SuttaCentral
I’m not sure what you mean by this. Spacetime concepts are implicit in any relativistic calculation, for example, designing high-energy accelerators such as the Large Hadron Collider or doing relativistic quantum mechanics or quantum field theory calculations.
It’s also worth pointing out that spacetime is not just a four-dimensional version of 3-dimensional space. The time dimension works differently from the spacial dimensions, so it’s often described as 3+1-dimensional.
I mean your second paragraph. Agree with you.
Thanks to the Venerable Khemarato bhikkhu and a sequence of posts that then followed, I feel it is a suitable place for me to contribute more, and without a possibility that I might set off an ‘explosion’ in virtual or even a real space 
.
Firstly, as I understand it, while this water-cooler is a recreational and light-hearted thread, it is not a game thread of any kind. Rather, like traditional Zen Koans, I believe it was intended to help us towards deeper awakening and freedom from suffering. So it would be good if any contributors avoided use of vague and jargon expressions such as “you get out of jail” without at least explaining its meaning (e.g. please see a response by Venerable NgXinZhao to my post 3 days ago), which some readers including me, might find confusing or even offensive.
So now, I would like to share another refection on the original post, its koan equation. (My response is just another post co-dependently arisen out of the whole thread sequence):
1.The original koan equation was:
x2 – 2x + 3 = 0
This could be interpreted in two ways.
Either: x times 2 minus 2 times x plus 3 equals zero
which by mathematical laws is a false equation or equality, and has no solution.
Or, as we intuitively assumed it meant:
x^2 – 2x + 3 = 0
And its solution then is x = 1 ± i √2
Only the author of the original post can answer what he intended, and I hope he will share it with us.
2.Suppose we now adopt and substitute World for x in the original equation x^2 – 2x + 3 = 0.
Then its solution is:
World = 1 ± i √2
Where i is an imaginary number and √2 is irrational root or surd. (if in doubt, please check Wikipedia)
So here, as a useful means to contemplate the World and the Dhamma, one way to interpret that is:
World is One with or without an imaginary i amplified by an irrational root.
But reflecting back on the EBT, the Buddha spoke of 3 roots of suffering.
3.So we could then generalise this to make it reflect better the real world:
World = 1 ± i √n
where √n is an irrational number or surd, and n is a product of rational and irrational numbers. (e.g. 2e, or a more complex products of rational and irrational numbers. Where e is a very important number - if you haven’t come across it, please see Wikipedia under Euler’s number and natural exponential functions and logarithms).
Q: But is this a useful thread and contemplation to help alleviate Dukkha?
I think so, if we then seriously examine ourselves and practice to be freed from the 3 roots of suffering the Buddha spoke about.
Q: But can it also help alleviate 3 great present global dangers? (Anthropogenic climate change, exponential population growth and global scale nuclear explosions).
Perhaps, if we also consider the E = mc^2 and what can happen and also personal consequences if misused and applied wrongly.
Because no one sensible and ‘enlightened’ enough wishes to suffer or the bio-mass (B) of life on Earth go extinct or turn into E, energy, prematurely or suddenly.
E = B c^2
So in this situation, analysing this equation more or using numbers to calculate how much energy that B would generate and what impact on climate change that would have, I think would be a complete waste of time and life. It would be like spending time with ‘splitting hairs’ (for a conventional meaning of this phrase please see Cambridge or other free dictionary).
We know now, that many species are heading to the wrong (premature) extinction, while many people are misusing their rational minds, for playing various games, virtual or real. Mathematical models simulate the recent and current World situation and the impacts on such space-time scales very well (nuclear explosion during WW2, exponential population growth in recent decades and simultaneous exponential CO2 increase. Yet many leaders and scientists have been delaying their responsible actions, apart from words. Buddhist Declaration on Climate Change has been around for more than 10 years, with beautiful inspirational call to action beyond wishes and words.
(I have taken it to heart and shared a key part of it for more than 10 years:
“We have a brief window of opportunity to take action, to preserve humanity from imminent disaster and to assist the survival of the many diverse and beautiful forms of life on Earth. Future generations, and the other species that share the biosphere with us, have no voice to ask for our compassion, wisdom, and leadership. We must listen to their silence. We must be their voice, too, and act on their behalf.” (c.f. ‘One Earth Sangha’)
If parts of my response were out of range of this EBT thread, please let me know and I will delete or edit it. Thank you.
With 
, Dana
If you want 3 roots, you can just make the original equation to be to the power of 3 in x.
Light hearted talk above.
Sorry for the comment. Below is more physics explanation then. Since you asked for meaning. Serious talk below, aiming at issue, not person.
Let me share a bit more on what I experienced recently on another person who asked me about physics stuffs to relate to Buddhism and they have very vague idea about physics. It was easier to communicate with that guy then cause it was face to face.
Paraphrasing here:
Guy: Imagine if nibbana is unbecoming, making our frequency vibration to go to zero. If we stop vibrating, doesn’t our mass goes to zero and then we become nothing?
Me: When someone get enlightened as an arahant, their physical body don’t go disappear immediately. (Or become light, as light has zero rest mass). We see the Buddha taught for so many decades after enlightenment. So it’s not an accurate analogy to equate nibbana, cessation with physically reducing mass to zero.
Also, here’s where mass comes from. We are made of cells, which are made of atoms and molecules, which atoms are made of electrons, protons and neutrons. Protons and neutrons are made of quarks. The majority of the mass of an atom is on the protons and neutrons, and the quarks which makes them up, their rest mass added up cannot account for the rest mass of protons and neutrons. (Note: rest mass is mass measured when at rest, photons or light or anything with zero rest mass are always at light speed, never at rest, in vacuum). So the majority of the mass of protons and neutrons are actually from the gluon binding energy of the strong nuclear force binding the quarks together. And so far as physics knows, going to super cool temperature doesn’t seem to break apart the strong force.
The rest of the mass, of quarks, electrons are their interactions with the Higgs boson, which gives them rest mass. Photons (not protons) don’t interact with Higgs boson, so it has zero rest mass.
So basically in physics, we have no mechanism to turn the dial of mass off to zero.
And for vibration, perhaps the most sense I can make it is that according to quantum, we are all particles and wave, with the electrons having their wavelengths inversely proportional to their momentum. As momentum is mass times velocity, the more massive a thing is, the smaller their wavelength is. The smaller the wavelength is, the faster/higher the frequency of the wave is.
For human beings sized people, our wavelength is too small to exhibit any quantum effect, so we practically never experience being like a wave, we cannot undergo interference like in the double slit experiment.
Maybe one can think of freezing oneself as reducing the velocity of our molecules (heat is vibrational motion of molecules), thus reducing our frequency, but then we cannot survive cold temperature. Nor does any meditation practices says the body goes cold when you’re closer to enlightenment.
So all these paragraphs just goes to show that it’s not to be taken literally at all or in any sense useful to equate anything physics about reducing vibration, reducing mass to zero etc to nibbana.
Anyway, hope this helps to destroy some ignorance of physics and know that some comparison of physics and buddhism makes no sense, if one actually knows physics.
Although to give credit, the Buddha did use the fire went out simile to compare to nibbana. It might be that such comparison originates from there. Better stick to the exact fire simile rather than trying to invent a physics thing into it.
Thank you, but no, I have already gone too far by changing 2 to n. After investigating EBT more, I am happy with the original equation form and adaptation for contemplation on this World. One irrational root is enough in a concise World equation useful for a contemplation on the World and insight into Dhamma.
So here is a more complete interpretation of the mathematical expression
World = 1 ± i √2
Craving is irrational and primary root of suffering. (C.f. Samyutta Nikaya: SN1.44, SN22.31)
So we could substitute a word ‘craving’ for √2 to interpret the above equation for contemplating the World and 4 Noble Truths:
World is One with or without an imaginary i amplified by craving.
Ignorance might go well too, but I have not found EBT that explicitly says ignorance is a root of suffering.
Finally, while I found it quite interesting and learnt some things new from your explanations of subatomic processes, my deeper questions and reflections on that above equation were not about zero mass or nibbana, rather about the World or Samsara and if that equation could be used to reflect on the world suffering and way to alleviate it. That I have found more useful.
I see that some of my fellow companions in the Dhamma haven’t yet known about koan, what it is, and what the practice behind it. So I thought I should give a few words to explain this and the original koan from which I rewrite into a mathematical formula. I myself don’t have much to say about the subject, and just repeating words that I have received from my teachers.
In Zen, a Koan actually means a public record, like an anecdote or a dialogue or a saying of the master to his disciple (The Sinosphere culture values very highly history and public records. And is also a highly literary culture, therefore a lot of these sayings were written down, and much of these works were then later collected and admitted into the Chinese Tripitaka)
But the important thing is not the Koan itself, but the practice of using Koan to give rise to 疑情 (means Questioning Nature, literally “state of perplexity”)
疑情 arises when one is met with a question that one does not know the answer to. To use the Koan is to stir up this kind of questionable feeling in the mind, to kindle it, this not-knowingness. We ordinary run-of-the-mill beings actually always live with this not knowingness all the time, which is why we want to know the answer, we want to find a path.
But we thought we have already known, because intellectual people tend to use the knowing of the intellect too much, which is limited and misleading, and so to be contented and self-conceited with this deluded knowing, without realizing the harm and dangerous of clinging to it. So that it blocks all the knowing of the Heart (the citta) which is unlimited and all-encompassing and is one’s true nature. Therefore the practice is to use this very unknowingness, so as to “sweep” all the deluded knowing of the intellect. It’s somewhat like Doubt the Hindrance, when doubt arises, it so preoccupied the whole mind, letting no other thoughts to arise, but when doubt has subsided, everything seems so clear, because doubt also has a function of “sweeping” other thoughts. But true 疑情 takes the knower, the heart, or that which knows, as the object itself, and not that which is known by the heart. So all the questions to provoke 疑情 should be directed and related to the heart, the one who knows, or in other words, one’s true nature.
The questions (can either be a koan or a huatou) to give rise to 疑情, is very much a individual affair, and vary widely from person to person. But as the Masters said, this is to “use poison to cure poison.” After all, this is a strong medicine for strong intellectual-clinging type (which is basically a hoarder of ideas and opinions).
When using the koan, one should not by any mean take it to be the target so as to find the answer for it (it will be much wrong for they are specifically designed to not be solved by reasonable thinking). It’s like movie spoilers, when you’re watching a favourite series film, and eager to watch the next episode, but someone comes up and spoil all the details of the whole series, and the time come when you watch the actual episode, you won’t see the actual movie but will see it with all the preconceived notions and ideas about what’s next and what’s next. And that just spoils everything. (A Zen Master actually burned a famous koan explanation book and all its copies after learning that it had become a subject of discussion among his students)
So the practioner then try to kindle and nurture his 疑情 to grow so that it becomes mature enough. And to the point, as the suttas said, when one watches the rain falling, lays one head down on the pillow, one attains enlightenment. And yet nothing to be attained.
Why is that?
So there is a koan story in Zen from which I wrote into a mathematical formula. The story as follow,
“When the Lord Buddha was soon to enter final Nibbana, Venerable Ananda asked him: Lord, after when you have entered final liberation, the discourses of your teachings, what should be the first opening word for every sutra? The Buddha then taught: After when I have entered final Nibbana, when the Bhikkhus gather and recite and put into collection the three Pitakas, the word “Thus” should be the opening word for every sutra.”
What is so important about “Thus” that it has to be repeated time after time?
And why do when the enlightened beings refer to themselves, they used the word Tathagata (Thusness)? And not emptiness?
Almost a mystery.
Now it’s just too much explanation, if my teachers were still alive, I would’ve had been beaten.
And so, thus have I heard.
Maths does tend to trigger the intellectual minds more.
And don’t worry, Zen Koans are unique in that there’s often a need to explain what it is to newcomers, so zen although being the wordless teachings tends to have to use a lot of words to explain why it is wordless. Or else, most cannot benefit from it.