Indra's net
Indra's net (also called Indra's jewels or Indra's pearls, Sanskrit "Indrajāla") is a metaphor used to illustrate the concepts of Śūnyatā (emptiness), pratītyasamutpāda (dependent origination), and interpenetration in Buddhist philosophy. The metaphor's earliest known reference is found in the Atharva Veda. It was further developed by the Mahayana school in the 3rd century "Avatamsaka Sutra" and later by the Huayan school between the 6th and 8th centuries. Avatamsaka Sutra. "Indra's net" is an infinitely large net of cords owned by the Vedic deva Indra, which hangs over his palace on Mount Meru , the axis mundi of Buddhist and Hindu cosmology. In this metaphor, Indra's net has a multifaceted jewel at each vertex, and each jewel is reflected in all of the other jewels. In the Huayan school of Chinese Buddhism, which follows the Avatamsaka Sutra, the image of "Indra's net" is used to describe the interconnectedness of the universe. Francis H. Cook describes Indra's net thus: The Buddha in the Avatamsaka Sutra's 30th book states a similar idea: In Huayan texts. The metaphor of Indra's net of jewels plays an essential role in the Chinese Huayan school , where it is used to describe the interpenetration (Wylie: "zung-'jug"; Sanskrit: yuganaddha) of microcosmos and macrocosmos. The Huayan text entitled "Calming and Contemplation in the Five Teachings of Huayan" (Huayan wujiao zhiguan 華嚴五教止觀, T1867) attributed to the first Huayan patriarch Dushun (557–640) gives an extended overview of this concept: The manner in which all dharmas interpenetrate is like an imperial net of celestial jewels extending in all directions infinitely, without limit. … As for the imperial net of heavenly jewels, it is known as Indra’s Net, a net which is made entirely of jewels. Because of the clarity of the  jewels, they are all reflected in and enter into each other, ad infinitum. Within each jewel, simultaneously, is reflected the whole net. Ultimately, nothing comes or goes. If we now turn to the southwest, we can pick one particular jewel and examine it closely. This individual jewel can immediately reflect the image of every other jewel. As is the case with this jewel, this is furthermore the case with all the rest of the jewels–each and every jewel simultaneously and immediately reflects each and every other jewel, ad infinitum. The image of each of these limitless jewels is within  one jewel, appearing brilliantly. None of the other jewels interfere with this. When one sits within one jewel, one is simultaneously sitting in all the infinite jewels in all ten directions. How is this so? Because within each jewel are present all jewels. If all jewels are present within each jewel, it is also the case that if you sit in one jewel you sit in all jewels at the same time. The inverse is also understood in the same way. Just as one goes into one jewel and thus enters every other jewel while never leaving this one jewel , so too one enters any jewel while never leaving this particular jewel. The Huayan Patriarch Fazang (643–712) used the golden statue of a lion to demonstrate the Huayan vision of interpenetration to empress Wu: Atharva Veda. According to Rajiv Malhotra, the earliest reference to a net belonging to Indra is in the Atharva Veda (c. 1000 BCE). Verse 8.8.6. says: And verse 8.8.8. says: The net was one of the weapons of the sky-god Indra, used to snare and entangle enemies. The net also signifies magic or illusion. According to Teun Goudriaan, Indra is conceived in the Rig Veda  as a great magician, tricking his enemies with their own weapons, thereby continuing human life and prosperity on earth. Indra became associated with earthly magic, as reflected in the term "indrajalam", "Indra's Net", the name given to the occult practices magicians. According to Goudriaan, the term "indrajalam" seems to originate in verse 8.8.8 from the Atharva Veda, of which Goudriaan gives a different translation: According to Goudriaan, the speaker pretends to use a weapon of cosmical size. The net being referred to here Modern and Western references. Section::::"Gödel, Escher, Bach". In "Gödel, Escher, Bach" (1979), Douglas Hofstadter uses Indra 's net as a metaphor for the complex interconnected networks formed by relationships between objects in a system—including social networks, the interactions of particles, and the "symbols" that stand for ideas in a brain or intelligent computer. Section::::"Vermeer's Hat". Timothy Brook uses the metaphor: Sarah Burton explains that Brook uses the metaphor, and its interconnectedness, Section::::"Brave New World". In the 2020 TV Series Brave New World inspired by the homonymous book by Aldous Huxley, a new element is introduced in the original story: everyone in New London is always connected to an artificial intelligence called Indra, that observes , monitors and analyzes all citizens 24/7. Writer Grant Morrison named this network after the Vedic deity, since Huxley was notoriously fascinated by Indian mysticism and named another element of the story, Soma, after a Hindu ritual drink which shares its name with another Vedic deity. Section::::"Indra's Net: Defending Hinduism's Philosophical Unity". In "Indra's Net" (2014), Rajiv Malhotra uses the image of Indra's net as a metaphor for Section::::"Midnight Gospel". In the TV Series Midnight Gospel, Indra's Net is discussed in the episode Annihilation of Joy where prisoners die over and over. Indra's net Indra