Buddhism

Overlooking Dharamshala

This Living On Earth radio segment is fascinating. It is a report on a science education project of Emory University in Dharamshala, India, the exile home of the Dalai Lama and the center of world Tibetan Buddhism. 

I was pleased to hear some of my own ideas about the intersection of Buddhist practice and scientific method in the report of the projects findings. I was displeased by the journalist's confusion in describing Buddhism as a Faith, when the project he was reporting on confirms that Buddhism is a form of Mental Practice, not an unquestioning subscription to a belief system on faith. The journalist also implied that Buddhist interest in preserving and respecting all forms of life is based in fear of being reincarnated. While this may be true of more dogmatic Tibetan Buddhism, it is not universally applicable to all Buddhism. 

My own exploration of Japanese Buddhism thirty years ago was inspired by reading which indicated to me that modern Japanese Buddhists saw this link between the practice of Buddhism and scientific method. They also subscribed to a theory that Buddhist practice could facilitate the actualization of world peace. This is why they came to the West with their organization initially. Unfortunately, the organization eventually fell into disarray when it neglected the ideal of fostering individual practice in favor of making converts to the organization for income. Religiosity corrupts. This explains my indignation when words like "faith" are applied to Buddhism.

I hope you'll listen to the program or read the transcript if you are interested in science, Buddhism, practice and/or humanism.