Nasty Little Man

Religious leader embraces science

There's a headline you don't see regularly. In a New York Times op-ed in November, the Dalai Lama expressed the common Buddhist belief that its philosophy and science can co-exist and even that Buddhism would change (!) if science proved a part of the philosophy to be wrong.

If science proves some belief of Buddhism wrong, then Buddhism will have to change. In my view, science and Buddhism share a search for the truth and for understanding reality. By learning from science about aspects of reality where its understanding may be more advanced, I believe that Buddhism enriches its own worldview.

By and large, the op-ed is about the Mind and Life Institute, which is a collaboration between Buddhist monks and neuroscientists to study the neurological impact of meditation.

(You might need NY Times Select to get the entire op-ed. If you want to read it but don't want to buy Select, drop me an e-mail. We can get crafty.)

posted by Kinder Gentler Little Man @ 9:49 AM