http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/arianna-dalai-
lama_b_1519694.html
According to the Dalai Lama, science and Buddhist thought share many
things:
On the philosophical level, both Buddhism and modern science share a
deep suspicion of any notion of absolutes. ... Both Buddhism and
science prefer to account for the evolution and emergence of the
cosmos and life in terms of the complex interrelations of the natural
laws of cause and effect. From the methodological perspective, both
traditions emphasize the role of empiricism.
While the Dalai Lama contends that religious claims must give way to
the empirical findings of science, he also believes we must "ensure
that science never becomes divorced from the basic human feeling of
empathy with our fellow beings."
Or, as he put in his 2004 book, The Wisdom of Forgiveness, co-
authored with Victor Chan, "To utilize technology more
constructively, inner peace is the most important factor. That's the
main reason to have closer relations between modern science and
ancient human thought."
(...)
At the heart of this approach is the Buddhist belief in the
mutability of consciousness -- the idea that we can, through certain
practices, change our inner being. "It means that the cultivation of
loving-kindness can over a period diminish the force of hate in the
mind," he explains. Unlike our physical qualities, "the qualities of
the mind have the potential for limitless development," which means
that "it is possible for a mental quality like compassion to be
developed to a limitless degree."
How can this be done? One way is through the practice of mindfulness,
focusing one's mind by focusing on a single process, most commonly
breathing. Another technique is one he calls "giving and taking."
This is how he describes it: "I make visualization: send my positive
emotions like happiness, affection to others. Then another
visualization. I visualize receiving their sufferings, their negative
emotions. I do this every day. I pay special attention to the Chinese
-- especially those doing terrible things to the Tibetans."
One of his goals in bringing science and Buddhism together is to
study and enhance the transformative effects of these practices.
Since 1987, he's been organizing dialogues between scientists and
Buddhist thinkers and practitioners on a range of subjects, from
physics and astronomy to empathy and compassion.
"These are times," he says:
...when destructive emotions like anger, fear and hatred are giving
rise to devastating problems throughout the world. But I believe we
have a valuable opportunity to make progress in dealing with them,
through a collaboration between religion and science...
Experiments have already been carried out that show some
practitioners can achieve a state of inner peace, even when facing
disturbing circumstances. The results show such people to be happier,
less susceptible to destructive emotions, and more attuned to the
feelings of others. These methods are not just useful, but cheap: you
don't need to buy anything or make anything in a factory. You don't
need a drug or an injection.
So how can we spread these ideas? How can we scale them to meet the
huge challenges we're facing all over the world? A good way to start
is by trying to emulate this remarkable man's approach to living:
"The important thing is that my daily life should be something useful
to others," he said last year. "As soon as I wake up in the morning,
I shape my mind. The rest of the day, my body, speech, mind are
dedicated to others."
Call it step one on our journey from "relevance to resonance."
