05/02/2010 09:13 (GMT+7)
Buddhism
goes beyond modern science in its acceptance of a wider field of knowledge than
is allowed by the scientific mind. Buddhism admits knowledge arising from the
sense organs as well as personal experiences gained though mental culture. By
training and developing a highly concentrated mind, religious experience can be
understood and verified. Religious experience is not something which can be
understood by conducting experiments in a test-tube or examined under a
microscope. |
05/02/2010 09:13 (GMT+7)
I would like to suggest some areas in which science could
be improved upon, beginning with a discussion of "insufficiency."
Science is not sufficient to remedy the problems of the modern day world. To
illustrate, let us look at the situation in the environment. The problem of
conservation is one of the major issues of our time, and science must play a
leading role in dealing with this problem, especially in terms of research and
proposals for solutions. |
05/02/2010 09:20 (GMT+7)
To talk of Buddhism we must first talk about its
origins. I have suggested that the origin of religion was the fear of danger,
but this is not true of Buddhism, which arose from the fear of suffering.
Please note this distinction. Dealing with the origins of religion we talk
about danger, but when dealing with Buddhism we talk about suffering, which has
a more specific meaning. The fear of danger has its object in external factors,
such as floods, earthquakes, and so on, but suffering includes all the problems
experienced in life, including those within the mind. |
05/02/2010 09:29 (GMT+7)
Most
religions use emotion as the driving force for attaining their goals. Emotion
arouses belief and obedience to the teachings, and emotions, particularly those
which produce faith, are a necessary part of most religions. In other words,
because faith is so crucial to them, emotion is encouraged. In contrast to
other religions, Buddhism stresses wisdom, giving faith a place of importance
only in the initial stages. Even then, faith is used with reservation, as
wisdom is considered to be the prime factor in attaining the goal. |
05/02/2010 09:40 (GMT+7)
I want to begin to write
this essay with mentioning Prof. Seonglae Park, who is the famous scholar in
the history of science. Prof. Park carefully explained in his heading remarks
of the quarterly journal, Gwahak Sasang(The Thought of Science) how the
West occupied the East, and how the moral civilization of the East has been
changed by the Western mechanic civilization and anticipated the situation of
the coming 21st century world as follows: |
05/02/2010 09:43 (GMT+7)
Buddhism, that oldest world religion, is generally
misconceived to be a blind faith. As seen from its outward appearance, really
it is painted with a strong religious color. To a non-Buddhist, who sees the
golden image of Buddha, and hears the chanting of Sanscrit Sutras and the
clinking of the bell, Buddhism is nothing but idolatry; in view of their
passive life, Buddhists of the Order are said to be "social
parasites". However, on the contrary, whatever is expounded in Buddhism,
down to every minor matter, is based on the Teaching of Buddha |
23/02/2010 10:45 (GMT+7)
It is commonly asserted that religion arose from the fear
of danger, particularly natural dangers, such as lightning, floods,
earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and hurricanes. These dangers have threatened
human beings throughout the ages. Ancient man, ignorant of the workings of
nature, could not understand the causes of these natural forces. Terrified at
the threat they presented, he began to search for answers. |
23/02/2010 10:44 (GMT+7)
The eminent scientist, Bertrand Russell, has summed up the
position of present-day philosophical thought follows: '' Assuming physics to
he broadly speaking true, can we know it to be true, and if the answer is to be
in the affirmative, does this involve knowledge of other truths besides those
of physics? We might find that, if the world is such as physics says it is, no
organism could know it to be such or that, if an organism can know it to be
such, it must know some things other than physics, more particularly certain
principles of probable inference". |
23/02/2010 10:44 (GMT+7)
At
the outset we must acknowledge the innumerable blessings bestowed on us by
science. Nobody will dispute the enormous value science has for us. In order to
be able to give this lecture, I have travelled all the way from Bangkok to Chiang Mai in
only one hour. Back in the days of King Rama I, you would have had to wait
three months for me to get here, and for that matter I probably wouldn't have
come at all. For this we must acknowledge science's contribution to travel. |
23/02/2010 10:44 (GMT+7)
Before we answer that question it would be best to define the word 'science'.
Science, according to the dictionary is: "knowledge which can be made into
a system, which depends upon seeing and testing facts and stating general
natural laws, a branch of such knowledge, anything that can be studied
exactly". There are aspects of Buddhism that would not fit into this
definition but the central teachings of Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths, most
certainly would. Suffering, the First Noble Truth, is an experience that can be
defined, experienced and measured. |
23/02/2010 10:43 (GMT+7)
Western interest in Eastern religions, especially Buddhism, historically
coincided with the rise of modern science and the corresponding perceived
decline of religious orthodoxy in the West. Put simply: Modern science
initiated a deep spiritual crisis that led to an unfortunate split between
faith and reason—a split yet to be reconciled. Buddhism was seen as an
"alternative altar," a bridge that could reunite the estranged worlds
of matter and spirit. |
23/02/2010 10:43 (GMT+7)
In the seventeenth century when Rene Descartes
divided everything in the universe into two realms as "Res Extensa"
(matter) and "Res Cogitans" (mind), gathering knowledge within the
realm of Res Extensa was called Science and the phenomenon of reincarnation got
pushed into the other realm Res Cogitans which was condemned to be not
respectable and not up to the dignity of Scientists to probe into. Science was
considered the respectable realm to study. |
08/05/2010 02:32 (GMT+7)
The coming 21st
century
will begin in a chaotic condition with the fever of capitalism and
individualism. we tend to interpret the word 'ism' as an
expression of
will of human beings....However, capitalism and individualism are
not
'isms' by which we, human beings, consciously remake our world. |
04/08/2011 01:47 (GMT+7)
What
the Buddha taught was not based upon divine revelation or some other
source of superior authority. All his teachings derived directly from
his own personal experience that arose from his compassionate efforts to
relieve the sufferings of beings. During the years of his meditation
and reflection, he directly observed his own mind with the precision and
objective exactness that we have now come to associate with scientific
research. |
04/07/2011 23:47 (GMT+7)
First of all, please let me express my deepest thanks to the organisers of the 2m World
Buddhist Forum especially the Most Ven. Yi Cheng President of the
Buddhist Association of China, the Most Ven. Hsing Yun President of the
Buddha's Life International Association, the Most Ven. Kok Kwong
President of the Hong Kong Buddhist Association, H.E.Mr.Ye Xiaowen
Chairman of the China Religious Culture Communication Association, who
have allowed me to participate in this prestigious conference. |
07/01/2013 16:40 (GMT+7)
One of the fundamental views in Buddhism is the principle of "dependent origination." This states that all phenomena, both subjective experiences and external objects, come into existence in dependence upon causes and conditions; nothing comes into existence uncaused. Given this principle, it becomes crucial to understand what causality is and what types of cause there are. In Buddhist literature, two main categories of causation are mentioned: (i) external causes in the form of physical objects and events, and (ii) internal causes such as cognitive and mental events. |
10/01/2013 09:57 (GMT+7)
Can Buddhist practice liberate us from the prison of physical pain? How can meditation help when medicine falls short? Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph. D., professor emeritus of medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, speaks to these questions as a longtime practitioner of Buddhist meditation and hatha yoga, and as a pioneer in the use of mindfulness to treat chronic pain and illness. More than 13,000 people have visited the world-renowned Stress Reduction Clinic that Kabat-Zinn established in 1979 at the UMass Medical Center, and the eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program—described in Kabat-Zinn's bestseller Full Catastrophe Living—is now also offered at some two hundred other medical facilities worldwide. |
23/01/2013 16:50 (GMT+7)
Mundgod, Karnataka, India, 20 January 2013 –The spiritual leader of Tibet, His Holiness, the Dalai Lama keenly participated in all the sessions while several scientists and scholars made their presentations at the Drepung University in Mundgod, Karnataka State, South India. |
24/01/2013 08:59 (GMT+7)
Mundgod, Karnataka, India: - The spiritual leader of Tibet, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama arrived at Mundgod for Mind & Life meeting today, 21 January, his shoulders draped with a green shawl that he explained he had been given by people who had just met him seeking his support for the local polio vaccination campaign. His Holiness laughed to see that the day's first presenter, Sona Dimidjian, was wearing almost exactly the same colour. |
25/01/2013 10:08 (GMT+7)
Mundgod, Karnataka, India: - The 26th Mind & Life conference successfully concluded on January 22, at the Drepung Monastery, known as the second Nalanda University of Tibet. Over 8000 people, the majority of them Tibetan monastics attended the 6-day event, which also attracted significant interest worldwide. The live webcast of the event on www.dalailama.com received 240,000 hits over the course of the event. |
|