The Tao of Physics (Flamingo): An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism (Flamingo)

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Victor H. Mair, Wandering on the Way: early Taoist tales and parables of Chuang Tzu. (New York: Bantam. 1994), 376. I have had this book in my possession off and on over the years, ever since I worked for the author, Fritjof Capra, when I lived in Berkeley in the late 70s. I only knew then that he was a physicist, not realizing that there was such a thing as quantum physics, which I was not introduced to until 2000. The more theories of modern physics have been refined, the more they seem to agree everything is connected. The Systems View of Life (2014), co-authored with Pier Luigi Luisi, offers radical solutions to twenty-first century challenges by focusing on the connected world and examining life through its inextricably linked systems. [ clarification needed]

When we say ‘science,’ we usually refer to the basic mechanics of how reality functions on a macroscopic level. From this point of view, space and time are separate entities which are easy to measure, as are matter and energy.

My Book Notes

Taoism has a high potential for woo abuse, especially by those who don't really know much about the religion, and by martial artists. Many of these can be found in books with the title "The Tao of..." There are a few good ones out there, like Bruce Lee's Tao of Jeet Kune Do, but most resemble Fritjof Capra's 1975 book The Tao of Physics, which has been criticized in its efforts to link mystical philosophy and quantum mechanics [4] and for its use of outdated physics. [5] Philosophical vs. religious Taoism? [ edit ] In the afterword to the third edition (published in 1982, pp 360-368 of the 1991 edition) Capra offers six suggestions for a new paradigm in science. The highest spiritual state one can achieve in Hinduism is liberation. It happens when you are able to feel this unity and constant movement. However, liberation is not something you can achieve using rationality. You can only develop your perception through the practice of yoga and meditation. Capra contributed to the screenplay for the 1990 movie Mindwalk, starring Liv Ullmann, Sam Waterston and John Heard. The film is loosely based on his book, The Turning Point. Fritjof Capra, Pier Luigi Luisi (2014). “The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision”, p.13, Cambridge University Press

Capra later discussed his ideas with Werner Heisenberg in 1972, as he mentioned in the following interview excerpt: I listened again to DeLuca’s lecture to see what I remembered, and to write this in my review as it say, this is why I love quantum physics, even though I don’t understand it. He has written popular books on the implications of science, notably The Tao of Physics, subtitled An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism. The Tao of Physics asserts that both physics and metaphysics lead inexorably to the same knowledge. After touring Germany in the early 1980s, Capra co-wrote Green Politics with author Charlene Spretnak in 1984. Anybody who wants to repeat an experiment in modern subatomic physics has to undergo many years of training. Only then will he or she be able to ask nature a specific question through the experiment and to understand the answer. Similarly, a deep mystical experience requires, generally, many years of training under an experienced master and, as in the scientific training, the dedicated time does not alone guarantee success. If the student is successful, however, he or she will be able to 'repeat the experiment'. The repeatability of the experience is, in fact, essential to every mystical training and is the very aim of the mystic's spiritual instruction.DeLuca, like Capra, spent a somee time on comparing quantum physics with the Upanishads, but Capra also compared it to what Buddha had said about the nature of reality. While I could see what they both were talking about, I was not so sure that it could be applied in such a way because what the Buddha and the Upanishads had said were too vague to me. A special edition of the “brilliant” best-selling classic on the paradoxes of modern physics and their relationship to concepts of Eastern mysticism ( New York Magazine) Taoist Xian (not to be confused with the X-Men or Xians), have super powers , like the Siddhi s of Hinduism. According to Victor H. Mair, "They are immune to heat and cold, untouched by the elements, and can fly, mounting upward with a fluttering motion. They dwell apart from the chaotic world of man, subsist on air and dew, are not anxious like ordinary people, and have the smooth skin and innocent faces of children. The transcendents live an effortless existence that is best described as spontaneous. They recall the ancient Indian ascetics and holy men known as ṛṣi who possessed similar traits." Do You Believe That? The term refers to both supernatural humans and animals dwelling in the sacred mountains. [7] Replace the idea of knowledge as buildings based on foundations with an idea of knowledge as networks. David Diamond, Fritjof Capra (2007). “Theatre for Living: The Art and Science of Community-based Dialogue”, p.169, Trafford Publishing

Most physicists assume this growth will go on forever, but others say it will slow down one day and maybe even begin to contract. In either case: its movement is never going to stop. Movement is a fundamental rule for all entities big and small, from planets to subatomic particles. When carbon (C), Oxygen (o) and hydrogen (H) atoms bond in a certain way to form sugar, the resulting compound has a sweet taste. The sweetness resides neither in the C, nor in the O, nor in the H; it resides in the pattern that emerges from their interaction. It is an emergent property. Moreover, strictly speaking, is not a property of the chemical bonds. It is a sensory experience that arises when the sugar molecules interact with the chemistry of our taste buds, which in turns causes a set of neurons to fire in a certain way. The experience of sweetness emerges from that neural activity." The Hidden Connections (2002) extends the framework of systems and complexity theory to the social domain and uses the extended framework to discuss some of the critical issues of our time. In Hinduism, Shiva the Cosmic Dancer, is perhaps the most perfect personification of the dynamic universe. Through his dance, Shiva sustains the manifold phenomena in the world, unifying all things by immersing them in his rhythm and making them participate in the dance - a magnificent image of the dynamic unity of the Universe."I also really liked what Schodinger said about Consciousness: “There is no framework where we find consciousness in the plural.” And this, to me, says what the Upanishads have said about the nature of reality, “All is one,” and this is what some who have meditated have experienced— Capra reconnects this new paradigm to the theories of living and self-organizing systems that has emerged from cybernetics. Here he quotes Ilya Prigogine, Gregory Bateson, Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela (p.372 of the 1991 edition). The basic recurring theme in Hindu mythology is the creation of the world by the self-sacrifice of God—"sacrifice" in the original sense of "making sacred"—whereby God becomes the world which, in the end, becomes again God. This creative activity of the Divine is called lila, the play of God, and the world is seen as the stage of the divine play. Like most of Hindu mythology, the myth of lila has a strong magical flavour. Brahman is the great magician who transforms himself into the world and then performs this feat with his "magic creative power", which is the original meaning of maya in the Rig Veda. The word maya—one of the most important terms in Indian philosophy—has changed its meaning over the centuries. From the might, or power, of the divine actor and magician, it came to signify the psychological state of anybody under the spell of the magic play. As long as we confuse the myriad forms of the divine lila with reality, without perceiving the unity of Brahman underlying all these forms, we are under the spell of maya. (...) In the Hindu view of nature, then, all forms are relative, fluid and ever-changing maya, conjured up by the great magician of the divine play. The world of maya changes continuously, because the divine lila is a rhythmic, dynamic play. The dynamic force of the play is karma, important concept of Indian thought. Karma means "action". It is the active principle of the play, the total universe in action, where everything is dynamically connected with everything else. In the words of the Gita Karma is the force of creation, wherefrom all things have their life.”

Capra is the author of several books, including The Tao of Physics (1975), The Turning Point (1982), Uncommon Wisdom (1988), The Web of Life (1996), and The Hidden Connections (2002), and co-author of The Systems View of Life (2014). I showed the manuscript to him chapter by chapter, briefly summarizing the content of each chapter and emphasizing especially the topics related to his own work. Heisenberg was most interested in the entire manuscript and very open to hearing my ideas. I told him that I saw two basic themes running through all the theories of modern physics, which were also the two basic themes of all mystical traditions-the fundamental interrelatedness and interdependence of all phenomena and the intrinsically dynamic nature of reality. Heisenberg agreed with me as far as physics was concerned and he also told me that he was well aware of the emphasis on interconnectedness in Eastern thought. However, he had been unaware of the dynamic aspect of the Eastern world view and was intrigued when I showed him with numerous examples from my manuscript that the principal Sanskrit terms used in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy- brahman, rta, lila, karma, samsara, etc.-had dynamic connotations. At the end of my rather long presentation of the manuscript Heisenberg said simply: "Basically, I am in complete agreement with you."An Exploration of the Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism". Archived from the original on October 9, 2010 . Retrieved April 13, 2010. So what did I get out of reading Capra? Not much. He had some chapters on Hinduism and Buddhism that I understood since I had been in both religions. I saw where he was coming from in regards to his comparisons. But then Capra brought up a vague notion of karma, and I, personally, do not believe in karma. Perhaps the way he sees karma is not the way that it was taught to me by these religions, which end up sounding much like Christianity in that if you do what is wrong you will end up in some hell, and yes, Buddhism and Hinduism both have hells. I think the idea of karma developed over time, as it was not mentioned in the early Vedas that I am aware of, as I had looked, and when it finally was, it was vague. Then one day, a new Upanishad is written and, well, th Buddhists also believe in the oneness of everything, or Dharmakaya, as the way to enlightenment. This is because most of our negative feelings come from seeing ourselves as separate from the rest of the world. In The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism, a 1975 classic, Fritjof Capra attempts to answer this question. But there’s more! Einstein even discovered that matter and energy are also just two different aspects of the same reality. This is the deep meaning of his famous formula: E = mc2. Any amount of energy can be represented as a certain mass at a certain speed and vice versa.