Buddhism and science

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The relationship between Buddhism and science is a subject of contemporary discussion and debate among Buddhists, scientists, and scholars of Buddhism. Historically, Buddhism encompasses many types of beliefs, traditions and practices, so it is difficult to assert any single "Buddhism" in relation to science.[1][2] Similarly, the issue of what "science" refers to remains a subject of debate, and there is no single view on this issue.[2] Those who compare science with Buddhism may use "science" to refer to "a method of sober and rational investigation" or may refer to specific scientific theories, methods or technologies.[3]

There are many examples throughout Buddhism of beliefs such as dogmatism, fundamentalism, clericalism, and devotion to supernatural spirits and deities.[4][5][6][7] Nevertheless, since the 19th century, numerous modern figures have argued that Buddhism is rational and uniquely compatible with science. Some have even argued that Buddhism is "scientific" (a kind of "science of the mind" or an "inner science").[8][9][2][10][11] Those who argue that Buddhism is aligned with science point out certain commonalities between the scientific method and Buddhist thought. The 14th Dalai Lama, for example, in a speech to the Society for Neuroscience,[12] listed a "suspicion of absolutes" and a reliance on causality and empiricism as common philosophical principles shared by Buddhism and science.[13]

Buddhists also point to various statements in the Buddhist scriptures that promote rational and empirical investigation and invite people to put the teachings of the Buddha to the test before accepting them. Furthermore, Buddhist doctrines such as impermanence and emptiness have been compared to the scientific understanding of the natural world. However, some scholars have criticized the idea that Buddhism is uniquely rational and science friendly, seeing these ideas as a minor element of traditional Buddhism. Scholars like Donald Lopez Jr. have also argued that this narrative of Buddhism as rationalistic developed recently, as a part of a Buddhist modernism that arose from the encounter between Buddhism and western thought.[14][15][16]

Furthermore, while some have compared Buddhist ideas to modern theories of evolution, quantum theory, and cosmology, other figures such as the 14th Dalai Lama have also highlighted the methodological and metaphysical differences between these traditions. For the Dalai Lama, Buddhism mainly focuses on studying consciousness from the first-person or phenomenological perspective, while science focuses on studying the objective world.[17][14]

  1. ^ Thompson, Evan (January 2020). Why I Am Not a Buddhist. Yale University Press. p. 36. 'These central teachings aren't empirical; they're normative and soteriological. They're based on value judgments that aren't subject to independent empirical test, and they evaluate the world according to the desired goal of liberation. Although it's unquestionably true that Buddhism possesses a vast and sophisticate philosophical and contemplative literature on the mind. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam also possess sophisticated philosophical and contemplative writings about the mind.'
  2. ^ a b c McMahan, D. L. (2004). "Modernity and the Early Discourse of Scientific Buddhism". Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 72 (4): 897–933. doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfh083.
  3. ^ Lopez Jr. (2009), p. xii.
  4. ^ Wright, Robert (2017). Why Buddhism is True. Simon & Schuster. p. 256l. Two of the most common Western conceptions of Buddhism – that it's atheistic and that it revolves around meditation—are wrong; most Asian Buddhists do believe in gods, though not an omnipotent creator God, and don't meditate.
  5. ^ "Journal of Buddhist Ethics A Review of Buddhist Fundamentalism and Minority Identities in Sri Lanka". Buddhistethics.org. Archived from the original on April 16, 2009. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  6. ^ Safire, William (2007) The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge ISBN 0-312-37659-6 p.718
  7. ^ Deegalle, Mahinda (2006) Popularizing Buddhism: Preaching as Performance in Sri Lanka ISBN 0-7914-6897-6 p.131
  8. ^ Wallace (2003), p. 52.
  9. ^ Yong, Amos. (2005) Buddhism and Science: Breaking New Ground (review) Buddhist-Christian Studies – Volume 25, 2005, pp. 176–180.
  10. ^ Lopez Jr. (2009), pp. xi–xii, 5.
  11. ^ Thompson, Evan (2020). Why I am Not a Buddhist. Yale University Press. p. 1.
  12. ^ "Talking Up Enlightenment." Christina Reed Scientific American, February 6, 2006
  13. ^ "The Neuroscience of Meditation." November 12, 2005, speech given by the Dalai Lama.
  14. ^ a b Donald S. Lopez Jr., Buddhism and Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, (University of Chicago Press 2008)
  15. ^ Flanagan, Owen (2011). The Bodhisattva's Brain. MIT Press. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-262-01604-9. Even if there is a minority movement that fits the bill of naturalized Buddhism in the sense that it dissociates itself from beliefs in supernatural and nonphysical phenomena, it does not follow that it really deserves to call itself Buddhism.
  16. ^ Snodgrass, Judith. (2007) Defining Modern Buddhism: Mr. and Mrs. Rhys Davids and the Pāli Text Society, Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East – Volume 27, Number 1, 2007, pp. 186–202
  17. ^ Gyatso (2005), p. 165.