{"id":2881,"date":"2013-03-22T07:41:10","date_gmt":"2013-03-22T11:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/mindfulnessmatters\/?p=2881"},"modified":"2013-03-22T07:41:10","modified_gmt":"2013-03-22T11:41:10","slug":"buddhism-and-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2013\/03\/buddhism-and-science.html","title":{"rendered":"Buddhism and Science"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I recently read the cover articles on the relationship between Buddhism and Science in the penultimate issue of Tricycle Magazine. I was moved to write a letter to the editor. Much to my surprise and delight, they published my letter as the lead letter in the current issue.\u00a0You can read the full text here<\/a>. To read the full text of the Tricycle articles,\u00a0subscribe to Tricycle<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I recall reading the Dalai Lama’s science memoir, The Universe in a Single Atom. He has enjoyed a lifelong interest in science. In 2005, a controversy ensued when he was invited to give the keynote address to the annual Neuroscience conference.<\/a> Why? Because he was a religious leader and presumably had no business addressing an august scientific body. A petition against his talk was signed by 800 of the 14,000 participants (many of which were Chinese Americans). His talk went forth and he said:<\/p>\n

“By invoking fundamental ethical principles, I am not advocating a fusion of religious ethics and scientific inquiry. Rather, I am speaking of what I call ‘secular ethics’ that embrace the key ethical principles, such as compassion, tolerance, a sense of caring, consideration of others, and the responsible use of knowledge and power — principles that transcend the barriers between religious believers and nonbelievers, and followers of this religion or that religion,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“What relation could there be between Buddhism, an ancient Indian philosophical and spiritual tradition, and modern science?” His Holiness asked. There is a commonality in the Buddha’s and the scientist’s approach. Both seek experience. For the Buddha, this experience was internal and testable, while not directly measurable. For science, the findings can be internal and external and are measured.<\/p>\n

While the Dalia Lama is a religious leader, his understanding of science distinguishes him from just about every other religious leader on the planet. In The Universe in a Single Atom, he says:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf scientific analysis were conclusively to demonstrate certain claims in Buddhism to be false, then we must accept the findings of science and abandon those claims.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Can you imagine the Pope making such a statement? An Evangelical Christian Leader? An Imam? A Rabbi?<\/p>\n

Professor Richard Gombrich in the book, What the Buddha Thought, states:<\/p>\n

\u201cI certainly do not intend to claim that the Buddha anticipated all the discoveries of modern psychology \u2026 Nevertheless the similarity between some of his ideas and the picture painted by modern cognitive psychology is striking. Nowadays perception is regarded as an activity, a kind of doing. Moreover \u2018Perception is inherently selective,\u2019 which means that it cannot be dissociated from volition. Both of these propositions would have the Buddha\u2019s complete assent.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There is a compatibility with the Buddha’s approach and science and this relationship will continue to be fruitful. As science maps out human consciousness and the effects of mindfulness meditation, we can continue to explore our inner experience with interest, curiosity, and fascination.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I recently read the cover articles on the relationship between Buddhism and Science in the penultimate issue of Tricycle Magazine. I was moved to write a letter to the editor. Much to my surprise and delight, they published my letter as the lead letter in the current issue.\u00a0You can read the full text here. To…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":268,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,4,15],"tags":[60,115,633,632],"class_list":["post-2881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-buddha-101","category-buddha-beat","category-media","tag-buddhism","tag-neuroscience","tag-science","tag-tricycle-magazine"],"yoast_head":"\nBuddhism and Science - Mindfulness Matters<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2013\/03\/buddhism-and-science.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Buddhism and Science - Mindfulness Matters\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I recently read the cover articles on the relationship between Buddhism and Science in the penultimate issue of Tricycle Magazine. 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Dr. Kozak's ability to translate ancient healing traditions into pragmatic applications suitable for modern lifestyles through the use of metaphors have made him a strong voice in healthcare and business. Beginning with a journey to India in the 80\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where he took the Bodhisattva vows from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Arnie Dr. Kozak began his lifelong practice in mindfulness meditation. Intent on finding a way to bring the practical healing attributes of mindfulness he began incorporating these techniques in his private practice. In 2002 Dr. Kozak created Exquisite Mind in Burlington, Vermont as a vehicle that could expand his wisdom to larger audiences beyond individual psychotherapy to professionals and corporations, health care providers, public groups and, most recently with Exquisite Mind Golf, amateur and professional golfers. His award-winning new book, Wild Chickens and Petty Tyrants: 108 Metaphors for Mindfulness (Wisdom Publications, 2009) is a thoughtful, funny, and inspiring translation of mindfulness practice through the inventive use of metaphor applicable to our daily lives. In addition to his work with Exquisite Mind, Arnie Kozak, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist\u00e2\u20ac\u201dDoctorate has been a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Vermont and is a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry and Medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine. He has studied and practiced clinical psychology, meditation, and yoga for more than 25 years. He has studied with several meditation masters, including S. N. Goenka, Larry Rosenberg, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. After receiving his bachelors degree with honors from Tufts University, he was awarded a Presidential Fellowship to get his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University at Buffalo. He completed his training as a Psychological Fellow at the Harvard Medical School. Prior to founding the Exquisite Mind in 2002, Arnie worked ten years in the private sector for the PKC Corporation consulting on mental health content for this revolutionary software company.","sameAs":["http:\/\/exquisitemind.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/author\/akozak"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2881"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2881\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2885,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2881\/revisions\/2885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}