This paper examines the concept of 破相 (_pòxiàng_), which in Buddhist philosophy refers to the deconstruction of appearances or forms, and this paper uses it as a theoretical framework to bridge the gap between classical and quantum physics. Classical physics presents a deterministic, well-defined reality where objects exist with fixed properties independent of observation. However, quantum mechanics challenges this view, revealing a probabilistic, fluid, and deeply interconnected reality with the observer’s perspective. The Buddhist doctrine of _pòxiàng_, which involves recognizing the illusory nature of fixed forms and appearances, provides a powerful philosophical lens through which the principles of quantum physics—such as superposition, entanglement, and the observer effect—can be interpreted. By examining the groundbreaking work of physicists John Clauser, Alain Aspect, and Anton Zeilinger, who shared the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics, this analysis demonstrates how their experimental confirmations of quantum entanglement and violations of Bell inequalities not only challenge classical notions of locality and determinism but also resonate deeply with Buddhist metaphysical insights. This interdisciplinary study argues that Buddhist ideas about illusions and the impermanence of forms correspond to the quantum state’s inherent uncertainty and non-fixed nature. This paper suggests a deeper, more integrated understanding of reality by exploring how classical physics’ rigid view of reality is ‘deconstructed’ at the quantum level, similar to the Buddhist recognition of form as an illusion. The research contributes to scientific and philosophical discourses by highlighting how the impermanence and illusion of fixed forms in Buddhist doctrine can be seen as metaphors for the collapse of the quantum wave function into a definite state upon observation.
This paper examines the concept of 破相 (pòxiàng), which in Buddhist philosophy refers to the deconstruction of appearances or forms, and this paper uses it as a theoretical framework to bridge the gap between classical and quantum physics. Classical physics presents a deterministic, well-defined reality where objects exist with fixed properties independent of observation. However, quantum mechanics challenges this view, revealing a probabilistic, fluid, and deeply interconnected reality with the observer’s perspective. The Buddhist doctrine of pòxiàng, which involves recognizing the illusory nature of fixed forms and appearances, provides a powerful philosophical lens through which the principles of quantum physics—such as superposition, entanglement, and the observer effect—can be interpreted. By examining the groundbreaking work of physicists John Clauser, Alain Aspect, and Anton Zeilinger, who shared the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics, this analysis demonstrates how their experimental confirmations of quantum entanglement and violations of Bell inequalities not only challenge classical notions of locality and determinism but also resonate deeply with Buddhist metaphysical insights. This interdisciplinary study argues that Buddhist ideas about illusions and the impermanence of forms correspond to the quantum state’s inherent uncertainty and non-fixed nature. This paper suggests a deeper, more integrated understanding of reality by exploring how classical physics’ rigid view of reality is ‘deconstructed’ at the quantum level, similar to the Buddhist recognition of form as an illusion. The research contributes to scientific and philosophical discourses by highlighting how the impermanence and illusion of fixed forms in Buddhist doctrine can be seen as metaphors for the collapse of the quantum wave function into a definite state upon observation.
The Buddhist metaphysical conceptual analysis of the nature of reality has always been founded upon the basis of a rigorous employment of scrupulously coherent conceptual analysis, which is in turn based upon an empirical observation of experience in a manner appropriate to the time, although one major difference between the empirical attitude of Western science and philosophy during the age of science and that of Buddhism was the Buddhist development of rigorous techniques of meditation in order to explore the structure and nature of consciousness. In this paper I will use the Buddhist philosopher Dharmakirti‘s imaginative deconstruction of reality, in the context of quantum theory, to try to answer the question which seems to be posed by quantum theory: Is 'Reality' really real? In our search for the ultimate nature of reality we have to leave behind the 'seeming' appearances of the everyday world, however persuasive the appearance may be, and break through to a more 'ultimate truth' concerning the nature of reality. We shall discover that Dharmakirti's philosophical analysis, alongside other Buddhist insights, which lead to the 'ultimate' realm of 'empty' Mindnature, prefigures modern quantum discoveries.
Background. The author tries to identify the connection between the phenomena of quantum physics and the philosophical concepts of "fate", "free will" and "time". By examining how the probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics challenges classical deterministic views, and bridging the gap between modern physics and age-old philosophical debates, the author seeks to offer a nuanced understanding of these fundamental concepts Methods. The investigation employs a multidisciplinary approach, incorporating scientific theories and discoveries alongside religious and philosophical perspectives. Various viewpoints and schools of thought are considered, spanning both Western scientific frameworks and Eastern philosophical traditions, to provide a comprehensive analysis of the topic. Results. The positions of total determinism and indeterminism are compared, highlighting their respective strengths and limitations. It delves into the parallels between Buddhist philosophy and contemporary quantum theory, suggesting that both share common ground in their understanding of reality. Additionally, the concept of creationism is examined within the context of quantum mechanics. Conclusions. The exploration reveals that the concepts of fate and free will, and their relationship with time, are deeply intertwined with the existence of a hidden quantum reality. This hidden reality, characterized by the inherent uncertainties and probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics, challenges the deterministic worldview upheld by classical physics. The investigation highlights that the interconnectedness of fate and free will with our understanding of time is profoundly influenced by the quantum realm, which introduces complexities such as the "measurement problem." As a result, the deterministic predictability of classical physics is replaced by a framework where probabilities and potentialities govern the behavior of particles. The study concludes that acknowledging the existence of this hidden quantum reality necessitates a re-evaluation of traditional notions of fate, free will, and time, suggesting that these concepts are more fluid and interconnected than previously thought. By bridging the gap between quantum theory and philosophical inquiry, the exploration offers new insights into the nature of reality and human agency, ultimately contributing to a more nuanced understanding of the universe and our place within it.
The article highlights those discoveries of quantum physics, the philosophical understanding of which leads researchers to compare its ontology with Buddhist ontology. These are phenomena that reveal the subjectivism of physics. Thus, the discovery of the fundamental role of the observer for quantum mechanical processes and the collapse of the wave function became a «bridge» for the rapprochement of quantum mechanics and Buddhist philosophy, which asserts the relative nature of reality. The phenomenon of quantum non-locality or the plurality of parallel worlds became another basis for seeing the similarity of quantum physics and Buddhism. The idea of universal interdependence, characteristic of relational interpretations of quantum physics, also contributes to strengthening the idea of its similarity with Buddhist ontology. However, as the analysis of two representative comparative approaches shows – one developed by W. Mansfield from the side of physics, and the other developed by A. A. Terentyev from the side of Buddhism – the general tendency to compare the ontology of quantum physics and Buddhism is based on the incorrect reduction of Buddhist ontology to the doctrine of dependent origination and the wrongful identification of emptiness with dependent origination. Although the perception of Buddhist ontology as «Indra’s net» serves for comparativists from the side of physics, as well as for a wide circle of intellectuals, as the first step towards understanding the closeness of Buddhist philosophy to modern science, nevertheless, such popular interpretations are not entirely correct.
As we shall illustrate in this paper, it appears that quantum ‘particles’ might be thought to have aspects of both reality and unreality, and this is a paradoxical viewpoint which leads us in the direction of some dramatic claims about the nature of reality made by Buddhist metaphysicians such as Dharmakirti and Nagarjuna, claims which move towards providing an answer to Penrose’s quandary: “can real objects be constructed from unreal constituents?” According to Nagarjuna: “everything is real and not real, both real and not real, neither real nor not real which is the Lord Buddha’s teaching”. The resolution of the apparent paradox will become clear as we explore the relationship between the implications of quantum theory and the Buddhist doctrine of the ‘two truths’, or ‘two realities’, in detail. In fact we will discover that an appreciation of the Buddhist perspective throws significant light onto quantum conundrums. We shall discover that Dharmakirti’s philosophical analysis, alongside other Buddhist insights, which lead to the ‘ultimate’ realm of ‘empty’ Mindnature, prefigures modern quantum discoveries, particularly the notion of an ‘Epiontic Universe’ which derives from the ‘quantum Darwinism’ perspective suggested by Wojciech H. Zurek.
According to the ‘Buddhist’ writer Stephen Batchelor the core Buddhist doctrine of the ‘two truths’ or ‘two realities’ is a major mistake on the part of Buddhist practitioners and philosophers throughout the ages. Although this doctrine has been central to Buddhist thinking since the time of the Buddha, Batchelor says that it is a serious mistake, and is completely unscientific. This article show that it is Batchelor who is desperately mistaken because modern quantum theory has validated the metaphysical claim that the ‘classical’ or ‘conventional’ world is an illusion which is derived from the deeper quantum realm. Thus the division into the ‘classical’ realm and the ‘quantum’ realm maps onto the Buddhist distinction between the ‘conventional’ mode of reality and the ‘ultimate’ mode of reality. Far from Buddhist philosophy being ‘unscientific’, it is Batchelor who displays ignorance of modern science.
The measurement dilemma derived from the quantum mechanical observer paradox, together with the Buddhist doctrine of Dependent Origination and Emptiness, collectively points to the constructive nature of the dual cognitive framework in shaping the phenomenal world. From the perspective of modern philosophy of science, this paper conducts a preliminary sorting and discussion at the epistemological level, and briefly elucidates the ultimate original meaning of Dependent Origination and Emptiness. This doctrine is by no means the superficial emptiness interpreted as the deconstruction of material objects in mundane understanding, but refers to the arising, ceasing, opening and closing of cognitive discrimination generated by the objectifying grasping of cognition. All dharmas inherently possess immutable pure nature; apart from observation and discrimination, there exist no fixed attributes or boundaries of all phenomena. The concrete manifestation of all worldly phenomena arises and occurs relying on the activation of cognitive discrimination. Centered on the core perspective of "Observation-Dependent Dependent Origination", this paper argues that quantum superposition state corresponds to the inherent empty potential transcending subject-object discrimination, and wave function collapse corresponds to phenomenal manifestation arising from the initiation of cognitive discrimination. The observer presupposed in physics is essentially the institutionalized and standardized academic embodiment of the subject-object dual cognitive structure. This paper introduces the bifocal lens model as a concise visualized thought tool to interpret the underlying operational mechanism of cognitive shaping and manifestation. Meanwhile, it constructs subject-object discrimination as a general meta-epistemological analytical framework, aiming to break the research misunderstanding of simple analogy between Chinese and Western thoughts, and establish a rational and equal interdisciplinary dialogue path between quantum physics and Eastern mind philosophy.