the special theory of relativity is confirmed by means of some experiments, the general theory of relativity is not yet confirmed conclusively. However, it is the most consistent and elegant theory of gravity. The effect of gravity has the effect of curving the space and time, this means that ordinary euclidean geometry is no longer valid. If Einstien's theory is so accurate at the larger scale, the author aruges that it is a different ball game at the subatomic level. The predictions or explanations given by einstiens theory is not so accurate. This is where quantum theory fits in. It seems there was a contradiction between the particle and wave nature of matter and it was solved in a completely unexpected way which called in the question of very foundation of the mechanistic world view- the concept of the reality of matter. At sub atomic level, matter does not exist with certainty at definite places, but rather shows 'tendencies to exist' and similarly atomic events shows 'tendencies to occur'. In quantum theory these tendencies are expressed in termsof probabilities. Now, all the laws of atomic physics are expressed interms of probabilities. The author argues further in this direction and states that quantum theory reveals the basic oneness of the universe. Another important argument worth summarizing is the one against the objective view of the world held in classical physics. As we penetrate into the matter, nature does not show us any isolated building blocks but rather appears as a complicated web of relations between the various parts of the whole. The human observer is always included in the chain of observational processes, in an essential way. He (the human) forms the final link in the chain of observational processes, and the properties of any atomic object can only be understood in terms of the object's interation with the observer. Thus the cartesian partition between the I and the world, between the observer and the observed, cannot be made in atomic matters. Few important conclusions about sub-atomic theory (nuclear theory). The notion of elementary particles as the primary units of matter has to be abandoned. This belief is enforced/confirmed by experimental results and some theoretical formalism. To have a complete theory of nuclear phenomena, not only quantum theory is needed but it should also incorporate relativity theory. Such a theory has not been found, yet. The author claims that the state of affairs is bound to remain paradoxical as long as the static view of composite

'objects' consisting of basic blocks. Only when the dynamic, relativistic view is adopted, does the paradox (subatomic particles are destructible and indestructible at the same time) dissappers. So in modern physics, the universe is to be experienced as a dynamic, inseperable whole which always includes the observer in an essential way.

The Way of Eastern Mysticism

In these chapters the authors brings out the philosphical thoughts of the east. The main schools of the thoughts, regarding the ultimate reality are Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and Zen. I have tried to summarize and get the gist of each schools of thought in the following paragraphs.

Hinduism
The main aim in this philosphy is the direct mystical experience of reality. Since they are religious by nature, the thoughts are inseperable from religion. More than for any other Eastern tradition this is true for Hinduism. It is not a philosophy nor a well defined religion. It is, rather, a large and complex socio-religious organism consiting of innumerable sects, cults and philosophical systems and involving various rituals, ceremonies and spiritual disciplines. The spiritual source of hinduism lies in the 'Vedas', a collection of ancient scriptures written by anonymous sages. There are four vedas, oldest being the ``Rig Veda'' and the latest called ``Upanishads''. The latter contains vedic hymns elaborating the philosophical and practical content. The masses however have recieved their teachings through a large number of popular tales, collected in huge epics. One of them being Mahabharata, which is the favorite of the mass and contains a beautiful spiritual poem of the Bhagavad Gita. This spiritual instruction is the idea that multitude of things and events around us are but different manifestations of the same ultimate reality. This reality is conceptulized in the form of Brahman, a metaphysical conception. This ultimate reality is understood as the soul or inner essence of all things. It is infinite and beyond all conepts; and cannot be comprehended by intellect nor can it be adequately described in words. The manifestation of the human soul is called the Atman. The author goes further and identifies certain concepts of lila, maya and karma. To be free from the spell of maya, to break the bonds of karma means to realize that all the phenomena we perceive with our sense are part of the same reality. It means to experience, concretely and personally, that everything, including our own self, is Brahman. This experience is called moksha, or liberation, which is the very essence of Hinduism. There are innumerable number of ways of liberation. It (the philosophy) would never expect all its followers to be able to approach the divine in the same way and therefore it provides different concepts, rituals and spiritual exercises for different modes of awareness. One of the popular and influential method of liberation is the ``Yoga'', which means to join, and which refers to the joining of the individual soul to Brahman. The author further goes and explains about the concepts and philosophical idealogies behind the various gods like, Vishnu, Shiva and Shakti.

Buddhism
Buddhism has been the dominant spiritual tradition in most parts of Asia (Indochina, China, Korea, Japan and many others). The prime founder is by Siddhartha Gautama. If the flavour of hinduism is mythological and ritualistic, that of buddhism is definetely psychological. The Buddha was not interested in satisfying human

curiosity about the orgin of the world or the ultimate reality, but was concerned exclusively with the human situation, with the suffering and frustations of human beings. So his doctrine was more of psychotherapy than metaphysical. To overcome the problems he took the traditional concepts of India (maya, karma..etc) and gave them a fresh, dynamic and directly relevant to psychological interpretation. Later on his principles was developed into two main schools Hinayana and Mahayana. The former is an orthodox school which sticks to the letter of Buddha's teaching while the latter shows more flexible attitude believing that the spirit of his doctrine is more important than the actual original formulation. The intellect in this philosophy is seen as merely as a means to clear the way for the direct mystical experience, which they call it the ``awakening''. The essence of this experience is to pass beyond the world of intellectual distinctions and opposites to reach the world of ``acintya'', the unthinkable, where ultimate reality appears as undivided and undiffrentiated suchness. At the core of this idealogy lies in the noble truths namely, Duhka, Trishna, Samsara and Nirvana. The author explains these concepts and philosophy of each of these truths in more detail. There is another important noble truth, that is the prescription to end all suffering, the eightfold path of self-development which leads to the state of Buddhahood. The first two sections are concerned with right seeing and right knowing, i.e clear insight into human nature. The next four sections deal with right action, giving the right rules for buddhist way of life. Last two sections are concerned with right awareness and right meditation and describe the direct mysitcal experience of reality that is the final goal.

The Chinese Thought

This philosophy had two complementary aspects. One aspect is to be practical with highly developed social consciousness and to deal with life in society, moral values and government. The complementary aspect is of the mystical side, which demanded that the highest aim of philosophy should transcend the world of society and everyday life and to reach a higher plane of conciousness. A chinese sage, however, does not dwell exclusively on this highly spiritual plane, but is equally concerned with worldly affairs. He unifies himself the two complementary sides of human nature- intutive wisdom and practical knowledge, which the chinese have associated with the image of the sage and the king, respectively. Fully realized human beings, in the words of Chuang Tzu are, who..``by stillness become sages, by their movement kings''. Later on the chinese philosophy developed into two distinct schools of thoughts namely, Confucianism and Taosim. Confucianism was the philosophy of social organization, of commom sense and practial knowledge. It provided the chinese society with a system of education and with strict conventions of social etiquette. Taoism on the other hand, wa concerned primarily with the observation of nature and the discovery of its Way or Tao. Human happiness according to the taoists is achieved when one follows the natural order, acting spontaneously and trusting ones intutive knowledge. Though these two trends represent opposite poles in chinese philosophy, the chinese regard them as poles of one and the same human nature, and thus as complementary. More details of the confucianism and Taosim is explained more in detail in the book. For instance their origin and some of their preachings. In the chinese view, all manifestations of the Tao or the way of nature are generated by the dynamic interplay of the two polar forces, Yin and Yang. Yin being representative of the dark, female, receptive and intutive elements while Yang is representative of strong, male, creative and male rational-intellectual elements. This dynamic character of yin and yang is illustrated by the ancient chinse symbol called T'ai-Chi or ``Diagram of the Supreme

Ultimate''. The author then goes further and explains the significance of this thought through its application to medicine, day to day activities and few other things which we see in nature.

Zen
Zen is a unique blend of the philosophies and idiosyncrasies of three different cultures. It is a way of life which is typically Japanese, and yet it reflects the mysticism of India, the taoist's love of naturalness and spontaneity and the thorough pragmatism of a confucian mind. In spite of its rather special character, Zen is purely buddhistic, in its essence, because its aim is no other than that of the Buddha himself: the attainment of enlightenment, known as ``satori'' in terms of Zen. Though the enlightenment is the essence of all schools of Eastern philosophy, zen is unique in that it concentrates exclusively on this experience and is not interested in any further interpretations. In other words ``Zen is the discipline of enlightenment''. The rest of the doctrine is expounded in the voluminous ``sutras''. More than any other school of Eastern mysticism, Zen is convinced that words can never express the ultimate truth. It must have inherited this conviction from Taoism, which shows the same uncompromising attitude. In classic summary of 4 lines, Zen is described as A special transmission outside the scriptures, Not founded upon words and letters, Pointing directlyu to the human mind, Seeing into one's nature and attaining Buddhahood.

The Parallels
In this part of the book the author tries to bring out the paralles between the eastern mystism or philosophies with that of the modern physics, and suggests few directions from which the modern physicists could work towards formulating or explaining the ultimate reality. But the emphasis is on the parallels between the two and their implications, rather than the suggesstions themselves.

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The translation was initiated by Murali Jayapala on 2001-09-25 Murali Jayapala 2001-09-25