Buddhism & Science: Breaking new ground Edited by B. Alan Wallace Columbia University Press, New York, 2003 444 pp ISBN: 0-231-12334-5; 0-231-12335-3 http://mitpress2.mit.edu/e-journals/Leonardo/reviews/jul2003/Budd_Sharma.html Reviewed by Aparna Sharma Freelance journalist New Delhi, India ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) At a recent audience, the XIIth Tai Situpa Rinpoche of the Kagyu lineage raised issue with the efficacy of a discourse among an audience not conversant with his native dialect. His concern was that vocabularies of languages other than ancient Pali, Prakrit, Sanskrit (in which most Buddhist texts are written) or their immediate derivatives, are too immediate and communicate a rather hasty and passing meaning of the subject. In the process, meaning only gets straight jacketed, closing doors to interpretations and interrelations akin to the particularities of a given context. Buddhism and Science: Breaking new ground, is an anthology of essays mapping the engagements and intersections between Buddhism and modern science, which overcomes the restrictions the Rinpoche cautioned against in relation to the fields it engages with. Its scope spans a wide panorama with topics like Quantum theory, Lucid dreaming, Relativity, Imagining that have been studied along with aspects of the Buddhist philosophy. Apart from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and his principal interpreter, Thupten Jinpa who has had an education in traditional Tibetan Buddhism as well as the Western academic tradition, other contributors to this edition are primarily Western scholars, who have had involvements with Buddhism. Some have been Buddhist monks who spent substantial durations practicing in the sub continent. A few have participated in conclaves with His Holiness to interact and exchange on issues concerning their disciplines. The book's approach is thus not necessarily orientalist � in a manner that would view Buddhism as culturally specific, or peculiar. Before looking into some of the book's contents and approach, it is vital to recall the factors that will enable to locate this work and the dialogue itself more specifically, as pointed succinctly by Tibetan Buddhism and Cultural Studies professor at the University of California, Jose Ignacio Cabezon. He identifies the following facilitators: one, the interactions between Buddhism and science are far more specialized today than say 15 years ago. Two, the shift in the intellectual ethos of the West, which has resulted in a decline of resistance towards the contemplative sphere/s. Three, sociological factors, prominent being the spread of Buddhism to the West. Though Buddhism and Science is informative, intense and cogent, it makes for only an opening to the intersections between its subjects. The book starts with an historical overview. The essays thereafter examine specifically the underlying assumptions of Buddhism and science, and draw parallels between both. These parallels constitute spaces where scientific concepts have been explicated with resonance of Buddhist principles of understanding phenomena, and vice a versa. While it is necessary for any sustainable dialogue to map the points of congruence and departure between the participating spheres, particularly in this case where the two were for long considered diametrically opposite, but that in itself appears insufficient to constitute a dynamic and mutually beneficial flow or exchange. Buddhism and Science refers to Buddhist philosophical notions and practices like meditation, but the engagement with some concepts could have been deeper to bring forth their interrelations and links with the Buddhist philosophy as a whole. The process of entification has been emphasized through most of the text, and the interdependence of phenomena repeatedly pointed. The arguments developed in relation to the theories of relativity and quantum mechanics are particularly useful. But what appears as an isolationist tendency i.e. referring to particular aspect/s only, bears the risk of undermining the complimentarity of the various Buddhist teachings, besides prompting, unintentionally, an incomplete thus incompetent understanding of the subject. For example, in his essay investigating `identity' to unpack the dynamics of human-inflicted suffering, William S Waldron who teaches South Asian Religions at the Middlebury College, states that nations, societies, individuals and cultures are reified into selves or entities defined by a divide between `us' and `them' or the `other'. He adds that the assertion and protection of these entities requires the play of evil. In his deconstruction of the mechanisms of evil, Waldron locates and draws upon the concurrence between Evolutionary Biology and Buddhism, that, energies from past activities and dispositions at birth incline individuals to act in certain ways. Being the product of biological evolution, humans' conscious and unconscious goals are rooted in the activities and goals of their ancestors. Waldron's attempt bears currency in the present global, political backdrop wherein conflicts are no longer so much national or territorial as much as being rooted in civilizational identity, which is rather inflexible. And though his conception resonates with the Buddhist understanding of the process of entification and identity formation; but his involvement with Evolutionary Biology is such that the cyclical conception of human birth in relation to the finely detailed Buddhist conception of karma, operating both at the level of an individual and collectively appears scantily addressed. Similarly, Matthieu Ricard's essay, which delves into more subtle territory for clarifying what comprises consciousness, contests the neurobiologist's view according to which consciousness emanates from the constant interactions with the outer world. By pointing at this inadequacy, Ricard is not simply bringing forth the long drawn conflict between idealism and materialism, but in a manner he points at the futility of such a dualism which according to Buddhism does not exist in the first place because, "neither consciousness, nor the world of material phenomena have any intrinsic reality." (p.273) Ricard acknowledges a non-material component in the continuum of what constitutes consciousness, and he goes on to make a case for a contemplative science. But his assertion that consciousness can `undergo major changes quiet easily' (p.270) in a sense reflects a cursory understanding, undermining the interplay of other key conditions for holistic `transformation'. Ancient wisdom from the sub-continent has held consciousness as commanding the faculty of relative as well as absolute self-awareness. The prescribed Buddhist practices and their methodologies are aimed towards such an end, and are universal. However, a practitioner's evolution is based not only on immediate engagement but also other factors like predisposition or interaction with the environment. Consequently, there emerges no common denominator with regard to the duration or the impact/s of the prescribed practices that act upon the different levels of consciousness, often operating through very subtle modes. The concept of karma is at the core of the Buddhist tradition and is embraced unequivocally by its various schools. Its opaqueness, here in relation to the scientific community, could be attributed to either inept communication on behalf of its proponents, or its perception as a mystical formation, impassable to those not belonging to the cultures of its origin. Other concepts too like silence, mantras & chants, and more abstract ones such as the cakras, or prayer as non-mediated dialogue, may on an immediate glance defy relevance and evade physical verification, but are vital simply because they are intricately enmeshed within the philosophy and are regarded as occupying a functional role in it. The intention to point to these areas is merely to highlight unexplored territory in terms of a dialogue � one that may go on to be based not solely on concurrence, but would be more exciting being in the realm of contestation and disputation, under whose impact both the subjects could cultivate their understandings by abandoning aspects that cannot be corroborated through the rigorous methodologies of either. And vice a versa; either may adopt positionings and insights from the other. Further, in respect of a dialogue between science and any spiritual-philosophical tradition, not only Buddhism, vital as the physical and cognitive sciences are, which comprise the thrust areas Buddhism and Science, without an involvement of the life and bio-sciences the effort may not be completely lacking, but it would not be complete either. Particularly so given the onus on the mind, which is regarded as one level of existence related to others � the body and breath. The distinction between the different levels is purely organizational: they constantly interact and bear impressions on each other. Within the framework of the life sciences, new insights into the scope and effects of the practices could be revealed profoundly as well as in more tangible terms. Sitting meditation, as also other ancient Indian practices such as Samadhi, don't just interrupt the constant loop of thoughts stemming from action, experience and observation; with sustained practice they go on to explicate and enforce the essential continuity of all physical forms and phenomena. Some research into specific practices has revealed an increase in the rate of Beta activity in the brain, which is deemed as causing `higher and relaxed alertness'. Newer disciplines at least in medicine, such as Psychoneuroimmunology or mind-body science are emerging to collate and understand findings that don't have physical or bodily attributes only. The engagement with science is therefore not necessarily for verifying the credentials of such practices, or deconstructing and making accessible the philosophical notions of Buddhism. It is a means through which both spheres can come to each other's assistance in order to comprehend existence and man's position within it. Buddhism and Science is a welcome platform that brings its subjects to interact and manages to locate equations between both. Despite some of its limitations, it is a crucial work that constitutes a foundation for advancing future efforts that will capitalize on the agreements in it to dive deeper and examine the assumptions and methodologies of both, further. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Has someone you know been affected by illness or disease? Network for Good is THE place to support health awareness efforts! http://us.click.yahoo.com/rkgkPB/UOnJAA/Zx0JAA/uTGrlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> �������������������������������������������������������� This is ZESTGlobal. Post articles on international affairs to [email protected] If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTGlobal by sending a blank mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] OR, if you have a Yahoo! 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