One of the exasperating philosophical questions that plagues young minds is the question, "If a tree falls in the forest and you don't hear it or know about it, does it exist?" (This is an approximation of the koan.)
With the onset of quantum physics for dummies and Buddhist philosophy, one can now definitely answer. Yes and No. Of course it exists because of the interdependence of all things natural, unnatural, supernatural, sub-natural, and supra-natural. At some level hidden from the grosser five senses of human beings, we are impacted by every event the tree has ever experienced, and vice versa. So yes, the tree does exist, albeit in an impermanent flux, regardless of whether we have exacting cognition or not.
However, the ego mind does see the world entirely as a projection of its own imagination, without reference to anything ascertainable other than its own interpretation. So looking at the question from the ego's point of view, no, the tree does not exist if we don't literally see or hear it crashing down.
What really seems to bedevil the current cable news media, whose only story is the disappearance of the Malaysian jetliner, is that they know a plane existed but they can't see or hear where it fell.
I can relate to this paradigm. One day last October, the stats for my blog suddenly showed up a very large number of Malaysian readers clicking on in droves. About two months later, with the Malaysian readership outpacing all other countries, they disappeared in one day, with nary a click since the Christmas season.
So I, like CNN, now wonder if a new Bermuda-esque Triangle has surfaced as an enigma in the India Ocean.
With the onset of quantum physics for dummies and Buddhist philosophy, one can now definitely answer. Yes and No. Of course it exists because of the interdependence of all things natural, unnatural, supernatural, sub-natural, and supra-natural. At some level hidden from the grosser five senses of human beings, we are impacted by every event the tree has ever experienced, and vice versa. So yes, the tree does exist, albeit in an impermanent flux, regardless of whether we have exacting cognition or not.
However, the ego mind does see the world entirely as a projection of its own imagination, without reference to anything ascertainable other than its own interpretation. So looking at the question from the ego's point of view, no, the tree does not exist if we don't literally see or hear it crashing down.
What really seems to bedevil the current cable news media, whose only story is the disappearance of the Malaysian jetliner, is that they know a plane existed but they can't see or hear where it fell.
I can relate to this paradigm. One day last October, the stats for my blog suddenly showed up a very large number of Malaysian readers clicking on in droves. About two months later, with the Malaysian readership outpacing all other countries, they disappeared in one day, with nary a click since the Christmas season.
So I, like CNN, now wonder if a new Bermuda-esque Triangle has surfaced as an enigma in the India Ocean.
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