Home > Work > The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality
1 " The theory of emptiness…is the deep recognition that there is a fundamental disparity between the way we perceive the world, including our own existence in it, and the way things actually are. "
― Dalai Lama XIV , The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality
2 " Can there be a completely different set of laws of physics in a different universe, or do the laws of physics as we understand them hold true in all possible universes? If the answer is that a different set of laws can operate in a different universe system, this would suggest (from a Buddhist perspective) that even the laws of physics are entangled with the karma of the sentient beings that will arise in that universe. "
3 " Popper's falsifiability thesis resonates with a major methodological principle in my own Tibetan Buddhist philosophical tradition. We might call this the "principle of the scope of negation." This principle states that there is a fundamental difference between that which is "not found" and that which is "found not to exist." If I look for something and fail to find it, this does not mean that the thing I am seeking does not exist. Not seeing a thing is not the same as seeing its non-existence. "
4 " If scientific analysis were conclusively to demonstrate certain claims in Buddhism to be false, then we must accept the findings of science and abandon those claims. "
5 " What we do and think in our own lives, then, becomes of extreme importance as it effects everything we're connected to. "
6 " unless the direction of science is guided by a consciously ethical motivation, especially compassion, its effects may fail to bring benefit. They may indeed cause great harm. "
7 " If as spiritual practitioners we ignore the discoveries of science, our practice is also impoverished, as this mind-set can lead to fundamentalism. "
8 " The view that all aspects of reality can be reduced to matter and its various particles is, to my mind, as much a metaphysical position as the view that an organizing intelligence created and controls reality. "
9 " There is more to human existence and to reality itself than current science can ever give us access to. "
10 " For modern science, at least from a philosophical point of view, the critical divide seems to be between inanimate matter and the origin of living organisms, while for Buddhism the critical divide is between non-sentient matter and the emergence of sentient beings. "
11 " Buddhism and science share a fundamental reluctance to postulate a transcendent being as the origin of all things. "
12 " I wish to emphasize to the millions of my fellow Buddhists worldwide the need to take science seriously and to accept its fundamental discoveries within their worldview. "
13 " no credible understanding of the natural world or our human existence—what I am going to call in this book a worldview—can ignore the basic insights of theories as key as evolution, relativity, and quantum mechanics. "
14 " The view that all mental processes are necessarily physical processes is a metaphysical assumption, not a scientific fact. "
15 " What marks the transition from non-sentient to sentient beings? A model of increasing complexity based on evolution through natural selection is simply a descriptive hypothesis, a kind of euphemism for “mystery,” and not a satisfactory explanation. "
16 " the first moment of consciousness of the new being must be preceded by its substantial cause, which must be a moment of consciousness. "
17 " This is a precious gateway into the alleviation of suffering, which I believe to be our principal task on this earth. "
18 " Scientists have a special responsibility, a moral responsibility, in ensuring that science serves the interests of humanity in the best possible way. "
19 " Anton showed me an instrument that allows one to view an ionized single atom. Try as I might, though, I simply could not see it. Perhaps my karma wasn’t ripe enough to enjoy this spectacle. "
20 " The specific areas of science that I have explored most over the years are subatomic physics, cosmology, and biology, including neuroscience and psychology. "
