Taoists believe that time is cyclical rather than linear, as is believed in the west. My question is: how is this possible? I don't mean how is it possible that someone can believe this, but rather what is a good explanation of cyclical time? Does this relate to the belief that the universe has always existed, but has collapsed in on itself over and over again, only to re-expand? Can this be tied to the emerging hypotheses that it may someday be possible to see before the time of the Big Bang? When answering, please include any references that you can, and please be respectful of others. Thanks!
2007-07-13 17:36:04 · 5 answers · asked by Sarah 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Actually Taoists are not the only ones to believe in this it is very common in India, the belief of reincarnation (sort of) by class. Taoist as well as Buddhists believe that your actions in this lifetime effects your next life and its a cycle, you know the phrase what comes around goes around? There is a book by Benjamin Hoff called The Tao of Pooh, that explains the Taoists belief very well and in a humoring manner.
2007-07-13 17:41:39 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cyclical doesn't mean circular. That is where many get confused. If it were we would keep starting over. Think of a spiral. In essence both linear and cyclical are correct, at least in as much as our human thought can comprehend. A spiral turns around and moves forward. This question might be better served in the philosophy section.
2007-07-14 13:13:20 · answer #2 · answered by phil8656 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not even all the west believe time is straight linear.
Time may BE the universe; the bubble of material energy and Points of View we call the universe may exist only as Time, and perhaps there is some other or more that is NOT temporal but it is almost unimaginable for such temporal creatures as humans.
Time might be meaning, and meaning is not linear despite how much we might insist it and logic are; throughout time, meaning changes and history changes as awareness changes; there's nothing truly static. Patterns repeat, and change; they cascade; and as pattern perceiver/creators, humans are influenced and influence.
Can you show me the original face you had, before you were born, before you were conceived, before the first amino acid chains formed and started this long slow dance? If you can - you already have - you will show me someday.
2007-07-14 00:46:46 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
cyclical time means, to my understanding, that we do this all the time, whether it's an expansion or rotary, over and over, time expands and retracts along with the universe, it could mean that there are two or more types of energy flowing throughout the universe that created it, time and gravity makes vacuum of space.
fractals go on forever, they're everywhere, they can increase and decrease.
it's possible we could see before the "beginning" but it wouldn't really be the beginning. and it's not probable
trouble with science, there's always more, it's infinite, like when you get to the edge of the universe and time, you ask: now, where does this go?? like is there a wall??
2007-07-14 01:02:47 · answer #4 · answered by my ki 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are others that don't believe that time exists at all, that it is only a phenomenon of what we call "memory" and "projection" that makes time seem to exist at all. Some of those people also believe that this conscious experience is nothing more than a dream state. Its kind of like when Jesus said, "Before Abraham, I Am". Its like saying, "I existed before time even seemed to be."
2007-07-14 00:42:17 · answer #5 · answered by ineeddonothing 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋