(Clearwisdom.net) People who are interested in scientific developments in China have often asked, "Why did technology in China in modern times become stagnant even though science in China had once made magnificent achievements? Why didn't Western natural science appear in China in modern times? This is the famous "Joseph Needham's Grand Question." (Joseph Needham was a highly regarded biochemist and chemical embryologist in his early career. He was from England, and was said to be a living legend, and also a classicist, master of several languages, historian of science, philosopher of religion, and a well-respected Sinologist noted for his monumental work, Science and Civilization in China)
To answer this question, one must have a deep understanding of China's ancient culture, science and technology. It is important to understand the magnificence of China's ancient science and the fundamental differences that set China's ancient science and Western modern sciences apart. China's ancient science shall flourish again, along with the renaissance of orthodox Chinese culture.
1. "One's Mindset Makes All the Difference"The universe, time and space and the plethora of life forms are shrouded in countless mysteries. How do we explore them?
Zhang Heng, inventor of the world's first seismometer and water-powered armillary sphere lived during the Han Dynasty. He was also a mathematician, astrophysicist and literary scholar. A kind and modest man, he emphasized morality. He said, "One does not need to worry about his lowly social status, but rather his low moral standard."
Why did Zhang Heng attach such importance to morality? What is the relationship between morality and scientific studies? Let us start with a simple illustration from everyday life.
If you store money or valuables in a safe, wouldn't anyone who wants access to the safe obtain your approval first? Likewise, every government has its political, economic and military secrets that it guards from the general public. It is as if these things don't exist for common people. Only qualified special personnel can legitimately view classified documents. These people must be trustworthy and must stay loyal to their country to be allowed knowledge of state secrets.
Mysteries of the cosmos are more wondrous and profound than state secrets, and not everyone is able to comprehend them. One needs a key to be able to access the universal truths.
If gods created everything in the universe, then to explore the deep secrets of the universe, one must believe in and revere gods. One must conduct oneself according to the gods' commandments, take fame and fortune lightly, and improve one's moral levels. Then the gods may choose to reveal their secrets to those who have earned it. "Cultivation of mind" is the prerequisite and foundation for such exploration. Throughout Chinese history, scientists were first of all men of high moral standards who had extraordinary wisdom and abilities. In addition, wise masters taught them occult and systematic methods.
China's ancient scientists conducted themselves according to the will of the gods, and continued to raise their moral standards throughout their careers. They were either cultivators or people of high morals, so gods revealed to them secrets of the universe from different space-times. The higher their moral standards, the more secrets the gods revealed to them. Considering this, we can see why cultivation is the essence of orthodox Chinese culture and why China's ancient society emphasized cultivation of body and mind. Cultivation is also based on profound scientific principles. These are the fundamental reasons why ancient China had a glorious civilization.
Nowadays people might say, "I don't believe in gods. Where is god?" What is the relationship between belief in god and moral principles? The relationship is indeed significant. One who does not believe in gods and does not cultivate himself is not allowed to see gods or know secrets of the universe. Just as classified state secrets are out of reach for common citizens, secrets about gods and the universe are too. If people wish to explore the universe, they must first change their way of thinking.
People these days cannot understand the reason for moral discipline and other related spiritual ideas from ancient texts. They deem it too difficult to grasp, and they think it serves little practical purpose. They even ask, "How much is one pound of morality worth?" The Greek philosopher Socrates said the goal of philosophy is not to understand nature but to understand oneself, or one's mind, which is consistent with Eastern philosophy in essence. Nevertheless, modern science only studies the [outward] nature but fails to understand oneself or the great role of the mind and spirituality.
Modern science emerged at a time when mankind's morals as a whole were declining. The development of modern society was accompanied by the pursuit of material interests and exploitation, which further contributed to the moral degeneration. Gods only reveal the secrets and truths of the universe to those who believe in gods and have high morals. Modern science does not acknowledge gods and even slanders gods. It does not acknowledge the role of morals and even ruins the moral standards. As a result, people's minds have been blinded. No matter how advanced equipment might be, or how grand the research fund, the gate toward deep-level truths of the universe remains locked in the face of modern science. Just as a traitor is no longer allowed knowledge of state secrets, people whose hearts and minds have been blinded by loss of belief in gods and have given in to moral decline are not allowed to know the secrets of the universe. People merely know some superficial phenomena about life and the universe, and draw conclusions from incomplete and limited information.
2. Why China's Ancient Science Did Not Use Quantitative Analysis Like Modern ScienceHaving some understanding of China's ancient science, it would not be difficult to accept the following statement: Chinese science did not use quantitative analysis like modern science does, thus the results it produces are significantly different.
Modern science emerged after the majority of mankind had rejected gods' existence, therefore the gods stopped displaying secrets of the universe to people. We are all familiar with the story of the blind man and the elephant. The blind man, using his sense of touch, felt one part of the elephant (the trunk for example), and claimed the elephant was a giraffe. Is the blind man wiser than a normal person? Is the result of the blind man's deduction more precise than what a person with normal vision sees? Obviously it is not.
People with normal eyesight would see clearly the entire elephant without having to touch it. Western science takes a similar approach to the blind man, by relying on equipment and technology to conduct research. What the equipment can detect resembles what the blind man can feel. Scientists are required to decipher or explain the signals the equipment picks up. A tool is necessary to translate the signals that the equipment detected into a message or form that man can understand. Modern math and logical analysis are used as translation tools by scientists to interpret abstract data. The quantitative analysis of modern science provides an explanation or puts forth a hypothesis (guess). Many important factors may have been filtered out or distorted in the process of investigation, but scientists may not be aware of it. Because of their limitations, the equipment can only detect very superficial things - it has no way to determine the deeper secrets of the universe.
People with blind minds will judge everything with the rigid rules of modern science, and when it comes to Chinese ancient science, they will never understand it.
China's ancient science took a shortcut in its investigation of life, nature and the universe, therefore gods revealed many secrets of the universe to the people of that time. What people now think are supernatural abilities, are in fact people's innate abilities that emerge when people's moral standards are high enough. Therefore, it is a given that China's ancient scientists possessed what we now consider supernatural abilities.
There are still people with good inborn qualities, especially children, who are innocent and kind, and they have certain abilities. As they grow older, their minds are constantly polluted, and as a result their abilities gradually disappear. The fact that modern people do not believe in supernatural abilities is the result of brainwashing with atheism and the effect of moral degeneration.
Outstanding scientists in ancient China developed abilities such as the Celestial Eye that would let them see into other dimensions. Since they cultivated their minds and souls, they could explore the secrets of the universe, time-space and life. The outstanding scientists (or cultivators) constantly raised their moral standards and realms. With the rise in their moral standards, their abilities to interpret human ills constantly improved as well. This resulted in their being able to demystify more and more secrets about life and the universe. This was actually a process of the gods revealing more truths to them. China's ancient scientists explored matters directly using their own supernatural abilities, and without the "middleman" of modern experimental science. Therefore, they had no need for any "translation," and no need for logical proof, as modern experimental science requires.
Sun Simiao, a great medical expert during the Tang Dynasty, was a Taoist. He had supernatural abilities and could see directly the source of illness in other dimensions. That made him an extraordinary doctor. Posterity still respects his emphasis on moral standards.
Zhang Heng during the Han Dynasty invented the armillary sphere (a model of the celestial sphere) and the world's first seismometer device. Modern people cannot figure out how he "designed" this equipment. The reason is that he utilized divine powers acquired via diligent self-cultivation to see things in other dimensions, which he then reproduced in the human dimension. In other words, Zhang Heng was a good person with high moral standards, thus certain secrets of the universe were revealed to him. He did not need quantitative measurements, analysis or design to invent this equipment.
The current separation between man and the equipment he uses to investigate matters is the result of a regression of man's innate supernormal abilities. Modern science really is like the blind man touching the elephant.
China's ancient science took a path of low cost and high efficiency. The science helped to maintain morality and preserve the natural environment. It was a path arranged by gods. Modern science takes the path of high cost and low efficiency which also corrupts human morals and destroys the natural environment. It is a self-destructive path completely against the will of the gods.
3. Passing Down China's Ancient Science
Why did such a glorious ancient science disappear in contemporary times?
It has already been mentioned that scientists in ancient China required high moral standards. People at that time as a whole were able to achieve a harmonious co-existence with society and nature, thus they benefited from numerous scientific advances. Generations of extraordinary scientists lived in China. The science they practiced contained systematic theories and practices, but unlike modern scientific methods, it could not be passed down to just anyone due to its moral requirement. Scientists today can only learn knowledge and methods. It can merely scratch the surface of the secrets of universe once known to ancient Chinese scientists.
Orthodox Chinese culture has a prerequisite of reverence toward gods and heavens. Scientists needed to improve their moral discipline, and the entire society respected moral values. The trends in the society were simple and honorable, and the social conventions were good. China's ancient science was passed down in that kind of society. Later, as atheism penetrated the society's culture, the precious ancient medicine's lineage became very selective and prudent. Doctors would rather not pass down the knowledge than pass it to a person with low morals, including their own children. Chinese would rather lack than overflow. Many good things are now buried in the grave, and the essence of Chinese ancient science was lost in the society.
The current society is what Shakyamuni (the Buddha) called "The end of the Dharma," which means people are no longer restrained by the laws of their conscience, and morality plunges at a frightfully rapid speed. After the takeover by the Communist Party in China, the Party destroyed traditional culture along with Chinese people's belief in gods. It labeled the most essential part of Chinese culture "superstition." Atheism and moral decline quickly corroded the minds and spirits of the Chinese people. Communist Party propaganda and blind worship of Western science turned Chinese people into true "spiritually blind men." They changed from heavenly dragons to shortsighted persons. Modern people with narrow views can never understand the realm of heavenly dragons, therefore they cannot grasp the essence of the glorious Chinese civilization.
4. The Significance of Letting Mind and Spirit Regain InsightThe difference between Chinese ancient science and Western science is the difference between heavenly dragons and frogs in the well. They are on an entirely different level of thought and potency. To get away from the erroneous zone of modern science and bring back the glory of Chinese civilization, people's beliefs must be restored and morality must be rebuilt--the orthodox Chinese culture that was passed down by gods will then go through a renaissance. This is why we should bring about a renaissance of Chinese culture also from a scientific perspective.
Few people understand the concept of bringing about a renaissance of Chinese traditional culture. To help understand this issue, we must first wipe away the dust covering people's minds and scrub off the demonic culture the Communist Party has forced upon the Chinese people. Let people emphasize morality and practice kindness, and then their minds and spirits will regain insight, never again to be "spiritually blind men."
Purification of the soul is actually the current celestial phenomenon, as the history books predicted. The ancient Mayans who lived in America had a prophecy that the years 1992 to 2012 would be a renewal period for Earth. Earth and mankind would be cleansed by energy from the center of the Milky Way and people's minds and spirits would be uplifted and cleansed.
Whether or not we are willing to admit it, Falun Gong and its dissemination around the world is guiding the cleansing of people's minds. The wisdom contained in Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance rectifies people's minds, improves their morality and purifies their souls. Since it is a "renewal," purification is accompanied by elimination--the historically predicted rooting out of morally corrupt people.
The process of spiritual purification and moral ascension also involves bringing about a renaissance of Chinese ancient culture and science.
Category: Perspective
