user2367: Here is what I have been told by some Thai followers:
The sun's light takes 8 minutes to reach the Earth, but our mind can think of the sun or even of distant stars instantly. That is to say, our mind is faster than the speed of light. They claim science is a subset of Buddhism. 
Is this true or false?

user2265: Yes. According to Tibetan Buddhism and also non-denominational anecdotes from people that died and came back they went through a "tunnel" traveling what they felt was faster than the speed of light.
Also, mind-only school of consciousness in Buddhism would also confirm that mind is beyond the laws and bounds of space-and-time including the light constant which limits other material phenomena.

user5089: Who ever stand against the words of lord buddha,I have only one thing to say that its the truth. Our mind is so much faster than the speed of light and no one to prove and find that except a buddha.
According to buddha, there is a smallest unit of time which is called "Chiththakshana" and no one can even think about it. Our mind has a life time of 1 Chiththakshana. So Birth,Life Time And Death of our mind has this 1 smallest unit. 
So our mind is birthing,living and dying trillions and trillions times(Can't even think about it) during our life time. That's why it says the mind is more and more speeder than the light. Most of the people can't understand this because of the theories they have learnt. Finally I would like to say there are trillions (Even more) of earths which people live, in this universe. And the end of the universe is inside our own body. 
For more information refer Abhidhamma Pitaka

user2143: A pretty amusing question. :)
The canon is full of descriptions such as:

Then the Blessed One, realizing with his awareness the line of thinking in Ven. Anuruddha's awareness — just as a strong man might extend his flexed arm or flex his extended arm — disappeared from among the Bhaggas in the Deer Park at Bhesakala Grove, near Crocodile Haunt, and re-appeared among the Cetis in the Eastern Bamboo Park, right in front of Ven. Anuruddha.


user2376: You are making a lot of mistakes about what happens when the mind "moves" to the Sun or someplace else.
One is that the Sun you're thinking of is not the Sun, it is an image of the Sun. The Sun is not in your mind. Your mind is inside your skull, or certainly inside your body (including your whole nervous system, not just your brain) which would take light far less than 8 minutes to travel through.
Another mistake is that thinking of the Sun is instantaneous. It takes the chemical, electrical and other changes in your brain and body actual time to think of the Sun. Since none of those parts of your body move anywhere near the speed of light, even the short distance among them takes milliseconds for the interacting parts to move through. But it's still not the Sun.
Still another mistake is that science is a subset of Buddhism. While there might indeed be interpretations of existence that (some) science and Buddhism could agree are accurate, most notably the fundamentally subjective nature of events requiring an observer to have any definite state or condition, there is not a hierarchical relationship. There is a common philosophical attitude derived from making experience the basis of existence, while noting that there is more to existence than to experience.
So while there is interesting food for thought in comparing the speed of thought to the speed of objects, trying to find Buddhism superior to science by contradicting it is really just a self indulgent sophism. Which both Buddhism and science would agree is a waste of time or worse.

user295: If you think about the sun the thought of it arise instantly. Hence your mind is much faster than the speed of light which takes 8 minutes to reach earth. Thoughts and memories of distant objects can arise instantly in your mind. Hence why the mind is called it is faster than the speed of light. This is not to be confused with the literal meaning where here is actual travel from one place to the other other than when rebirth is happening. (When there is rebirth you die in one place and the conscientiousness instantly arises  somewhere else where there is a ready womb.) This is similar to a simply used in Milinda Panha though this is discussed in the context of rebirth. 
Science is always a model or approximation of reality, hence always changing with new research and discovery. The Dhamma is Akāliko (timeless). Hence Buddhism teachers an absolute reality where as science is and approximation.

user2369: Demonstrably false.  Before getting to thinking about the sun, let's consider seeing the sun as an example:  When photons from the sun, a visual object, make contact with the eye, there is eye-contact.  With eye-contact arises eye-consciousness, that is the pattern of electrochemical impulses in the visual cortex of the brain.  However, it still took 8 minutes for those photons to reach the eye from the surface of the sun.  When thinking about the sun, there is a mental object, the idea of the sun, which makes mind-contact with the mind, causing idea-consciousness to arise.  However, the mental object and the visual object of the sun are still two different dhammas, two different phenomena.  Your idea of the sun as a mental object has no dependence on the continued existence of the sun as a visual object.  No information travels from the visual object of the sun as part of the process of the mind making mind-contact with the mental object of the sun.

user2368: well i can write sun on paper faster than 8 minutes that does not mean my hands are faster than light ! this things are misinterpretation. Real Buddhism is about 'Nirvana' and about becoming free from the self, think about yourself without you ever existing ..

user18: The key point here is that the concept of speed is dependent on space (speed = distance/time, distance = spatial position B - spatial position A), which in turn is a derived product of matter. 
Mind, being immaterial (and moreover momentary), does not "move", per se. It arises based on one of the six senses and ceases in the next moment. It never takes up space, nor can it be said to "move" in ultimate reality.

2367: <p>Here is what I have been told by some Thai followers:</p>

<p>The sun's light takes 8 minutes to reach the Earth, but our mind can think of the sun or even of distant stars instantly. That is to say, our mind is faster than the speed of light. They claim science is a subset of Buddhism. </p>

<p>Is this true or false?</p>
 2265: <p>Yes. According to Tibetan Buddhism and also non-denominational anecdotes from people that died and came back they went through a "tunnel" traveling what they felt was faster than the speed of light.</p>

<p>Also, mind-only school of consciousness in Buddhism would also confirm that mind is beyond the laws and bounds of space-and-time including the light constant which limits other material phenomena.</p>
 5089: <p>Who ever stand against the words of lord buddha,I have only one thing to say that its the truth. Our mind is so much faster than the speed of light and no one to prove and find that except a buddha.</p>

<p>According to buddha, there is a smallest unit of time which is called "Chiththakshana" and no one can even think about it. Our mind has a life time of 1 Chiththakshana. So Birth,Life Time And Death of our mind has this 1 smallest unit. 
So our mind is birthing,living and dying trillions and trillions times(Can't even think about it) during our life time. That's why it says the mind is more and more speeder than the light. Most of the people can't understand this because of the theories they have learnt. Finally I would like to say there are trillions (Even more) of earths which people live, in this universe. And the end of the universe is inside our own body. </p>

<p>For more information refer <strong>Abhidhamma Pitaka</strong></p>
 2143: <p>A pretty amusing question. :)</p>

<p>The canon is full of descriptions such as:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Then the Blessed One, realizing with his awareness the line of thinking in Ven. Anuruddha's awareness — just as a strong man might extend his flexed arm or flex his extended arm — disappeared from among the Bhaggas in the Deer Park at Bhesakala Grove, near Crocodile Haunt, and re-appeared among the Cetis in the Eastern Bamboo Park, right in front of Ven. Anuruddha.</p>
</blockquote>
 2376: <p>You are making a lot of mistakes about what happens when the mind "moves" to the Sun or someplace else.</p>

<p>One is that the Sun you're thinking of is not the Sun, it is an image of the Sun. The Sun is not in your mind. Your mind is inside your skull, or certainly inside your body (including your whole nervous system, not just your brain) which would take light far less than 8 minutes to travel through.</p>

<p>Another mistake is that thinking of the Sun is instantaneous. It takes the chemical, electrical and other changes in your brain and body actual time to think of the Sun. Since none of those parts of your body move anywhere near the speed of light, even the short distance among them takes milliseconds for the interacting parts to move through. But it's still not the Sun.</p>

<p>Still another mistake is that science is a subset of Buddhism. While there might indeed be interpretations of existence that (some) science and Buddhism could agree are accurate, most notably the fundamentally subjective nature of events requiring an observer to have any definite state or condition, there is not a hierarchical relationship. There is a common philosophical attitude derived from making experience the basis of existence, while noting that there is more to existence than to experience.</p>

<p>So while there is interesting food for thought in comparing the speed of thought to the speed of objects, trying to find Buddhism superior to science by contradicting it is really just a self indulgent sophism. Which both Buddhism and science would agree is a waste of time or worse.</p>
 295: <p>If you think about the sun the thought of it arise instantly. Hence your mind is much faster than the speed of light which takes 8 minutes to reach earth. Thoughts and memories of distant objects can arise instantly in your mind. Hence why the mind is called it is faster than the speed of light. This is not to be confused with the literal meaning where here is actual travel from one place to the other other than when rebirth is happening. (When there is rebirth you die in one place and the conscientiousness instantly arises  somewhere else where there is a ready womb.) This is similar to a simply used in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milinda_Panha" rel="nofollow">Milinda Panha</a> though this is discussed in the context of rebirth. </p>

<p>Science is always a model or approximation of reality, hence always changing with new research and discovery. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharma_(Buddhism)" rel="nofollow">Dhamma</a> is Akāliko (timeless). Hence Buddhism teachers an absolute reality where as science is and approximation.</p>
 2369: <p>Demonstrably false.  Before getting to thinking about the sun, let's consider seeing the sun as an example:  When photons from the sun, a visual object, make contact with the eye, there is eye-contact.  With eye-contact arises eye-consciousness, that is the pattern of electrochemical impulses in the visual cortex of the brain.  However, it still took 8 minutes for those photons to reach the eye from the surface of the sun.  When thinking about the sun, there is a mental object, the idea of the sun, which makes mind-contact with the mind, causing idea-consciousness to arise.  However, the mental object and the visual object of the sun are still two different dhammas, two different phenomena.  Your idea of the sun as a mental object has no dependence on the continued existence of the sun as a visual object.  No information travels from the visual object of the sun as part of the process of the mind making mind-contact with the mental object of the sun.</p>
 2368: <p>well i can write sun on paper faster than 8 minutes that does not mean my hands are faster than light ! this things are misinterpretation. Real Buddhism is about 'Nirvana' and about becoming free from the self, think about yourself without you ever existing ..</p>
 18: <p>The key point here is that the concept of speed is dependent on space (speed = distance/time, distance = spatial position B - spatial position A), which in turn is a derived product of matter. </p>

<p>Mind, being immaterial (and moreover momentary), does not "move", per se. It arises based on one of the six senses and ceases in the next moment. It never takes up space, nor can it be said to "move" in ultimate reality.</p>
