Edgar, I don't know if you know it or not (I have always assumed you do) that the vast majority of the questions you ask or comments you make seem to be attempts to 'rationalize' Buddha Nature - that is to 'explain' them or 'fit them into' a rational, logical structure such as "evolutionary theory or evolutionary psychology". That can't be done; or at least can't be done without forcing Buddha Nature into some logical mold which just doesn't fit. In trying to do so you would invariable lose a lot of Buddha Nature and the result would be incomplete at best and detrimentally misleading at worst.
This is why (and I know you know this!) the historical zen masters responded to questions such as yours with non-rational responses. I guess the best answer I can give to your question is 'I don't know', and could quickly follow that with 'I don't care'. The zen I practice does not focus on 'why' or 'how', as does rationality and especially science', it focuses on only 'what' - as in Just THIS! and Now. 'Why' and 'how' are squarely in the realm of rationality (illusions/maya) and not Buddha Nature. My best ATTEMPT at rationalizing an answer to your question would go something like: 'When life came into existence (and I don't know why or how that happened) some life forms (maybe ALL life forms) developed sentient-ness - the ability to be aware. This for me IS Buddha Nature. This is 'what', not 'why' or 'how'. Later on (in my rationalized theory) some sentient beings also developed rationality which is based on dualism. I can rationally assume that the quality of rationality enhanced their ability to survive and procreate. Okay? ...Bill! --- In [email protected], "ED" <seacrofter001@...> wrote: > > > > Edgar, > > As per evolutionary theory or evolutionary psychology, how could buddha > nature have come to be? > > --ED > > > > --- In [email protected], "Bill!" <BillSmart@> wrote: > > > > I think in the very distant past what we now call 'awareness of Buddha > Nature' was the norm. As human intellect developed and we as a species > became more and more dependent and attached to our rational abilities > the awareness of Buddha Nature was more and more obscured over time. > What Siddhartha Buddha did (as the story goes) was to wipe away this > obscuration revealing (re-revealing really) Buddha Nature which was > there all the time. > ------------------------------------ Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
