Home > Work > The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality
21 " My confidence in venturing into science lies in my basic belief that as in science so in Buddhism, understanding the nature of reality is pursued by means of critical investigation: 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. "
― Dalai Lama XIV , The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality
22 " All truths in science must be demonstrated either through experiment or through mathematical proof. The idea that something must be so because Newton or Einstein said so is simply not scientific. "
23 " Science and technology are powerful tools, but we must decide how best to use them. "
24 " No scientific description of the neural mechanisms of color discrimination can make one understand what it feels like to perceive, say, the color red. "
25 " To a Mahayana Buddhist exposed to Nagarjuna’s thought, there is an unmistakable resonance between the notion of emptiness and the new physics. "
26 " In the case of food, if the argument is valid that we need some kind of genetic modification to help feed the world’s growing population, then I believe that we cannot simply dismiss this branch of genetic technology. However, if, as suggested by its critics, this argument is merely a front for motives that are primarily commercial—such as producing food that will simply have a longer lasting shelf life, that can be more easily exported from one side of the world to the other, that is more attractive in appearance and more convenient in consumption, or creating grains and cereals engineered not to produce their own seeds so that farmers are forced to depend entirely upon the biotech companies for seeds—then clearly such practices must be seriously questioned. Many "
27 " On the whole, I think the Darwinian theory of evolution, at least with the additional insights of modern genetics, gives us a fairly coherent account of the evolution of human life on earth. At the same time, I believe that karma can have a central role in understanding the origination of what Buddhism calls “sentience,” through the media of energy and consciousness. "
28 " The insights of science have enriched many aspects of my own Buddhist worldview. "
29 " Einstein’s theory of relativity, with its vivid thought experiments, has given an empirically tested texture to my grasp of Nagarjuna’s theory of the relativity of time. "
30 " The extraordinarily detailed picture of the behavior of subatomic particles at the minutest levels imaginable brings home the Buddha’s teaching on the dynamically transient nature of all things. "
31 " From the Buddhist perspective, a full human understanding must not only offer a coherent account of reality, our means of apprehending it, and the place of consciousness but also include a clear awareness of how we should act. "
32 " The problem arises when reductionism, which is essentially a method, is turned into a metaphysical standpoint. "
33 " Why does modern biology accept only competition to be the fundamental operating principle and only aggression to be the fundamental trait of living beings? "
34 " The Kalachakra texts claim that, prior to its formation, any particular universe remains in the state of emptiness, where all its material elements exist in the form of potentiality as “space particles. "
35 " Because I have no mathematical background, teaching me modern physics, especially esoteric topics such as the theory of relativity, was not an easy task. When I think of Bohm’s patience, his soft voice and gentle manner, and the care with which he made sure that I was following his explanation, I miss him dearly. As "
36 " As any layperson who has attempted to understand this theory is aware, even a basic comprehension of Einstein’s principle demands a willingness to defy common sense. "
37 " There is almost no area of human life today that is not touched by the effects of science and technology. Yet are we clear about the place of science in the totality of human life—what exactly it should do and by what it should be governed? This last point is critical because 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. "
38 " The amount of scientific knowledge and the range of technological possibilities are so enormous that the only limitations on what we do may be the results of insufficient imagination. "
39 " Francisco Varela once told me that a European philosopher, Edmund Husserl, already suggested a similar approach to the study of consciousness. "
40 " The higher the level of knowledge and power, the greater must be our sense of moral responsibility. "