Further Thoughts

It's so great to find partners in conversation! A further few thoughts:

To suggest the profound importance of an ever-emergent universe to our understanding of the spiritual journey, here is the view of esteemed teacher Thich Nhat Han in his book, "The Heart of Buddha's Teachings." Here he describes the emergent nature of our universe as “Interdependent Co-Arising."

"The teaching of Interdependent Co-Arising is indeed deep and subtle. Anyone who is able to see the nature of Interdependent Co-Arising is able to see the Buddha. .... All teachings of Buddhism are based on Interdependent Co-Arising. If a teaching is not in accord with Interdependent Co-Arising, it is not a teaching of the Buddha. (pp. 225-226).

This is a very emphatic and direct statement and emerges again and again in the world's wisdom traditions:

“God is creating the entire universe, fully and totally, in this present now. Everything God created . . . God creates now all at once”

    –Meister Eckhart, Christian mystic

“My solemn proclamation is that a new universe is created every moment.”

    –D.T. Suzuki, Zen Buddhist

“Every moment the world is renewed but we, in seeing its continuity of appearance, are unaware of its being renewed.”

    –Rumi, Persian poet and Sufi

The Tao is the sustaining life force and the “Mother of the Universe;” from it, all things “rise and fall without cease.”

    –Taoist thought

And yet, it is still largely overlooked given our "horizontal" or "evolutionary" orientation. This is not to discount the value and importance of an evolutionary perspective; rather, it is to appreciate it within the context of an every arising universe. These are nested and not conflicting realities.

I hope these comments serve the inquiry.