The Buddha and Modern Science

[Ron Alexander]

I am fascinated by the interconnected of all beings, and how modern science is so fascinated with Buddhism, and how it's theology lines up so well. Buddha sat there in his Inquiry Meditation (Vipassana - to see Reality), and realized all the inner workings of the body which parallels the outer workings of the Universe. How stars and planets and shooting stars are like the atoms, electrons, protons, nuetrons, quarks in our bodies. Buddha observed tiny objects moving and disappearing (causing "sensations' in the body) while he was meditating that Goenka writes about this with another name but sounds like "quarks" to me. How "emptiness" is related to space which is the medium that all of this can occur. How Buddhism helps tell the story of our beginnings, our connectedness, the impermanence, and ironically our infiniteness. Science is still behind with the last part. They start with the "big bang" (which helps explain our interconnectedness) but Buddhism says the Universe is infinite, so the Dalia Lama wants to know what went on before the "big bang". What about science of Loving Kindness? The scientists really are inspired by the compassion shown by Buddhists, and realize it has a lot to do with our interconnectedness - our Oneness.

I want to understand better the Science of Love. How does Science line up with Unconditional Love? Why did my Grandmother's energetic transmission (she was physical or verbal) of unconditional love affect me so positively'
that I felt it saved my life?

Here is a sample quote from another helpful book:

"I once asked my physicist friend David Bohm this question: From the perspective of modern science, apart from the question of misrepresentation, what is wrong with the belief in the independent existence of things? His response was telling. He said that if we examine various ideologies that tend to divide humanity, such as racism, extreme nationalism, and the Marxist class struggle, one of the key factors of their origin is the tendency to perceive things as inherently divided and disconnected.

" His Holiness The Dalia Lama from p. 51 of his book The Universe in a Single Atom.

[Jeanne]

I think both inner and outer explorations require the methodologies of science... investigation, acquisition, and integration of knowledge... collecting data through observation and experimentation, and the formulation and testing of hypotheses.

What an exciting time to be alive and be able to witness the marriage of the objective and subjective paths! Though the objective, external sciences are too often hampered by political and special interests agendas and the subjective has been held captive by religious fervor... but somehow the search for truth seems to keep plugging along and revealing itself. The elephant in the room is coming into the light... and its big, and its bright.

[Ron Alexander]

I am sure I will be adding more here after listening and sitting with Dr. Fleishman this coming weekend.