Erin: Welcome to T2A webchat for Wednesday, August 29th. We’re meeting Deepak Chopra, M.D. He is Chairman and co-Founder of the California-based Chopra Center for Wellbeing. Deepak is author of a new book, Buddha A Story of Enlightenment. Deepak offers his insights on the inspiring life of one of the world's most important figures - the Buddha. It is the story of the prince who became the Buddha and how the lessons he taught continue to influence so many around the world.

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Sanjeev, Canada (email): The story of Buddha is known to almost everybody in Eastern and Western countries. What is new in this book about? And what are the things you EXCLUSIVELY discovered about Buddha or anything new you adopted for your own life from what Buddha taught us? Om Mani Padme Hum

Deepak: When we examine the past we do that through a conceptual matrix. In other words, we reinvent it and re-imagine it and recreate it, depending on our own perspective and how we see the world. Buddha's story is our journey. We all have existential dilemmas; where did we come from, what's the meaning of our existence, why do we suffer, where is there old age, disease, decrepitude, death, what does it all mean? Does God exist? Does God care about us? Siddhartha, the Prince who became The Buddha, asked these questions two thousand five hundred years ago and began a personal journey. I hope by reading this book you too shall take the journey all over again, now.

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Niraj, Canada (email): Is it possible for anybody to become Buddha in real life? And how much Buddha is in your life?

Deepak: Buddha means to be 'awake.' To be fully awake in our eternal non-local self is the privilege of anyone who has a human nervous system. Buddha is awake in my life.

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Hio, Philippines (email): Do you honestly think and agree with me that the current crisis attached to the “Global Warming” is just a wake-up call from “ Buddha “? We humans may have progressed materially, but retrogressed spiritually. Am I right?

Deepak: You are partially right. I think we have progressed both materially and spiritually. However, the spiritual progress has been slow.  When we start to see the world as our extended body, and have a emotional and spiritual relationship with it, global warming and other environmental crises will reverse. We must feel at a gut level that the trees are our lungs that the air is our breath, that the rivers and waters are our circulation, and that the earth is our physical body re-cycled. In other words, we have a personal body and we have a universal body and they are both equally ours. When we have the shift in consciousness and Buddha awakens in us both our physical and universal bodies will be healed.

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Dr V K Wadia, India (email): How important are sex and sexuality for the overall wellbeing of an individual? Is sex divine? Can sex be considered as a path/one of the paths, leading to salvation?

Deepak: Sexual energy and spiritual energy are both a creative energy of the universe. Everything that is alive has these energies. Whenever we feel passion or interest or excitement, energy, arousal, alertness, wakefulness, creativity, sexual energy has been aroused. The peak experiences of sexuality, such as orgasm, are characterized by a state of consciousness where there is a sense of timelessness, loss of ego, naturalness, vulnerability, surrender and defenselessness. This is a spiritual state. If we could be like this all the time, we would be enlightened. The Sufi poet Rumi says 'if you're not naked by now, go back to sleep.' This is true on both the physical level as well as the spiritual level.

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B.Munshi, AZ (email): The Vedas refer to the Impersonal God, 'Thou art That.” Is there a similar teaching in Buddha's sermons? What is the ultimate goal towards which mankind should strive as taught in Buddhism?

Deepak: Buddha was a product of the Vedic culture. He developed his own vocabulary, that the essence of Buddha's teaching is the following: 1) the separate self does not exist 2) the relative world of space, time and causality is impermanent 3) nirvana is the ultimate reality. Nirvana is the state of non-dual consciousness in which observer and observed, ‘seer’ and ‘scenery’, knower and known simultaneously co-arise and subside.

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Nima, Iran (email): What was the turning point for Buddha from being a worrier to becoming a religious philosopher?

Deepak: Siddhartha, the Prince, he saw for the first time old age, disease, decrepitude and death. He asked himself, 'does this happen to everyone?' 'Will it happen to me?' In order to find the answers to these questions, he started his spiritual journey and became a Buddha.

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Windwossen, Ethiopia (email): What does Buddha mean and what challenges has Buddhism faced in Eastern history? How does Buddhism maintain its peacefulness and resist outside cultural and religious influences from other regions?

Deepak: Buddha means one who is awake. Buddhism has faced challenges from all religions, including Hinduism, because it does not believe in an external authority, including religious authority. It maintains its peacefulness through the experiential understanding of inseparability, which spontaneously leads to peace, harmony, compassion, laughter and love.

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Munna, Bangladesh (email): Why does it seem that not many follow Buddhism?

Deepak: In general, people like to serve an external authority. They are terrified by the idea that all depends on oneself.

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A C Rathinavel, India (email): Did Buddha really transform his society through his philosophies, his teachings; his way of life?  What inspired you to study and write about Buddha?

Deepak: Buddha's influence spread from India to Sri Lanka, Tibet, China, Cambodia, Vietnam and Japan and influenced these societies and their way of life. I was inspired to study and write about Buddha because he offers a secular spirituality and because his ideas are consistent with our scientific understanding of the world.

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Dr. A.K.Mehta, India (email): Is Buddhism being practiced in its original form any where in the world, today?  In other words, does anyone truly practice what HE actually preached?

Deepak: Because Buddha himself was not rigid about his teaching; Buddhism has evolved in the last two thousand years and has assumed different expressions in different countries. The essence of his teaching, however, remains. This is the true test of spirituality. It flows as water flows and remains infinitely flexible.

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Vijay (email): Your book on Buddha reminds us of an endless number of books and holy texts from Hindu and Buddhist sages. I always wonder how to compare it with Semitic religions like Islam and Christianity, which are content with one book each. Does this flood of texts on India’s religious system represent confusion among the Indian sages or does it merely indicate an endless search for unanswered questions? Or does it show that the Semitic religions have got the ‘last word’?

Deepak: Semitic religions imagine God as the creator of the universe. Their concept is a structural concept just like a carpenter creates a tabled. God creates the universe. In Eastern traditions the universe is organic. It springs forth from an infinite intelligence as a fruit springs forth on a tree. In other words, Being-Becomes! In this view, God is both immanent and transcendent. In other words, consciousness is the ultimate ground of Being that differentiates simultaneously into space-time, energy, information and matter. It is the observer and the observed and also the process of observation and the consciousness behind your thoughts is the same as the consciousness behind all the intelligent activity of the universe. The goal of spiritual evolution is to recognize your inseparability with all that exists and also free yourself from a socially induced hallucination known as the ego.

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Ifeduba, Nigeria (email): I am trying to write a book about the world’s religions and the people behind them. I think your book would be valuable for this effort. Tell us more about the teachings of Buddha, what Buddhism stands for and those apart from Asians and Indians who practice and teach it.

Deepak: Buddha is the original doctor. First he makes a diagnosis, which is that human life contains suffering. Second, he identifies the ideology or causes of suffering, A) not knowing the true nature of reality B) craving for the impermanent C) fear of the impermanent D) identifying with the ego E) fear of death. Thirdly he offers the prognosis. He says it is good; there is a way out. Fourth, he gives a prescription. The way out is the eight-fold noble path which includes 1) right thinking 2) right view 3) right concentration 4) right livelihood 5) right effort 6) right mindfulness 7) right speech 8) right action.

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Erlinda, Germany (email): Is there really no soul in Buddhism? According to some monks I know, it is not present in Buddhism. In relation to reincarnation, these monks speak of the transfer of light as similar to transferring the light of a candle to another candle. But they say the light is not a soul. What is it then?

Deepak: You are right on all counts. In Buddhism there is no separate self. The light of consciousness in you is the light of consciousness in everyone else. Wisps of memory and threads of desire recycle themselves as persons. In the deeper reality however, there is no such thing as a person. A person is an impermanent pattern of behavior in the universal consciousness.

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Imma, Nigeria (email): 1. Did Buddha actually live-- I mean do we have credible historical evidence of his life given that some scholars doubt the actual existence of Jesus Christ who lived centuries after Buddha. 2. Can we actually know what Buddha taught; that is, do we possess accurate record that dates to within the time he is said to have lived. 3. Is Buddha still relevant today and if so, is his influence on the rise or on the wane? 4. How does his teaching compare with Islam? 5. What must one do to become a Buddhist?

Deepak: 1. Yes, Buddha actually lived. Historical evidence indicates that he was born in 563 B.C. and died in 483 B.C. One can visit the actual sites where he was born, gave his first sermon, and became enlightened, etc. similarly there is historical evidence for the existence of Jesus Christ, the theological Jesus may have very little to do with the historical Jesus, however. I am currently writing a book call The Third Jesus, which is about Jesus as a state of consciousness. 2. Answered 3. Yes, Buddha is very relevant today, as he offers a secular spirituality that is consistent with our current ideas on the nature of consciousness. 4. There is no similarity 5. To become a Buddhist one must be mindful and see reality as it really is.

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Aaron (email): Other than your writings, what reading would you recommend in order to further build a solid foundation for spiritual formation and understanding?

Deepak: I would recommend books by J. Krishnamurti and Ken Wilbur as a beginning.

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Jamshed, Afghanistan (email): I am well aware of Deepak's other landmark works. So many things I have read from him about the Afghan/Turkish/Iranian national poet Jalaluddin Rumi. What have you written about Jalaluddin Rumi?

Deepak: I have recently published a book called the Love Poems of Rumi with the help of a Persian scholar. The book was published by Harmony Books, a division of Random House.

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Jaya, India (email): Are Buddha’s principles still relevant to life? Why is Buddhism not as popular in India now compared to earlier times?

Deepak: They are more relevant than ever. Buddhism never really became popular in India other than during the rule of the Emporer Ashoka. It became very popular in Southeast Asia, Tibet, China and Japan. In India, it was oppressed by Hindu authorities and pundits who did not want to lose their authority and power.

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Uday, United Kingdom (email): Are The Buddha and the Laughing Buddha the same and if not, what is the mystery behind the Laughing Buddha?

Deepak: The Laughing Buddha is just one of the moods of an enlightened consciousness. Laughter is reconciling with the paradox of life and seeing that the sinner and the saint, the sacred and the profane, the divine and the diabolical are the different phases of a single consciousness.

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Vikas, India (email): How did Buddha become enlightened?

Deepak: Buddha became enlightened when he gave up all struggle and became mindful of the present moment.

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Kent, Canada (email): With the explosion of interest in Buddhism and other forms of personal spirituality in the western world, a large number of people are beginning to blindly embrace such philosophies without any context or direction to guide them. What advice would you give to assist others in developing a spiritual path in the Dharma?

Deepak: Never subscribe to anything unless you can test its validity through your own experience. A true spirituality must be satisfying, both intellectually and experientially.

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Tatwa Nath: Dear Dr Chopra I am a student of religious studies and am highly interested in Buddhist teachings and the life of Buddha. Osho has talked a lot about Buddha and I'm sure you must have heard about him as well. I'd appreciate if you can kindly tell us how good Osho was in interpreting the Buddha's teachings and how far you have gone to interpret them.

Deepak: Osho's interpretations were very enlightening and lucid. My interpretations I leave to my readers' evaluation.

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Eduardo Campos Ayala: what do you like best about Buddha’s writing?

Deepak: What I like best about Buddha is teaching. He does not ask us to take anything on belief. In my opinion, belief is a cover up for insecurity. We only believe in things we are not sure about. We are not asked to believe in gravity or electricity or any of the forces of nature because we can experience them and also understand scientifically how they work. Similarly, if consciousness is who we are, we should be able to experience it and understand scientifically. This is what Buddha teaches.

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Carol: I recently read 'The Divine Matrix' by Gregg Braden and in it one of the ideas he discusses is that the ancient ways of prayer are to feel the feeling as though what you want has already occurred. He also discusses how we have forgotten how powerful we are. How do you reconcile this with surrender and detachment? Obviously your desires need to be in alignment with the universal mind, but if you have a very strong desire it can feel impossible to detach from whether or not it occurs. Are we supposed to continue to feel the feeling as if it has occurred even when we really feel despair?

Deepak: The evolutionary impulse of the universe is always towards higher creativity. When we are in choiceless awareness, we spontaneously participate in that ecstatic evolutionary impulse in the direction of truth, goodness, beauty and harmony. Any kind of grasping or clinging is bound to create anxiety and also suffering.

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Nadia (email): I’ve read some of your books, such as The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire: Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence, the Seven Spiritual Laws, and Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, etc. There was one point I did not quite understand. It is about non-doing. What does non-doing mean? Would you be kind enough to explain this point to me? Thank you for your wisdom and kindness.

Deepak: The previous question about choiceless awareness also answers this question.

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Pami, India (email): Your books are a delight to read. In your view, what is the link between Science and Religion?

Deepak: I do not think organized religion and science have a link. Organized religion is divisive, quarrelsome, and frequently idiotic. On the other hand, spirituality is understanding the nature of consciousness which is who we really are. In science there is a debate on whether consciousness is a by product of molecules or on the other hand is consciousness, the ground of existence that conceives, governs, constructs, and becomes everything that we call reality. I subscribe to this latter view for which there is considerable evidence and therefore believe that there is al ink between science and spirituality.

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Erin: What do Buddhists believe about the afterlife?

Deepak: Buddhists believe that consciousness survived the death of the molecules on which it rides. And that it recycles itself by creating new meanings, contexts, relationships, and archetypal stories. When it has exhausted all the stories it has conceived, it becomes one with the universal consciousness.

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Erin: What is the view of women and men who practice Buddhism – is it different?

Deepak: No it is similar. Buddha was the first feminist. His wife started the first Buddhist community or Sangha.

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Erin: What is the final message you wish to leave with us about your book “Buddha: A Story of Enlightment”?

Deepak: Human consciousness is a field of infinite possibilities. We are inseparably one with all that exists. And our real nature is one of infinite compassion and love. When we embrace the wisdom of uncertainty we co-create with the mystery that we call God. Our most important attribute is our imagination.

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Erin: That wraps today’s T2A chat with Deepak Chopra, M.D. Our thanks to Deepak and to you for joining us. You can find the chat transcript at voanews.com.  Just click on the T2A graphic link. Next Wednesday, September 5th, we meet Kiron Skinner. She is Professor of History and Political Science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania. Kiron is a Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution and she is co-author of a new book, The Strategy of Campaigning: Lessons from Ronald Reagan and Boris Yeltsin. As the 2008 U.S. Presidential Campaign gets underway, Kiron’s book probes the logic of how campaigns persuade voters. The book examines the two fundamental styles of the respective Reagan and Yeltsin campaigns. See you next week at voanews.com!