DEPENDENT ORIGINATION AS A NATURAL GOVERNING LAW
2012; Volume: 4; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2162-2752
Autores Tópico(s)Economic Theory and Institutions
ResumoABSTRACT. The paper explains the concept of dependent origination and its place in Buddhist Dharma (teaching). Dependent origination is then described as a heuristic and discussed in relation to James Lovelock's GAIA hypothesis, the solar system, the economic system, the social environment, event phenomena and entrepreneurial opportunity, consciousness and self concept, and the ethical standpoint.Keywords: dependent origination, natural law, systems theory, emotions, consciousness, ethics, society, entrepreneurial opportunityWhen there is this, that isWith the arising of this, that arisesWhen this is not, neither is thatWith the cessation of this, that ceases-Law of Universal Nature11. IntroductionThe concept of dependent origination (paticcasamuppada)2 was developed by the spiritual teacher Siddhartha Gautama who became known as the Buddha upon enlightenment.3 The Buddha used the concept to explain a causal relationship between worldly experiences and suffering or dukkha of people through everyday life phenomenon. The Buddha 's straight forward teaching was in stark contrast to the practices of society in India at the time where people worshipped 'sacred' objects, 'supernatural ' beings, and performed rites and rituals based on superstitious beliefs. Buddha's teachings did not contain the mystical or concern itself with metaphysical issues, although he stretched the meanings that people already knew to create new meanings.4 Others superimposed esoteric teachings after his death.5 However the presence of the esoteric is part of the poetry of teachings that assists in conveying meaning within the paradigm of human consciousness at the time.6The Buddha 's revelations came at a time when his contemporaries were influenced by astronomy, where the universe was seen and explained as a linear and regular entity, with consciousness separated from the universe and the universe separated from consciousness.7 This mechanistic view of the world was expounded upon by Descartes, Newton, Weber and later Frederick Taylor in the management arena with influence lasting well into the 20th century. Since the end of the European renaissance the metaphor of science has been that of the machine with the universe being described as 'grand clockwork' where the planets spin around the sun in a predictable fashion, described by the precision of mathematics. Science reduced everything to the smallest part in the belief that if one understood the parts one would understand the whole system. Reductionism is the standard of science.8 This thinking still prevails through the means of how we live and organize ourselves, where organizational charts, job descriptions, policies, strategies, budgets, and operational plans are utilized as a means to control of the organization and environment like a machine. This has been adequate where a stable equilibrium exists, but this itself is only a myth. The predominating theories were observer based where predictable order, stability, separation from the individual, and grounded 'fixedness'' are the major characteristics.In contrast, dependent origination presented an alternative view to the world to what Descartes and company espoused. Dependent origination postulated a co-evolutionary interrelated world based on co-dependency, built upon dynamic cause and effect to create aggregate conditions, rather than the accepted 'Newtonian order' of existence.Although the philosophy of dependent origination, which is considered 'the heart' of Buddhism,9 can be applied widely, the Buddha restricted his application of the principles to the development of human nature and explanation of suffering. On metaphysical and matters of the hereafter, he was silent, thus the concepts are very vague for application for other domains. Nevertheless, the concept of dependent origination can be closely aligned with many aspects of quantum mechanics,10 systems11 and chaos theory,12 Darwinian natural selection extrapolated to a cosmic scale,13 Dawkins views about evolutionary biology,14 the Gaia hypothesis,15 and cognitive science. …
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