Vinaire's Blog
Reference: Postulate Mechanics (PM)
The dimension of Substantiality may be described through infinity of sub-dimensions; but the sub-dimensions that stand out are substance, space and time.
The most obvious substance is matter. The smallest particle of matter is called an atom. An atom has volume, which determines its space. An atom also has a duration, which determines its time. Therefore, substance (atom), space (volume), and time (duration) are intimately related to each other, though we may study them separately.
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Atom is a good place to start because it contains the whole spectrum of substance, which is matter, energy and thought.
The real matter is the most concentrated form of substance that constitutes the nucleus of the atom. It is extremely dense, small and rigid. We may call it ‘solid substance.’
Much less concentrated form of substance constitutes the rest of the atom. It is made of electrons that are quite fluid and not that rigid. Since they have motion, we may associate them with energy. We may call this electronic region to be made up of ‘liquid substance.’
The interatomic space is filled with least concentrated form of substance, which is referred to as radiation. It is made of quanta that is extremely fluid and has extreme motion. We definitely associate radiation with energy. We may call this interatomic region to be filled with ‘gaseous substance.’
The atomic model is the result of a large number of experiments. This model is consistent in itself as well as with all the experimental observations. We associate this model with thought. We may call it the ‘mental substance’ of atom.
Thus, in atom we find the whole spectrum of substance from matter to energy to thought.
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The atom occupies space; therefore, it has a volume. The volume is filled with substance of the atom. Substance and space go hand in hand.
The solid substance of the nucleus occupies a very small volume as it is very concentrated. This is the real form of matter. The liquid electronic substance that fills rest of the atom is much less concentrated and it has a much larger volume. The gaseous radiative substance that fills interatomic region is the least concentrated and it has the largest volume.
The space occupied by substance seems to increase as the concentration of substance decreases. Therefore, energy occupies much greater space than matter because it is much less concentrated.
“Empty space” is empty of matter only. It is not empty of energy. We measure empty space as if we are measuring space filled with matter. This is an anomaly. This anomaly is addressed to some degree by the theory of relativity; but it still needs to be resolved fully. There is also space filled by the mental substance of thought.
Space is actually an extension of substance. Space cannot exist in the absence of substance.
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The stars, the sun, the moon, and the planets appear to be existing forever. Their permanent endurance seems to provide us with the background of infinite time. Against this background we see things moving and changing, that have lesser duration or time.
As the thickness of the substance changes from matter to energy, we observe not only increase volume but also increased motion. Increasing motion means that the substance is less fixed in space. In other words, it has lesser duration. Energy has much less time (duration) than matter.
Thought or mental substance also has varying durations, or time. For example, fixed ideas and beliefs have very long durations. In comparison, general attention of a person has much less duration.
Time shows how dynamic a substance is due to variation in duration. Time cannot exist in the absence of substance.
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We encounter substantiality all over the place in the universe. Substance has extents (space) and duration (time). Space and time vary in their characteristics as the thickness of substance varies from matter to energy to thought.
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Reference: Postulate Mechanics (PM)
The subject of infinity covers the whole universe, all its dimensions, and all the measures that make up those dimensions. Religion and philosophy attribute infinite substance and infinite space not only to universe but also to divinity. Thus Divinity (God) is identified with the notion of infinity.
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Anaximander (6th century BCE) was the first to associate infinity with substance. He proposed a primordial infinite substance from which all things arise and to which they return. Descartes (1596–1650) argued that only God qualifies as true substance because God alone exists independently of everything else. For Spinoza (1632–1677): God = the one infinite substance = the universe itself. He viewed God as nature. Leibniz (1646–1716) similarly said, created substances depend on God, who “conserves them and produces them continuously by a kind of emanation”.
Postulate Mechanics defines substance as anything substantial enough to be sensed. The universe is sensed as matter, energy and thought. At the highest level of thought we have postulates. From these postulates proceed reasoning and reality. These postulates are considered to be the domain of divine.
Divine is considered to be a higher existence beyond ordinary human life. When we are dealing with divine, or God, we are actually dealing with the level of postulates.
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Space is where infinity is most immediately apparent and perplexing to human understanding. Archytas (4th century BCE) argued the world is unbounded/infinite because if bounded, one could extend a hand beyond its edge. Aristotle moved the concept away from substance toward magnitudes (continuous quantities like space, time, and numbers), where infinity applies first to measurable extensions rather than to a primordial substance itself.
Descartes saw substance as occupying space. For Spinoza too, space was one with substance. Space was not seen as something separate from substance. Newton (1642–1726) identified physical space with infinite Euclidean space—flat, absolute, and infinitely extended in all directions.
Postulate Mechanics looks at space as an aspect of substance. It is the extent of substance that we see as space. Substance changes in its nature from matter to energy to thought, and so does the space. Without substance there are no extents and no space.
What we regard as “void”, to be sensed, must be occupied by rarest of substances, such as thought. You cannot think of void without the thought of void. The limits to void shall be provided by the limits to thought. Here we find the divinity, the gods, the selves, etc.
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Infinity is the concept of something that is boundless, limitless, or endless—it has no endpoint and goes on forever. It is denoted by the symbol ∞ (a sideways 8), invented by mathematician John Wallis.
Infinity is basically a postulate that is applied to the universe and to its characteristic dimensions, such as, substantiality (substance, space, time, etc), awareness (divinity. God, Self, etc.), and oneness (nature, natural laws, knowledge, wisdom, etc.).
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Reference: Postulate Mechanics (PM)
The concepts of soul, thetan and atman imply that there is an aspect of “I” that does not change because it is permanent and eternal. There is an assumption that the “I”, which existed in some past life incident is the same “I” that exists now.
It is quite possible that the impression of some incident experienced by an ancestor has been passed down to us through DNA. When that impression is activated by us, and we re-experience it, we confuse the “I” in that incident to be the current “I” re-experiencing that incident.
The Doctrine of No-Soul: Anatta points out the falsity of this assumption that there is an aspect of “I” that is permanent and outlasts the death of a person.
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The “I” is sensed as the thinker of thoughts, feeler of sensations, and receiver of rewards and punishments for all its actions good and bad. This sense seems to be generated with the body. It implies individuality.
There is no doubt that this sense of “I” is there. It produces harmful thoughts of ‘me’ and ‘mine’, selfish desire, craving, attachment, hatred, ill-will, conceit, pride, egoism, and other defilements, impurities and problems. It is the source of all the troubles in the world from personal conflicts to wars between nations. But, there is no evidence that this sense of individuality continues after the death of the body.
A newly born baby has its own sense of “I”. Of course, this sense may get built to some degree through DNA inheritance. It may also get conditioned by its home and social environment. But it also retains its own individual characteristics. There is definitely a contagion of aberration, so the evil in the world continues from one generation to the next. But there is no evidence of a permanent “I” that continues from one life to the next.
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A parent’s life experiences can influence gene expression in the next generation by altering epigenetic marks in germ cells and the developmental environment, which then changes how the offspring’s genes are read—without changing the underlying DNA sequence. This affects stress hormone signaling, metabolic pathways, brain circuits for fear, anxiety, and reward, and Immune system regulation. Such effects can persist for multiple generations. A large part of “inherited trauma” or family patterns comes from behavioral, cultural, and environmental transmission, not just epigenetics.
Addressing traumas is the area of Dianetics, which claims that the earliest trauma can occur during the gestation period in the womb or in the process of birth. Traumatic impressions passed through epigenetics have also been discovered in Dianetics. All such impressions influence the sense of “I”.
This is consistent with the notion of karmic influences that are said to dissipate automatically after several generations. But none of that provides the proof for the individual “I” being eternal.
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According to Buddha, the idea of self-preservation is psychologically deep-rooted in a person. So, the idea of an immortal Soul or Atman, which will live eternally, is very attractive to him. In his ignorance, weakness, fear, and desire, he needs this belief to console himself.
As one engages with the process of “neti, neti” it becomes quite obvious that the notion of soul, thetan or Atman being eternal is just a postulate.
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According to Buddha’s teaching, the individual is composed of the Five Aggregates: matter, sensations, perceptions, mental formations and consciousness. There is nothing behind them which can be taken as “I”, Atman, or Self, or any unchanging abiding substance. Furthermore, everything is conditioned, relative, and interdependent, and nothing in the world is absolute. Accordingly, the idea of self or being, is useful by convention only; but not in reality or substance.
No doubt, we are aware of substantiality. The substantiality constitutes of matter, energy and thought. Awareness does not lie in the dimension of substantiality, because awareness is looking at substantiality. Awareness is its own dimension. In that dimension there is no substantiality of individuality. There is no introversion.
For example, when one is looking at something, there is a subject and an object. The dimension of object is substantiality. The dimension of subject is awareness. These two dimensions are independent of each other. The sense of individuality and introversion arises only when there is an identification of awareness with something in the dimension of substantiality.
Enlightenment occurs when one becomes aware of the specific identification. One then realizes how one has been mocking up, or postulating, the “I”.
This is the beginning of Nirvana.
As one continues to realize other identifications by clearing up misconceptions about the universe, Nirvana expands.
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Reference: Postulate Mechanics (PM)
Buddha’s Four Noble Truth’s, that were announced to the world about 2500 years ago, have had a wonderful effect of bringing civilization to the world. Today, we need to revisit these truths and see how they can be applied more effectively under present conditions.
According to Buddha, one must let go of attachments, greed, and delusion in order to eliminate the cause of suffering. But this is increasingly becoming difficult in today’s societies because of misconceptions. This primary misconception is the view one has of “I” that is suffering.
In this paper we examine the concept of “I” following the process of “Neti, neti.”
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In Abrahamic Religions, a person views himself as the eternal soul. When applying the process of “neti, neti,” I look at “What is this thing called soul?” “Do I fully understand the nature of soul?” “Am I this soul that I am thinking about?”
The concept of soul started as a life‑principle, something that animates the body and departs at death. it was closely linked to breath. In the Hebrew Bible, the soul (nephesh) primarily means a living being, life, or throat/breath, not an inherently separable, immortal inner entity. In Christianity, a more dualistic model takes hold: humans are mortal bodies plus immortal souls, and death is seen as the separation of soul from body, destined for resurrection and judgment. Islamic thought affirms that God creates each human soul and “breathes” it into the body. A widely held traditional view is that the soul enters the fetus around 120 days after conception.
Here soul is defined as an entity that exists separate from the body and gives life to the body. Thus, there are individual souls that are created by God; but, once created, these souls exist eternally without disappearing. This idea of soul basically originates from the phenomena of life and death. It is a postulate, or assumption, that tries to explain life and death.
Am I this concept of soul as described above? According to “neti, neti,” I am not. If I am not a soul, then who am I?
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In Scientology, a person views himself as an eternal thetan. A thetan is different from soul in the sense that a person may say that he has a soul; but he cannot say that he has a thetan, because he is the thetan. This difference between soul and thetan is a big deal in Scientology.
Scientology defines thetan as the awareness of awareness unit which has all potentialities but no mass, no wave-length and no location. It is the being who is the individual and who handles and lives in the body. A thetan has no time or location in space except by consideration or postulate. The thetan is not a thing; it is the creator of things. Scientology does not teach that the thetan was “created” by something else; rather, thetans are taken to be beginningless, immortal spiritual beings that either always existed or, in some accounts, “willed themselves into existence” and then collectively created the universe.
The concept of thetan was put forth by L. Ron Hubbard to explain the source of life and life itself. Is the individuality of the thetan another identity? Scientology does not venture further into this area.
Am I this concept of thetan as described above? According to “neti, neti,” I am not. If I am not a thetan, then who am I?
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In Eastern religions, Atman is the universal divine essence, or pure consciousness, which is not identified with anything in the universe. It does not have any individuality. However, Atman reduces to jivatman as it identifies with its postulates and considerations, and accumulates karma (unsettled action).
Jivātman (or Jīva) is the individual representing the conscious life force that inhabits a physical body. Jivatman is essentially wrapped up in a bundle of karma (identifications). As jivatman resolves the karma, it rises in consciousness to Atman.
Upon death of a body, the bundle of karma continues as genetic programming in other bodies, where it is activated by the jivatman of those bodies. If a person thinks that he is that jivatman, he is basically identifying with karma.
The idea of “reincarnation” has to do with the continuation of karma that the “I” is identifying with. There is no more “reincarnation” when all karma is resolved.
Am I this karma or the jivatman? According to “neti, neti,” I am not.
Am I this Atman? Certainly not as an individuality, because Atman does not have any individuality. Now we are looking at an anomaly and a misconception.
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Buddha was the first to call out the anomaly of Atman. This shall be taken up in the next chapter.
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Reference: Postulate Mechanics (PM)
According to its postulates, the universe is ought to be something wonderful. But, unfortunately, it is not.
The First Noble Truth of Buddhism is the existence of Dukkha, which asserts that life inherently contains unsatisfactoriness, pain, and instability. It is not a pessimistic view, but a realistic observation that birth, aging, sickness, death, and not getting what one wants are inescapable forms of suffering.
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The Second Noble Truth states that the cause of suffering (dukkha) is craving, desire, or thirst. It teaches that suffering arises from internal mental reactions—specifically craving pleasurable sensations, continued existence, or cessation of experience—rather than just external events. Postulate Mechanics agrees with Buddhism that suffering arises from internal mental reactions; but it looks further into the cause of those reactions.
The Third Noble Truth states that the cessation of suffering (dukkha) is possible by eliminating its cause, which is craving (tanha). It asserts that by letting go of attachments, greed, and delusion, one can achieve freedom, peace, and ultimate happiness, known as Nirvana. Postulate Mechanics observes that letting go of attachments, greed, and delusion is the right goal, but it has been difficult to attain, because the actual cause goes deeper.
The Fourth Noble Truth is the “Path to the Cessation of Suffering,” which prescribes a “Middle Way” balancing moderation with mental discipline, offering a guide for ethical living, mindfulness, and wisdom to achieve liberation. Postulate Mechanics observes that this path has been difficult to follow because of misconceptions.
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The primary misconception is not having a proper understanding of that, which is suffering, or that, which needs to be liberated. We all think that “I am suffering.” But who or what is this “I”?
This “I” is the individuality. This individuality is identifying itself with the phenomena of the universe originating from some postulate and considerations. But, the individuality is not aware that it is identifying. Even when aware, it does not know what it is identifying with.
This brings us to the ultimate enquiry conducted as, “Neti, neti”; that is, “I am not this, I am not that.” By eliminating what I am not, I, ultimately, come to realize what I am.
It is easy to theorize that I must be pure awareness because I am not what I postulate or consider to be; but, it actually requires going through the process of “neti, neti” to realize that.
As part of this process, I look at something carefully and ask myself, “Am I this _____? What is this _____ anyway? Do I fully understand the nature of this _____?” Only after understanding this _____ fully, can I say with certainty that I am not this _____.
I peel off the layers of matter, energy and thought to finally arrive at the underlying postulate, and see if I am that or not.
Only then, may be sooner than later, I may come to realize what pure awareness is like!
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