Mysteries of Life  <Ref-1*>

According to current knowledge of modern science, the Universe we know today was "emerged" from a small "origin point" during an explosion known as Big Bang some 15 billions years ago. Hence those who are curious may ask a series of questions:

What was/were the states prior to 15 billions years ago?

Why there was this Big Bang that created the current Universe?

How lives emerged from lifeless matters?   (Fig 1) 

How consciousness of living things was formed?

What lies beyond death (1/3)?   (Fig 2)   (2/3)   (3/3)

So far, to modern science, these fundamental questions of existence are unsolved mysteries of life. Therefore what will be described in this article are merely some of my personal views.

What was/were the states prior to 15 billions years ago?

Nothingness? An infinite unknown past? An infinite series of Big Bang and Big Crunch (i.e. the reverse of Big Bang where Universe collapsed back to "origin point") in which the Universe was reincarnated periodically? An Original State where there is no starting and ending (thus the current Universe is part of this Original State?)? Other dimensional time-space of existence? A state for super-natural beings such as Creators or Gods? etc. etc. etc...?

After self-reflection (either using religious/spiritual methods or scientific knowledge) on these and other questions that will be mentioned later, some people may claim they have found the Truth. But to most people, they know deeply in their heart that they really do not know the answers and thus are not able to judge. Therefore they can only choose to believe (as theist), disbelieve (as atheist) or remain in doubt (as agnostic or skeptic) about any answers provided by others as the Truth for these unknown mysteries <Ref-2*>. That was why ancient thinker, Lao Zi, had stated "Tao Ke Tao, Fei Chang Tao", that is "The Truth that can be (easily) explained is not the natural Truth".

Of course, regardless whether the Chang Tao or natural Truth will eventually be understood or explained, human beings will still use different methods or ways to seek the Truth. Science is one of these methods which will provide objective means for us to seek, prove and approximate the Truth as close as possible...

How lives emerged from lifeless matters?

Why the lifeless matters could evolve into lives? For all chemical reactions, why some seemed able to self-catalyze and self-maintain so that they would not go off? Was it because there were some special conditions available in the early time of planet Earth that made self-catalyze and self-maintain chemical reactions easier than other type of reactions? Was it because of these conditions that had allowed time for some chemical reactions to develop further into complex and sustainable symbiosis systems (or chain of inter-dependent chemical reactions that form a re-cycling system?)? When the special conditions of early Earth vanished, were they being re-created or simulated by symbiosis systems so that the self-catalyze and self-maintain chemical reactions could go on? Was it due to such systems that matters can finally produce a bunch of "Fire-of-Life" that can sustain their own "combustions" and avoid being put off? Or perhaps a spiritual state for life and consciousness is needed before life can emerge from lifeless matters (Fig 1)? All these are questions that need further studies by modern science...

How consciousness of living things was formed?

This should be a follow-up question after lives had successfully evolved from lifeless matters. The reason is because a living thing, which knows how to sustain its life, seems to possess some primitive mechanisms of consciousness that make it "Know how to live"? That is why a modern man is unlikely to ask whether a stone or machine has any consciousness. But he will ponder upon this question when faced with the life phenomena of cells, bacteria, plants and animals. Perhaps the "Know how to live" mechanisms of primitive lives were merely some fundamental chain of chemical reaction systems for adaptation or conditional reactions to environmental changes. Perhaps through billions years of evolution, these fundamental systems were copied, modified and developed into various module of complex systems so that the living things eventually not only "Know how to live", but also "Know how to feel", "Know how to see" and "Know how to think" (i.e. Consciousness?)? Does the mystery of consciousness, especially the consciousness of human being; has a pure materialistic answer? Or a spiritual state is needed (Fig 1) to explain it? Could consciousness exist beyond biological life? These are old questions that modern science would like to find out...

(1/3) What lies beyond death? <A reasonable concern>

Long before human beings were able to use their consciousness to ponder upon the life phenomenon, the following facts, which lasted until present day, have already existed:

(1) Regardless whether human beings know how matters, lives and consciousness come about; the fact is that these mysterious phenomena have already "made" them born and become alive.

(2) All those who are born need to maintain their own living (This is not a small matter for modern men as they might have to compete globally in order to maintain a living in future!).

(3) Until now, all living things are not able to opt out from the life cycle, i.e. born, falling sick, getting old and die.

Therefore for those who are already born and alive, it is quite obvious that the above 2nd & 3rd facts are more pressing and realistic to them (although understand the 1st fact might be more important in future). That is why since ancient times, it is natural that besides the questions of making a living (which has become a Globalisation topic in modern times), human beings are also constantly thinking and concerning about the questions of death. Hence a rich variety of views of what will lie beyond death were made. Fig 2 simplifies and illustrates some of these views...

(2/3) What lies beyond death? <A variety of views>

The views illustrated in Fig 2 can roughly classify into two main categories:

(A) To equate death as returning to the state before one was born
(B) To resist death either through religious believes or scientific methods

For category A, life and consciousness are merely the result of complex chemical (or bio-chemical?) formation of matters; hence they will vanish when living thing died. Therefore death is simply returning to the state (probably a state of nothingness?) before one was born (Fig 2 #1). <Ref-3*>

For category B, which include Transcend death and Overcome death models, death is certainly not the end. Transcend model believe that life and consciousness are not merely make up of matters, thus human beings can Transcend death and go into eternity, next life or other states of eternal beings (Fig 2 #2 & #3). Overcome model hopes to get rid of death by making existing life immortal (Fig 2 #4).

(3/3) What lies beyond death? <Enlightenment?>

What really lies beyond death? Is it really nothingness? Is it really transcended into eternity or next life? Can human beings overcome death eventually? What really was the lifeless state that all human beings were in before they born? It was nothingness? It was a state where soul or consciousness was not-yet-created? It was the Original State of existence? Are these mysteries related to the mysteries of the formations of matters, lives and consciousness? Perhaps we will only be enlightened about all these when our life burns out and return to the Original State? Or perhaps the pre-condition to be enlightened must come from life forms that can think, such as ours? Hence our continuous efforts to use scientific methods to seek, prove and approximate the Truth of these mysteries are probably the best way to the eventual Enlightenment...?

Note: For some more readings, please refer to "Evolution, Consciousness and Immortality".