Top reviews from the United States
Matthew RapaportTop Contributor: Philosophy
4.0 out of 5 stars About the intersection between western science and Buddhism, both overlap and differences
Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2019
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Who can critique the Dalai Lama? He is a smart, wise, man with a curiosity about pure science, and a pragmatic streak about technological applications. Should they benefit mankind, alleviate suffering, they are good. The Dalai Lama seems to have wanted to write this book thanks to a life-long fascination with science coupled with insights of his years of Buddhist training. He tells us as a boy growing up he had no training in western science whatsoever, but he was fascinated with a few (first-half 20th century) examples of western technology belonging to his predecessor. As a young man, once vested in his office, he availed himself of a new-found access to many of the world's greatest minds, philosophers, scientists, artists, and so on. He has gone on talking and learning from great minds ever since.
After this introduction, the book looks at the physical (cosmology, quantum mechanics, relativity) and then life sciences. I was hoping he would not get into a "Buddhism discovered it first" argument, and mostly he does not. He comes close on the subject of quantum mechanics but I think mostly because at the time, the people from whom he learned it still took seriously the idea that individual human minds (for example that of a researcher) could be responsible for wave-function collapse. If this were true (the idea has long been put to rest as concerns individual minds) the tie-in with the Buddhist mind-first world-view and deep exploration of that first-person (consciousness) world would indeed be strong.
Even within quantum mechanics his eminence is sensitive to the great gulf between the western scientific paradigm and the focus of Buddhism. He well illustrates these differences while pointing out to scientists that much of what they take to be the "structure of reality" is a metaphysical assumption. It does not follow necessarily from scientific methodology which so well illuminates structure as concerns the physical world.
But this same methodology can say very little about consciousness. It is with consciousness that he spends much of the book examining the views of modern brain-science and how they might relate to Buddhist discoveries. The views of these different worlds stem as much from the purposes of their separate investigations as the technique; empirical 3rd-party evaluation versus highly-trained rigorous introspection. Becoming a master monk takes as many years as obtaining a PhD in physics (more in fact), but he mis-uses the term 'empirical' here. What the monk does and what the monk learns in the doing should not be dismissed by western science, but it is still subjective and for that reason not empirical. He advocates for joint research. Neuro-scientists together with trained monks, he thinks, might help unlock some of the mind's mysteries. He also is aware that not all mysteries are unlock-able!
In the book's penultimate chapter he uses the then-new technology of genetic manipulation to plead with the scientific community to take it slow. He wants us all to be asking the right questions concerning the long term affects of the possibilities on our humanity. Here the contribution of Buddhism is the importance of compassion, of constant awareness of the mission to alleviate suffering. He is very good at identifying frightening possibilities in the technology and lists them. At the same time, aspects of the field, the need to produce more food, provided it isn't motivated purely by financial gain, can be good. In his last chapter, his eminence returns to the same subject, a cooperation between science and Buddhism's focus on bettering the human estate, not only physically or biologically, but socially, psychologically, and spiritually.
The book is full of interesting philosophical implications I will perhaps explore on my blog. These have more to do with physics, cosmology, and what western philosophy calls metaphysics than with consciousness which Buddhism takes more or less for granted. The idea that the stuff of the universe is fundamentally phenomenal suffuses all schools of Buddhism, while in the West the idea, while not unknown, is viewed with great suspicion. Where consciousness is concerned, his emphasis falls on intentionality, our capacity to direct our attention, but he never mentions free will. Like consciousness itself, perhaps Buddhism takes free will for granted.
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9 people found this helpful
Aaron J Dykstra
4.0 out of 5 stars Can we observe consciousness from outside ourselves?
Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2006
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The Universe in a Single Atom is a book by Dalai Lama XIV which goes into how he feels Buddism and the scientific method meet. His Holiness has had the opportunity to meet with some of the greatest scientific minds and has used those times to gain a greater understanding of state of science and attempt to apply them to philosophies and manuscripts within his faith. At times, I found this book to feel like a sales pitch for how Buddism is a religion that works hand in hand with science through the use of first person, introspective studies whereas science utilizes the third person, observant methodologies. But there are other times in this book, that he is able to bring about a real focus on some of the issues that we will soon have to face as a result of the great advances we have made in science.
I enjoyed this book. I attribute that to the fact that I enjoy the exercise of thinking on various focused topics. His Holiness is talks on the topics of Quantum Mechanics, the Big Bang, Evolution, Genetics, and Consciousness, and puts them in context of his beliefs and faith which provides an interest context in which to work though. One example is where the Dalai Lama shows how the Big Bang can be applied to one of manuscripts of Buddist teachings where the universe is of a cyclical nature and that the scientific studies have made many conjectures where this is a possibility where the universe will collapse the spin out yet another universe for the matter that once created the old.
Based on this, I recommend this to those that enjoy this sort of mental exercise and would like to learn a little of Buddism along the way.
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8 people found this helpful
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Jon S. Wesick
5.0 out of 5 stars A Level-Headed Look at Science and Religion
Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2007
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As a Zen student with a Ph.D. in physics I often ponder the integration of scientific and religious world views. This is a bit easier for Buddhists because our religion places less emphasis on belief than other faiths do. I see science as a tool that uses measurement to understand nature, while religion deals with ethics and human experience. The Dalai Lama comes to similar conclusions, although more eloquently, in his book "The Universe in a Single Atom."
Both science and religion inspire a sense of wonder and help us understand our place in the cosmos, so comparing them, as the Dalai Lama does in this book, can be worthwhile. He writes well about science. I found his descriptions of physics accurate, although he missed some of the subtleties of the EPR experiment. As expected from a meditator, he points out that science has yet to explore subjective experience. The Dalai Lama draws parallels between the empirical exploration of mental states in the Tibetan tradition and the scientific method. This empiricism first drew me to Buddhism. In fact, my intimate thoughts and feelings have often seemed more immediate and real than some ghostly trace on an oscilloscope that represents "objective reality."
The Dalai Lama gently points out questionable assumptions made by scientific reductionists. For the most part I think his criticisms are valid. Although he's willing to abandon doctrines disproved by modern science, I wonder if the Dalai Lama would be willing to put the Buddhist bedrock teachings of karma and rebirth to the empirical test. If these are truly universal laws, they should be demonstrable by more than personal anecdote. I would have been interested if he'd discussed this more.
This is a fascinating, well-written book. I recommend it to fellow Buddhists and anyone interested in the interaction between science and religion.
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10 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries
KenJT53
5.0 out of 5 stars Deceptively simple!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 24, 2012
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If you are looking for a clear introduction to the science/spirituality debate, which is everything to do with the issues generated by differing worldviews, then this is an excellent place to start. The Dalai Lama takes you through his journey into and through science and clearly points out and clarifies the landmarks on the way. So he provides you with some excellent orienteering in a region that could easily overwhelm.
But, just in case you make the assumption that this is therefore only for newcomers to the discussions that have been taking place between thoughtful people in both science and religion for many years, take a pause. This is a wonderfully clear overview that will provide those readers already acquainted with the issues with a valuable summary of what's involved. The dialogue between Buddhism and Science is proving to be very fertile, especially in the area of brain, mind and consciousness; the Dalai Lama's ability to communicate wonder, generosity and humility reveals just how nourishing and fruitful that dialogue can be.
If you've been irritated or perhaps saddened by the simplistic treatment of the human search for meaning, purpose and value by the headline grabbers in the field of science and religious debate, enjoy this rich and deceptively simple exploration of the domain.
3 people found this helpful
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Dr. David R. Hamilton
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic read. HH The Dalai Lama makes Tibetan Buddhist ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 1, 2018
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Fantastic read. HH The Dalai Lama makes Tibetan Buddhist philosophy easy to understand, which helps make it easier to practice the teachings in our lives.
One person found this helpful
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과학과 불교 - 한 원자 속의 우주
달라이 라마 (지은이),삼묵 (옮긴이)
하늘북2007-05-22
기본정보
204쪽
목차
하나
1. REFLECTION 회상
둘
2. ENCOUNTER WITH SCIENCE 과학을 만나다.
셋
3. ENPTINESS, RELATIVITY, AND QUANTUM PHSICS 공(空), 상대론 이론 그리고 양자 물리학
넷
4. THE BIG BANG AND THE BUDDHIST BEGININING UNIVERSE 대폭발 이론과 불교의 시작 없는 우주론
다섯
5. EVOLLUTION, KARMA, AND THE WORLD OF SENTIENCE 진화와 업보 그리고 유정의 세계
여섯
6. THE QUESTION OF CONCIOUSNESS 의식에 대한 질문
일곱
7. TOWARD A SCIENCE OF CONSCIOUSNESS 의식의 과학을 향하여더보기
저자 및 역자소개
달라이 라마 (Tenzin Gyatso) (지은이)
구매자 (2)
전체 (2)
공감순
두껍지 않은 책이네요. 불교와 과학에 대해서 감을 잡을 수 있을 거 같습니다. 구매
HERM 2015-05-16 공감 (0) 댓글 (0)
Thanks to
공감
책을 구하고 지금 세 페이지를 읽으면서 일단 덮었습니다. 아, 번역하신 분께 정말 죄송한 말씀이지만 다시 정돈할 필요가 있어 보입니다. 번역한 용어가 비상용어라 뜻이 잘 안통하고 번역한 문장도 앞뒤가 잘 안맞아서 무슨 말인지 모를 곳이 많습니다.
존자님께 누가 될까 염려됩ㄴ