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Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Posted: Sat Jun 26, 2010 11:03 pm
by bodom
That insoluble problem that people — whether children or adults, intelligent or stupid — argue about uselessly and without ever coming to an agreement, is this: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? For the most part, they argue about this only in jest and can never come to any conclusion. Still, there were people who would bring this question to Luang Pu, thinking that he probably wouldn't answer a question of this sort. But eventually I heard him give an answer like nobody else's when one day Phra Berm came to massage his feet and asked him, "Luang Pu, which came first, the chicken or the egg?

"Luang Pu answered,

"They came at the same time."

http://www.what-buddha-taught.net/Books ... Legacy.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

:anjali:

Re: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Posted: Sat Jun 26, 2010 11:58 pm
by tiltbillings
I always thought a chicken was an egg's way of having another egg.

Re: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 1:44 am
by DNS
There are some interesting and some humorous answers here:

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Which_came_fi ... or_the_egg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I think the most factual one from science and evolution is the egg; since the first "chicken" egg came from one or two similar species who mated and produced enough genetic variations to their gene pool to produce a new species which would later be known as the 'chicken.'

Re: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 2:02 am
by Monkey Mind
Ah, but then we'd ask which came first for the "other species", the adult or the egg. It so on it goes...

Re: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 2:15 am
by DNS
Monkey Mind wrote:Ah, but then we'd ask which came first for the "other species", the adult or the egg. It so on it goes...
It's always the egg.

Re: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 2:24 am
by Thaibebop
The mystery of this question is lost on me. Chickens, being birds, are direct decedents of certain dinosaurs, which were reptiles that developed feathers, meaning they laid eggs. Egg came first.

Re: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 3:23 am
by cooran
But .... but .... who laid the egg? Not created by G--, was it?

with metta
Chris

Re: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 3:34 am
by Ben
You guys can't see the wood from the trees.

The egg came first.

Eggs Benedict for breakfast followed by chicken at lunch or dinner time.

There's your solution!

Re: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 3:40 am
by cooran
Oh Ben! You are SUCH a boy! :tongue:

with metta
Chris

Re: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 4:17 am
by mikenz66
OK, here's some real research... Maybe...

Which Came First — The Chicken Or the Egg?
I tackled the question experimentally, using a chicken, an egg, and the United States Postal Service (USPS).

I mailed the chicken and the egg, each in its own separate packaging, and kept careful track of when each shipment was sent from a post office in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and when it subsequently arrived at its intended destination in New York City.
....
http://improbable.com/airchives/paperai ... n_egg.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Mike

Re: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 4:53 am
by Anicca
Which came first the chicken or the egg? - Come on youse guys - y'all are all way off base - Da Rooster came first! Get real! Cock-a-doodly-doodle y'all!

?Metta?

Re: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 4:58 am
by tiltbillings
Anicca wrote:Which came first the chicken or the egg? - Come on youse guys - y'all are all way off base - Da Rooster came first! Get real! Cock-a-doodly-doodle y'all!

?Metta?
Barnyard humor from Oklahoma.

Re: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 8:23 am
by Bhikkhu Pesala
Which came first, Ignorance (avijjā) or mental formations (kamma/saṅkhārā) ?

Re: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 8:36 am
by cooran
Dear Bhante,

Good pointer! I think we recently had a thread on this:

Different causes of sankhara?
http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.ph ... 39&start=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

with metta and respect,
Chris

Re: Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Posted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 9:31 am
by acinteyyo
Reminds me of the thread: Can effect arise simulteneously with its cause?.
My favourite answer to "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" is: There's no beginning within a circle.

best wishes, acinteyyo