Benoit Mandelbrot discovered emanations of Self through mathematics. His find was intuitive in the respect that it showed mathematically the sameness within much that we see in the tangible world. Intuition does this: it perceives the innate structural design and/or energy behind an appearance or event. Intuition instinctually dismisses the outer world differences and senses the inner truths: cause, order, resolution, beauty through revelation and understanding, and process.

His discovery was that what appears chaotic or random in Nature usually is not and equally that the simplistic labeling of mind that we apply to things such as clouds, mountains, and lightning equally is not so simple. Upon closer examination through the lens of math and geometry he discovered an implicit design and order, and just as important, an order that repeats and repeats and does so in scale. Mandelbrot coined the term “fractal” for this reiteration of roughness as pattern and natural design.

The Mandelbrot set shows that no matter where you are in the scale of the fractal you are always in the same fractal. There is nothing else. This is well understood within Buddhism and Hinduism. The Buddhist point of view is that buddha nature-Dharmakaya is non-ness yet emanates countless billions of self-same emanations into the worlds. The Hindu version is similar and was before Buddhism. Brahma is the Absolute and the totality of all that ever was and ever will be. Brahman emanates all qualities of being as Deities and all processes of manifestation. Yet, all is Brahman just as all is Dharmakaya. From the point of view of non-ness, however, neither of these systems are without SELF. A primordial buddha such as Samantrabhara is a primordial buddha-SELF experiencing non-dual completeness as Awareness-Being; Brahman the Absolute similarly. Whereas in the Egyptian myth Nun makes no claims of non-duality nor emanation. Nun does not speak but is spoken of. Samatabhadra has given teachings and at least one tantra, and Brahman likewise. Both the primordial buddha and absolute deity pour forth emanations.

If we go back to the first post in this series and to the Ancient world creation myths, they are describing Mandelbrot’s set of fractal emanation. Using the Egyptian myth, Nun IS. Nun is completely pure, undefinable, ineffable, and without other-ness. This state is pralyaya: a cosmic time between expressions in total non-ness of every kind and level. We, as emanations of non-ness, experience this when our mind stops for any reason. When we stand in a store and go blank, not moving, no thought, blank, this is a pralaya on an extremely small scale. Equally, a meditator practiced in the art of egolessness-emptiness is living a pralaya during that meditation session. The point is that Mandelbrot’s discovery is not just lived within the natural world, it describes modernly what the essential spiritual teachings of the ages have reported and that adepts, mystics, seers, and meditators have experienced first hand: all is emanation. Each person is an emanation of more refined and larger inclusive expressions of Self. All is self-Self, better yet, from the dense to the sublime, a person is self, Self, SELF, ALL SELF, ONE, NON.

Does this idea bump up against the teachings of no intrinsic self, egolessness? Only on the surface few layers of consideration. First, we acknowledge that within incarnation or any manifest form non-ness must include sense of other as in Knower, Perceiver because, at essence, incarnation is the profound experience of relation. Therefore, self-other self-Self is a necessary aspect of incarnation. This is how we or anything else can perceive and know all and its interdependence as well as know that perception is tied to and a by-product of self. Yet if that self has perceived through the outer appearances of otherness to the sameness of egolessness, then all existence is understood as the non-ness that it is. All is one great emanating profound ALL-ness as Awareness-Being.

Related reference

• Benoit Mandelbrot