Some things about Space Life (part 5)

This post analyzes the Space Life episodes of the second series, "The Captain's Diary", specifically: Mind control, Presence in reality, Impermanence, Non-attachment.

In these episodes Tom finds himself in the Beagle without AL and tries to apply strategies that he seems to have learned during his training.

Tom's version of Buddhism appears to be devoid of any theology. It is pure psychology. These techniques are drawn from the original teachings of the Buddha.

To deduce the original teaching of the Buddha from the enormous Buddhist literature is not an easy task.(1) 

There are three main canons (traditions): Pali, Chinese and Tibetan, in their respective languages. The Pali canon is the oldest and therefore should be the most reliable. (2)

But it too was written long after Siddhartha's death: over two centuries. (3)

It is therefore likely that the discourses attributed to the Buddha have been partly reworked, partly even invented. They are collected in the Suttapitaka, one of the three parts into which the Pâli Canon is divided, called Tripitaka ("three baskets"). (4)

The three canons are different from each other and attribute different expressions to the Buddha. But there are two statements, which are reported by all the Canons: the Four Noble Truths and the Eight Noble Ways.

Since the Four Noble Truths and the Eight Noble Paths constitute the essence of Buddhism and describe the practice to which we must apply in order to realize Buddhahood, it is necessary to clarify and deepen what they consist of. Let's start by examining the Four Noble Truths.

The Four Noble Truths speak of suffering. 

They are statements regarding:

1.  the spread of suffering;
2.   its cause;
3.   the means of its extinction;
4.   the modalities of its extinction;

1.  the existence of suffering by ascertaining the spread of suffering
2. the cause of suffering identification of the cause of suffering: ignorance of the impermanence of reality
3.  the extinction of suffering indication of the means to extinguish suffering: Awareness of the impermanence of reality
4.  the path that leads to the extinction of suffering methods of extinction of suffering: practice of the eight noble paths

The Four Noble Truths form the premise of Buddhism. They claim that suffering is very widespread, that it is due to an erroneous view of reality, which can be eliminated through a correct view of reality, which can be achieved and maintained with the practice of the Eight Noble Paths.

Summarizing, looking at their essence, we can enunciate the Eight Noble Paths as follows.

1.  right knowledge awareness of the continuous change and interdependence of things (enlightenment) and therefore not attachment
2.  right thinking elimination of negative involuntary thinking and production of positive voluntary thinking
3.  right speech (secondary as it is not a psychological but a moral precept)
4.  right action (secondary as it is not a psychological but a moral precept)
5.  just means of subsistence (secondary as it is not a psychological but a moral precept)
6.  right effort will to implement the right concentration (secondary as implied)
7.  right awareness, attention to reality and interaction with it
8.  right concentration detached observation of the mind

The first goal is awareness of change. Non-attachment is the second goal. the second goal is non-attachment we have seen that the second noble path, right thinking, consists in the elimination of negative involuntary thinking and in the construction of positive voluntary thinking and that the eighth noble path, right concentration, consists in observation detached from the mind. but both of these actions actually effect mind control. mind control is therefore the third goal. the third goal is mind control, the fourth goal is presence in reality.

But there is another goal to be achieved in order to truly reach the state of Buddhahood: universal love. The Buddha himself names universal love in relation to Right Thought, indicating that universal love is the mental dimension of the buddha.

As Tom ultimately shows us, the practice proposed by the Buddha consists in realizing five powers that each of us already possesses but simply does not use. They are: mind control, presence in reality, awareness of change, non-attachment, universal love.

We have seen how the realization of these five powers actually constitutes the original teaching of the Buddha.

Tom during his time in solitude is trying to reach them. We guess this from his diary. After talking to us about the fourth estate, AL comes back ...

Science fiction has often included Buddhist themes in various novels and short stories, some of the most famous are (5):

Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny: (1967) Buddha (Sam) fights the Hindi pantheon in a future where humans use their technology to take on the role of gods and rulers. Lord of Light (1967) received the 1968 Hugo Award for Best Novel and nominated for a Nebula Award in the same category. Two chapters of the novel were published as novels in the fantasy and science fiction magazine in 1967.

The context of the novel - modern Western characters in a world steeped in Hindu-Buddhist - is reflected in the opening lines of the book:

"His followers called him Mahasamatman and said he was a god. He preferred to abandon the Maha- and -atman, however, and called himself Sam. He never claimed to be a god, but then he never claimed that he was not. a God ."

Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson is more of an alternate story about a world where Western Europe and Christianity are swept away by the Black Death and the world is dominated by the other three religions of the world: Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism.

Hyperion (1989) by Dan Simmons has Buddhist artificial intelligence. Hyperion is a Hugo Award-winning science fiction novel by American writer Dan Simmons. It is the first book of his Hyperion Cantos. The novel's plot features multiple timelines and characters. This book is followed by the 1990 science fiction novel The Fall of Hyperion.

The Long Earth has Buddhist themes. The book is mainly about the journey of Joshua Valienté (a natural 'Stepper') and Lobsang, who claims to be a Tibetan motorcycle repairer reincarnated in an artificial intelligence. The two chart a path to learn as much as possible about parallel worlds, traveling millions of steps from the original Earth. They encounter evidence of other humanoid species (referred to as trolls and elves); of human settlers who learned their gifts early, including Sally Linsay, daughter of the stepper's inventor, who joins them on their expedition; and an extinct race of descendants of bipedal dinosaurs. They also encounter warning signs of great danger, to millions of worlds away from "our" Earth, causing catastrophe as it moves.

Victor Olegovich Pelevin (Russian, born 1962) is a Russian fiction writer, author of novels Omon Ra, Chapayev and Void and Generation P. His books are multi-layered postmodern texts that blend elements of pop culture and esoteric philosophies while bringing conventions of the science fiction genre.

Robert Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land is very philosophical. The story focuses on a human being raised on Mars and his adaptation and understanding of humans and their culture. It is set in the post-WWII United States, where organized religions are politically powerful. There is a World Federation of Free Nations, including the demilitarized United States, with a world government supported by Special Service troops.

A central element of the second half of the novel is the religious movement founded by Smith, the "Church of all worlds", an initiatory mystery religion that blends elements of paganism and revivalism with psychic training and education in the Martian language. In 1968, Oberon Zell-Ravenheart (then Tim Zell) founded the Church of All Worlds, a neo-pagan religious organization modeled in many ways on the fictional organization of the novel. This spiritual path included several ideas from the book, including polyamory, non-traditional family structures, social libertarianism, water-sharing rituals, acceptance of all religious paths by a single tradition, and the use of different terms such as " grok "," You are God "and" Never thirsty ". Although Heinlein was neither a member nor a promoter of the Church, he was trained by including frequent correspondence between Zell and Heinlein, and was a paid subscriber to their Green Egg magazine. This Church still exists as a 501 (c) (3) recognized religious organization incorporated in California, with members worldwide, and remains an active part of the neo-pagan community today.

Ramez Naam’s Nexus Trilogy has Buddhist themes. The Nexus Trilogy is a cyberpunk thriller novel trilogy written by American author Ramez Naam and published between 2012-2015. The novel series follows the protagonist Kaden Lane, a scientist who works on an experimental nano-drug, Nexus, which allows the brain to be programmed and networked, connecting human minds together. As he pursues his work, he becomes entangled in government and corporate intrigue. The story takes place in the year 2040.

John Burdett, author of Bangkok 8, (born 24 July 1951) is a British crime novelist. He is the bestselling author of Bangkok 8 and its sequels, Bangkok Tattoo, Bangkok Haunts,The Godfather of Kathmandu, and Vulture Peak. His most recent novel in this series, The Bangkok Asset, was published on 4 August 2015. The Bangkok series and related novels are crime noir novels, not science fiction. But they are set in Buddhist cultures with Buddhist themes.

Note and reference

(1) E. Conze, Buddhist Scriptures, 1959

(2) The Pali language was the spoken language (popular version of Sanskrit) in the region where the Buddha lived: hence the one he actually used. He will take this Canon, universally recognized as the most reliable, as the source for the citations.

(3) Just between the second and third councils held by the Buddhist community respectively at Vesali in 340 BC. and in Pataliputta in 246 BC.

(4)The other two parts are the Vinayapitaka, which concerns the rules of conduct of the monks, and the Abhidhammapitaka, which expounds the doctrine (understood as theory).

(5)from engagementharma.net

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