Chapter 08
Chaos, Mind, Matter, Life and Energy
One might think that this chapter is out of place in a book on critical analysis on Dhamma. But I have reason to include it and the concepts developed here are necessary to discern Buddhist perspective and scientific perspective in life and matters of concern. The Science and Dhamma are poles apart and any connections one may perceive are superficial and superfluous. At the end of this chapter one would see how out of place if analogies are made between Dhamma and science (environmental science in this case). One may skip this chapter but if one is interested in environment and its concern for this planet this chapter introduces the scientific way of looking at energy issue.
Life in general (plant and animals) is the only form of energy in this world that has an organized form of arrangement with arising, peaking to a stable state and gradual decay. This cycle of origin, growth and decay repeat itself with intervals of regeneration (reproduction to be precise) of an almost identical image of the predecessor giving rise to a new equilibrium.
This observation is easily misunderstood and is applied to the physical world without thought by many. But in physical world there is no reproduction or replenishment of energy but a constant state of chaotic energy transformation from one form to the other in perceptible but in a disorganized fashion. For example rain is known for its constant change with time, location of a particular point on the planet (its changing orbit around the sun making subtle changes in angle at which sunrays fall on the earth surface) and the altitude. The changing pattern from one physical form to (vapour to water) another determined by temperature, wind and contours of the planet and in real term is chaotic. If one imagines the surface land as a concrete block without plants and vegetation the pattern of air currents over the land is going to be entirely different and would depend mainly on physical factors. If one takes the entire globe as unit and assumes that there is no vegetation covering the surface on earth the rain pattern would be determined by random and physical events determined by temperatures and wind patterns (cyclones and anticyclones).
But the trees and vegetations are a collective physiological process both macroscopic and microscopic which work in unison to produce climatic changes, which cannot be understood only by physical (physics) processes. One has to be a biologist to understand the intricacies associated with such a mass of physiological processes. The forest cover affects the cooling process of rising air and it also contributes a body of water vapour to the air that ascends over the mountains. The jungle is not something dead but it is a living creature contributing to the atmosphere. With vast vegetation covering the planet earth with uneven contours and distortions the weather pattern are perceptible to be predictable in some way. The physiology of water metabolism in plants which in turn reacts with the physical factors gives some uniformity to the planet that would be otherwise chaotic and without which life cannot be sustained as it is of now.
This is why man should not upset its balance by man made misadventures. Global warming is one of them we seem to barely understand but not come to term with. Inter monsoonal rain is an obvious example where would be chaotic rain patterns are organized into a somewhat recognizable weather pattern. So the biosphere is vital in our stability and any disturbance in this biosphere by physical means (whether nuclear bomb or a terrorist blast in a nuclear plant) is going to be catastrophic.
But if one looks at the behaviour of water in purely physical terms the lower the temperature the less is the chaotic behaviour. Ice is organized into crystal pattern, the water is semi organized physical form which takes the shape of its containers contour but the water vapour behaves in random and chaotic manner. But it is this chaotic behaviour that makes life possible and water available, even though unequal in distribution all over the planet. Moments the ice caps melt and there is no ice on this planet the catastrophic changes going to be unimaginable.
That is point I want to arrive at but getting there needs some understanding of matter and energy. Matter is energy and has linear relationship with motion and at a particular speed of motion (the speed of light) the distinction between matter and energy becomes indistinct. At this point the behaviour of matter can be understood only by the principle of chaos. A linear equation has its limits and another dimension of mathematics takes precedence in such a scenario. Either there going to be random occurrence of events or haphazard chaotic behaviour that would set in at the speed of light and it is the most natural thing to imagine or guess at high speeds.
But in real life, there is neither complete disorderliness (randomness) nor complete orderliness but it takes its shape somewhere in between. There is some orderliness in the disorder phenomena. This orderliness is mainly due to the biosphere which we are enriched with. This is a fact which we tend to forget covertly or overtly. Because of the magnitude and the diversity of the biosphere and the ability of it to sustain some equilibrium and orderliness we tend to think that the biosphere is dispensable.
This is the basic error we are making in energy planning. There is obsession on production of energy and mechanization but one does not realize the energy efficiency and transformation cannot go beyond 30 to 40% at best and the rest (60%) is wasted in the process of transformation. It is a colossal waste and that is why the question of sustainability comes into operation. For a start only 3 to 5 % of the solar energy is converted to biochemical energy in photosynthesis and this transformation takes in small doses at an electronic level by the changing orbit of electrons from one orbit to another (electrons are in constant state of chaotic motion determined by atomic numbers). Even though the energy transformations in biochemical pathways are slow the energy efficiency in atomic level is very high. This is why biotransformation does not upset the equilibrium that exists at a particular time but any changes that may occur are spread over millions of years. But in scientific terms the nuclear fission (man made) or nuclear blast is an obvious aberration to even the so called chaotic behaviour of atoms in general.
We have had series of underground atomic explosions (so called testing) in Asiatic plate (India, Pakistan, China and Russia) and southern hemisphere (France) and in North America. So far we have not had any scientific estimates of the stresses that they may have caused on the tectonic plates. These stresses however small to begin with are cumulative and may initiate random disorder (chaos) on the movement of tectonic plates and the recent earth quakes and tsunami (of the order of 8 Richter scale) may have resulted from these small aberrations. I believe that the scientists are covering up these issues.
It took some decades to understand the effect of acid rain on inland water reservoirs but when it was recognized it was too late and an irreversible damage was done in all countries in Europe. Now it is evident by the understanding of eco-principles in the West but lack of it in the East. Whether one likes it or not with the explosion of population the eco-crisis is looming. It is not only energy crisis we are going to face we are going to face many other crisis that include food crisis too. What ever energy policy one may espouse if the eco-crisis is not taken into account the domino effect is going to be chaotic.
The relationship of temperature to global warming even one ignores the carbon dioxide factor has brought about chaotic weather patterns, floods, cyclones, hurricanes and the like. They are eye openers to more chaos to come from time to time. Man’s overriding desire for 100% energy sufficiency is only a pipe dream and would not be ever achieved unless sustainability factor is taken into account. For sustainability the renewable energy source is the only viable option and any other approach would be disastrous. For an example going for nuclear energy without adequate safeguards for over 100% safety and security can be catastrophic. One suicide bomber may nullify years of safety and preparation in a moment of insanity. In the long run any energy generations by physical means (atomic) is going to destructive and strain the biosphere. It would bring about chaos unforeseen.
In all the above descriptions I cannot find any appropriate connection with Dhamma Principles and Science of chaos and perceived orderliness in events in nature except for the clock like precision of the earth rotation and cyclical pattern of the rain. But the apparent orderliness on earth is due to the biosphere and its adaptation to suit the earth rotation.
Mind and its behaviour
The destruction the mind of a maladjusted person can do is enormous. This brings me to the point and mind and its chaotic beahviour. Mind is known for its chaotic behaviour. If one lists down all the thoughts for only five minutes one would realize how chaotic the mind is. Further elaboration is unnecessary. But the beauty is that mind inhabits a biological system which is very slow in its perception whether visual, sensory, and auditory or any other sense. This makes the chaotic behaviour of the mind under check. The living being’s activities are under ordinary circumstances are fortunately determined by primary senses and the mind’s contribution is generally secondary. I am referring to a basic biological plan but not of the philosophical plane which I would come to later in this book.
Relevance of Buddhism and Chaos
Mind’s basic behaviour is chaotic and what I believe is that all the energy planners in the East and the West are also behaving in a chaotic fashion. They lack a global vision. Dhamma is the only current practice that deals with the vagaries of mind and its contents. Dhamma has a principle for controlling the chaos. It is the meditation and its practice according to principles in Dhamma. The Abhidhamma is a treasure trove of mind culture and its behaviour. Brief outline would follow in a later chapter.
Buddhism and Dhamma 