[FutureBuddha (Hunches IV)] Still Yet Even Further Hunches

[Matt Johnson]

Yes, entropy (except for the local exceptions such as when the Sun and planet Earth and human body pulled themselves together) which, as we understand the nature of events in the universe, means that there is much randomness and chaos in how our universe functions. The universe is a smashed egg and ... should two atoms have failed to interact, two meteors to crash together (or the wrong meteors or atoms had come together), should a leaf have fallen from a tree which caused your ancestor to take a left turn instead of a right thus away from your would-have-been ancestral mouse-grandmother such they they never mated, had your parents never met at that dance that night, had your other grandma instead married a fellow who was on the Titanic that missed the iceberg on that fateful trip ... or any other single event in universal history which would have been causally necessary to result in you not have happened just so, we would think that you would not be sitting here now reading these words.

Less entropy and more complexity... Everything seems to be getting more and more complex. As far as we can tell, that is a law of the universe. Nothing exceptional or special. Just like consciousness being an emergent quality of the organisation of the brain. It doesn't feel like a satisfactory explanation for subjective phenomena. But satisfactoryness and unsatisfactoriness is a subjective phenomena. That's just clinging and aversion. Because we have nothing to compare it to, we cannot be aware of how amazing it is. That this wet pink slop in our heads produces consciousness. and if consciousness is the meta complex layer on top of matter... then what is the next level of complexity on top of consciousness... Meta-consciousness, metacognition!? Geez, I'm starting to sound like you...

_/\_
sat/ah
matt

[Jundo]

Well I can see how people continue to view it as random. They have been conditioned to view it in this way. But the more aware they are, the more they catch glimpses of themselves (coincidences and synchronicity they start calling it). Those glimpses snowball until it begs the question. What is the cause of all these coincidences? They say "either the universe is random and im having a psychotic break" or they change their view to match the evidence...




_/\_
sat/ah
matt

Oh, well, no ... I think that people can go the other way, and start seeing mystery where there are just coincidences.

For example, people think of other people in their lives hundreds of times each day ... your sister, your old school chum, the milkman when you were a kid ...

... and every once in a while, the phone rings just as you had the thought, and it is your old school chum on the line. That is just the odds that, after thinking of hundreds of thousands of people each year, once in awhile one of them will happen to ring up at the same moment you were thinking of them.

Another example: The other day (true) I woke up with a "premonition" that a relative had died. I sent them an email. They are still alive (happily.) So, I forget it, never tell anyone about the silliness (I would not have unless this topic had come up). However, once in 10000 cases, someone will think of a relative with worry during the night, and the next day will find out they were in an accident. We are astounded, and tell people. Folks put it in a book as proof of ESP and synchronicity.

That is not what I am talking about in my book. It is also different from the "store manager" example for reasons I will not discuss here.

Gassho, J
stlah

[Matt Johnson]

Yeah I think you're being too subtle for me... It is not even clear you have a point... You started off by saying that it is not random and just seems a little bit too designed or intentional... willed!? (The opposite of random) which smacks of God the Creator stuff.

Prana, Qi, Meridians, Nerves.....ESP or mirror neurons... Premonitions or advanced analytical cognition... Just words...

If a person has a very vivid dream of a massive earthquake 1 week before they leave Japan and one week before a tsunami destroys a nuclear power plant... It all leaves you feeling a little weird. sure. Maybe a person had a hundred other dreams about puppy dogs and cats and workmares from working at Eikawa in that time... but sometimes they're more "real"...

When you look through the kaleidoscope you see elements of Truth that have been distorted by mirrors. Which is why we don't drive a car looking through a kaleidoscope. But that doesn't mean we can't appreciate what we're seeing and even allow it to inform us.

It is a system replete with logical inconsistencies and gaps in awareness. Just like a dream...

_/\_
sat/ah
matt

[Jundo]

Yeah I think you're being too subtle for me... It is not even clear you have a point... You started off by saying that it is not random and just seems a little bit too designed or intentional... willed!? (The opposite of random) which smacks of God the Creator stuff.

No, "God the creator" is only one of many possible mechanisms, most quite natural and conceivable, to explain such improbable outcomes. Most are perfectly harmonious with Buddhism too.

Sometimes chance can be just chance. A man walks into a store, buys a lottery ticket like millions of other people. The man wins. He is surprised but, in actuality, somebody had to win and it might as well be him.

On the other hand, a man walks into a shady casino where he must win 100,000,000 dice roles, card hands and wheel spins in proper sequence, lottery upon lottery in complex combinations (the final requirement being that a million beads tossed randomly in the air need to fall to the Earth, creating an exact likeness of his face), not a single miss or (he is told) a sniper will shoot him dead away at the first missed deal, spin, roll or out-of-place bead. At the end of all that, he finds himself still alive. (In fact, for our life, it is not merely "100,000,000" ... but billions upon trillions upon gazillions of roles, hands, etc.)

He could say, "Just luck, I guess." Or he might suspect (with solid justification) that there is something fishy going on in the casino's back room, that it is a stunt, a set-up, a practical joke, that the dice are a bit loaded, the cards fixed, the wheels and beads a bit weighted. (If the fellow is so naive not to suspect so, then I would like to get that guy in a good poker game! I will bring the cards.)

He might wonder if the casino is actually immense, with countless rooms and countless winners, some of whom may look just like him. However, he is not them, just this winner in this room where something sure smells fishy. (Look up "inverse gambler's fallacy" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invers...er%27s_fallacy )

He might argue that "somebody had to win," but really, nobody had to win, and especially it should not be him (when we compare the hyper-rare outcome ... rather outcome(s) ... to all the far more likely scenarios). There are points where "luck" just becomes "ridiculous." That is especially true when the outcome is not a one time event (you win a lottery then are hit by a car) but a sequence of strange events (you win a lottery than are hit by a car every day, every minute of every day, for years ... yet somehow walk away unscathed.) Only a fool would conclude, "Well, anyone can be hit by a car, I am just unlucky, although nice that I have the lottery money" rather than examining their personal habit of walking into the street each hour with their eyes closed after departing the shady casino, or that they pissed off the casino owner really bad by winning all that money (and that still would not explain their survival!). They even tried to assassinate Rasputin and Bodhidharma any number of times ... and finally got both in the end.

Fellow comes home from the casino, gets ready for bed and finds a big puddle in the bed. He says, "Well, water must be somewhere, it might as well be here," and so never considers a broken pipe ...

... Like that.

I don't think it so hard to get, and I sometimes am mystified that so many folks struggle to understand the point being made.

And even if there is an explanation, it is unlikely to be Prana, Qi, Meridians, ESP or other silliness like that.

Gassho, J
stlah

[Matt Johnson]

No, "God the creator" is only one of many possible mechanisms, most quite natural and conceivable, to explain such improbable outcomes. Most are perfectly harmonious with Buddhism too.

Sometimes chance can be just chance. A man walks into a store, buys a lottery ticket like millions of other people. The man wins. He is surprised but, in actuality, somebody had to win and it might as well be him.

On the other hand, a man walks into a shady casino where he must win 100,000,000 dice roles, card hands and wheel spins in proper sequence, lottery upon lottery in complex combinations (the final requirement being that a million beads tossed randomly in the air need to fall to the Earth, creating an exact likeness of his face), not a single miss or (he is told) a sniper will shoot him dead away at the first missed deal, spin, roll or out-of-place bead. At the end of all that, he finds himself still alive. (In fact, for our life, it is not merely "100,000,000" ... but billions upon trillions upon gazillions of roles, hands, etc.)

He could say, "Just luck, I guess." Or he might suspect (with solid justification) that there is something fishy going on in the casino's back room, that it is a stunt, a set-up, a practical joke, that the dice are a bit loaded, the cards fixed, the wheels and beads a bit weighted. (If the fellow is so naive not to suspect so, then I would like to get that guy in a good poker game! I will bring the cards.)

He might wonder if the casino is actually immense, with countless rooms and countless winners, some of whom may look just like him. However, he is not them, just this winner in this room where something sure smells fishy. (Look up "inverse gambler's fallacy" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invers...er%27s_fallacy )

He might argue that "somebody had to win," but really, nobody had to win, and especially it should not be him (when we compare the hyper-rare outcome ... rather outcome(s) ... to all the far more likely scenarios). There are points where "luck" just becomes "ridiculous." That is especially true when the outcome is not a one time event (you win a lottery then are hit by a car) but a sequence of strange events (you win a lottery than are hit by a car every day, every minute of every day, for years ... yet somehow walk away unscathed.) Only a fool would conclude, "Well, anyone can be hit by a car, I am just unlucky, although nice that I have the lottery money" rather than examining their personal habit of walking into the street each hour with their eyes closed after departing the shady casino, or that they pissed off the casino owner really bad by winning all that money (and that still would not explain their survival!). They even tried to assassinate Rasputin and Bodhidharma any number of times ... and finally got both in the end.

Fellow comes home from the casino, gets ready for bed and finds a big puddle in the bed. He says, "Well, water must be somewhere, it might as well be here," and so never considers a broken pipe ...

... Like that.

I don't think it so hard to get, and I sometimes am mystified that so many folks struggle to understand the point being made.

And even if there is an explanation, it is unlikely to be Prana, Qi, Meridians, ESP or other silliness like that.

Gassho, J
stlah

Qi and meridians esp, clairvoyance, premonitions etc are not explanations. They are merely the study of cause and effect.

You know whats silly. Not being able to see the whats actually happening because you are conditioned to see it that way.

Make your own observations. Experiment. And for God's sake dont let other people fill your head with BS.

_/\_
sat/ah
matt

[Jundo]

Qi and meridians esp, clairvoyance, premonitions etc are not explanations. They are merely the study of cause and effect.

You know whats silly. Not being able to see the whats actually happening because you are conditioned to see it that way.

Make your own observations. Experiment. And for God's sake dont let other people fill your head with BS.

That is precisely why i think that Qi and meridians esp, clairvoyance and "premonitions" are silly. No good evidence. On the contrary, quite a bit of strong evidence that they DO NOT exist.

We just had a small example here yesterday of how coincidences work. Shinshi is serving as one of the Shuso this time. So, this happened ...

....

We held a little entrance ceremony earlier today to mark this Changing of the Shuso ...
.

Gassho, Jundo

stlah

Talk about a blast from the past.

I used to sell programs in that stadium. We used to shoot off model rockets in the stadium parking lot. It was about a mile from the house I grew up in.

Gassho,

Shinshi

Mystical Karmic synchronicity? NO! The youtube algorithm happened to pull up the University of Illinois, and Shinshi used to live near there. Every once in awhile, things like that happen by chance.

Gassho, J

[Matt Johnson]

That is precisely why i think that Qi and meridians esp, clairvoyance and "premonitions" are silly. No good evidence. On the contrary, quite a bit of strong evidence that they DO NOT exist.



We just had a small example here yesterday of how coincidences work. Shinshi is serving as one of the Shuso this time. So, this happened ...





Mystical Karmic synchronicity? NO! The youtube algorithm happened to pull up the University of Illinois, and Shinshi used to live near there. Every once in awhile, things like that happen by chance.

Gassho, J

Oh my gosh this is ridiculous... I don't need your evidence. I have my own and that's all I need. I can feel my body. I can feel energy moving. I have and continue to heal myself (and on occasion others). I can feel how that energy changes as my attention is deliberately placed in particular parts of my body. I can see what's going on inside (could it be clearer? Absolutely, I'm working on that ) I do not need any more evidence than that. The only thing I'll grant you is people often use weird words to describe very ordinary phenomena. Phenomena that they've never actually experienced for themselves.

Anyway if I was concerned with being credible and having scientists and I.t specialists pay money for my books and invite me to conferences it might matter to me... or if I was concerned with being a guru and trying to attract followers... or even being a YouTube influencer... (insert vomit emoji)... I'm just a pizza cook.

edit post facto: AND sometimes its random chance and sometimes its not. And sometimes/ultimately its completely empty.

_/\_
sat/ah
matt

[Jundo]

Oh my gosh this is ridiculous... I don't need your evidence. I have my own and that's all I need. I can feel my body. I can feel energy moving. I have and continue to heal myself (and on occasion others). I can feel how that energy changes as my attention is deliberately placed in particular parts of my body. I can see what's going on inside (could it be clearer? Absolutely, I'm working on that ) I do not need any more evidence than that. The only thing I'll grant you is people often use weird words to describe very ordinary phenomena. Phenomena that they've never actually experienced for themselves.

People can convince themselves that they feel all manner of things.

I doubt that you can produce any verifiable (not anecdotal) evidence of any of this, However, as you said, you feel that you do not need to, so good for you.

In fact, we have 1000s of nerve endings in each square inch of skin. We are always feeling their tingling and stimulation, but the brain blocks out most of it. However, if I name any part of the body which you do not usually focus on (e.g., right elbow or back of the neck or small of the back) you can suddenly feel the nerves that are there being lightly stimulated, plus muscle tension. This is not "energy moving" through the body. You cannot heal others by projecting energy from your body to theirs. Maybe there is some psychological benefit if they think it is happening, but that is all. You cannot "see inside your body" without an Xray etc. Many people have attempted to test for and prove such abilities, and they have never been shown in reputable studies. Case in point:

https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/health-pseudoscience/should-we-take-reiki-seriously

Gassho, Jundo
stlah

PS - In bed last night, I convinced myself that I felt the cat sleeping on my leg. Felt her jump on and lie down. When I looked, there was no cat. Maybe it was our deceased cat? I don't think so, but just a dreamlike imagining by me. True story.

[Ryumon]

I can feel how that energy changes as my attention is deliberately placed in particular parts of my body.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observer%27s_paradox

Gassho,
Ryūmon (Kirk)
Sat Lah

[Jundo]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observer%27s_paradox

Gassho,
Ryūmon (Kirk)
Sat Lah

I have thought if there is some similar selection effect at work in the premise of my book. For example, because I feel there is something unusual or special about my birth, I search for something special about my birth.

But I have come to the conclusion that there --is-- something special about my birth (not only me, but any self-aware sentient being reading these words and pondering the question.) Namely, (1) every event and a priori factor of physics, chemistry, planetary development, biology, evolution, body structure, world and family history DID IN FACT have to work out flawlessly in order for me (or any of us) to be pondering that fact, and (2) while the same could be said about the existence of any person or being or thing, the fact that it is not just "any old" person being or thing but subjectively self aware "me myself and I" having that experience subjectively right now is the strange aspect. In other words, somebody somewhere might feel so and it would not be so amazing, but one would think, it should not be me but for one small change in those events.

Gassho, J

[Jundo]

Continued ...

It is a little like saying that someone somewhere might find themself standing over a dead body with a gun in their hand, and that fact (while tragic) would not be so amazing. Sadly, murders happen each day. The news is filled with them.

But if I suddenly open my eyes and, waking as if from a trance, I find MYSELF with a gun in MY hand standing over a dead body, I should not just say "well, not surprising, murders happen each day." The fact that it is ME finding myself suddenly as the one with the smoking gun indicates that there is some back story, some strange course of events that led up to this event, that I am just not aware of because of that trance. I did not just pop up in the middle of time and space with a smoking gun in my hand because "everybody has to be somewhere, I might as well be here" or "If I did not exist (have the gun), I would not be asking the question so I am asking the question just because I exist (have the gun), thus nothing special about it."

[Ryumon]

I have thought if there is some similar selection effect at work in the premise of my book. For example, because I feel there is something unusual or special about my birth, I search for something special about my birth.

But I have come to the conclusion that there --is-- something special about my birth (not only me, but any self-aware sentient being reading these words and pondering the question.) Namely, (1) every event and a priori factor of physics, chemistry, planetary development, biology, evolution, body structure, world and family history DID IN FACT have to work out flawlessly in order for me (or any of us) to be pondering that fact, and (2) while the same could be said about the existence of any person or being or thing, the fact that it is not just "any old" person being or thing but subjectively self aware "me myself and I" having that experience subjectively right now is the strange aspect. In other words, somebody somewhere might feel so and it would not be so amazing, but one would think, it should not be me but for one small change in those events.

Gassho, J

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropic_principle

Gassho,
Ryūmon (Kirk)
Sat Lah

[Jundo]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropic_principle

Gassho,
Ryūmon (Kirk)
Sat Lah

Oh, I have been studying that for years. My book just takes it to the individual reader, which I have never seen anthropic reasoning do (it usually stops at "conditions for intelligent life in general somewhere in the universe or multi-verse." The universe swung around to you, for some reason, and put the smoking gun in your hand as the currently present end point of 13.8 billion years of events.

Basically, your fish ancestor 300 million years ago spawned eggs, a single one of which led to your genetic line, but if it was eaten by a crab ... you would not be here ... but the crab suddenly had a change of heart, so ate the egg right next to it instead ... only for which lucky break you are here ... and like happenstance repeated about daily for 13.8 billion years (grandad survived the war, the meteor missed landing on your other ancestor, there was a planet Earth at all, there was a Sun at all, there was air and water and evolution at all ... etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. ,... etc. etc. etc.

It is a bit more personal than the "anthropic principle." It is more the "Ryumonic Principle."

[Ryumon]

It is a bit more personal than the "anthropic principle." It is more the "Ryumonic Principle."

Gassho,
Ryūmon (Kirk)
Sat Lah

[Ryumon]

By the way, if you don’t use that term in your book, I will be very disappointed :-)

Gassho,
Ryūmon (Kirk)
Sat Lah