Dear Rett,

> To spell out the point of the response, I don't see any obvious reason to
> assume
> that thoughts (citta) are bound by the same space/time constraints as
> physical objects.

No, buit if they operate within time and space, then they must be subject to
some kind of restraints. Energy is not a physical object but is still
constrainded by time and space.

> The propagation of thought (for those who believe
> in telepathy) might be independant of physical distance.

But telepathy does not necessarily imply propagation of thought if we
understand it as a form of vision (dibba-cakkhu). When you see a distant
hill, does your eye travel there ?

> This was exemplified by asking the doubter to think of a distant
> city. 'Sending his mind' there took no time at all. This was supposed
> to show how the mind can travel great distances without intervening
> time. You may not find this argument convincing, but it is a rational
> response to your question.

Your concept of rationality must be quite different to mine :) It would be
very easy to set up an experiment to demonstrate that thinking of a distant
city does not involve mental travel but is nothing more than a combination
of imagination and perhaps memory.

> I'm not taking sides on the question of antarabhava or the existence
> of telepathy, only pointing out why I thought bringing the speed of
> light into your argument wasn't especially compelling. First you
> would need to show why the propogation of cittas is constrained by
> the speed of light [snip]

OK, perhaps my introduction of the speed of light is not very compelling --
I used it because it is taken as a given by modern physics that nothing in
the universe can exceed the speed of light. If cittas exist within the
time-space continuum of the universe, then they must be subject to the laws
of physics in some way. Given that cittas are supposed to be sa.msk.rta,
how can they exist outside time and space ?

Best wishes,
Stephen Hodge