EBT and the Mahayana differentiation of identitylesness of person (lack of pudgalatma) and identitylesness of dharmas (lack of dharmatma)

[faujidoc1]

Reading this makes me think of Theoretical Physics! It seems that they were addressing a similar question - how can everything exist, when at its core, there is nothing… basic particles seem to appear and disappear into nowhere???

Sarvastivada = Newtonian physics
Nagarjuna = Quantum physics
Theravada = Unified theory of Everything

From the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory website…
On the face of it, empty space should be � well � empty. If you take a container, pump all the air out of it, shield it from electric fields and plop it in the deepest of intergalactic space to get it away from gravitational fields, that container should contain absolutely nothing. Nada. Zip.

However, that’s not what happens. At the quantum scale, space is a writhing, frantic, ever-changing foam, with particles popping into existence and disappearing in the wink of an eye.

The Buddha was certainly ahead of his time…!

[anon87721581]

@sujato

Yes. I think traditional Theravadins ābhidhammikas unquestioningly accept that dhammas, whose intrinsic essence is defined by the sabhava, truly and absolutely exist in an ontological sense. I don’t think traditional Theravada has ever understood Nagarjuna’s critique, or taken him seriously at all. Modern apologists sometimes try to reconcile the two, but in doing so, I think that they misrepresent what traditional ābhidhammikas actually believe.

Bhante,

Can you explain what you mean by ‘dhammas’ and ‘exist in an ontological sense’ ?

Edit: disregard!