Buddhism and Science

Article by Arjanyai

Another aspect of long interest to the Buddhists has been the scientific nature of Buddhism. There is a usual claim, and also a pride, among the Buddhists that Buddhism is the most scientific of all religions. An instance of this can be discovered in the following words of U Chan Htoon, former justice of the Supreme Court of Burma: “In the case of Buddhism………all the modern day scientific concepts have been present from the beginning. There is no principle of science, from biological evolution to the General Theory of Relativity, that runs counter to any teaching of Gotama Buddha.”1 “There can’t be any achievement of science, no matter how revolu-tionary, that will ever contradict the teachings of Buddhism.”2 Professor von Glasenapp, an eminent German Indologist, specifies the following Buddhist concepts as unchallenged by modern day scientific suggestions: the principle of universal order (dhamma) a positivistic denial of eternal substances the contention that soul or self is an artificial abstraction the recognition of a plurality of worlds and the affirmation of the crucial similarity between man and animal.3 As Dr. Swearer says in his “Buddhism in Transition”: “There are at least three principal approaches in which the assertion of the scientific nature of Buddhism is presented: Buddhism is a lot more scientific than other religions, specially theism (viz., Christianity) there is a general agreement between the approach or strategy of Buddhism and science and, science proves or validates specific Buddhist teachings such as the doctrines of rebirth (samsara) and impermanence (anicca).”4 Here, Buddhist meditation becomes the experimental laboratory where the Truth of one’s existence can be proved by intuitive insight, an encounter of the individual, each and every for himself. The concept of impermanence finds its confirmation in Einstein’s field theory of contemporary physics.

THE ESP Also covered in the field of scientific study of Buddhism is the analysis on parapsychology, particularly the ESP (extrasensory perception), and on the dilemma of rebirth. The growth of scientific interest in these ancient beliefs was evidenced by the founding of the Society for Psychical Research of London in 2425/1882, the American Society for Psychical Study in 2431/1888, and other similar societies later on in most European countries, especially in the Netherlands, France and Italy where active work has been carried on. Stimulated by the effective work of these societies, a couple of universities in America and later in Europe have taken up psychical investigation as a serious topic for study. Parapsychological laboratories or research departments were opened in leading universities such as Harvard, Stanford and Duke Universities in the United States, and the University of Utrecht and Groningen University in the Netherlands. Leading psychologists like William James, William McDougall, C.G. Jung, and Sigmund Freud took an interest in the analysis. During the period from the 1930s to the 1960s the very best-recognized work was that of Duke University in North Carolina. So far, nonetheless, except for hypnotism which is no longer regarded as paranormal, parapsychology has been of comparatively small interest to most professional scientists. But, a couple of years ago, much excitement was caused amongst some groups of the Buddhists by the research of psychologists and psychical research institutions working on the dilemma of remembering past existences. It was Dr. Ian Stevenson of the University of Virginia and Professor Gillbert Rhine of the Parapsychology Institute in Durham, North Carolina, that did a lot for the progress of study in this field. In Stevenson’s “Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation,” a study is produced of a number of case histories of people who remembered past lives. Joseph Head and L.S. Cranston, in their compiled and edited work “Reincarnation in World Thought,” present an exploration of what fantastic thinkers by means of the ages have said on the subject, examining the contributions created to the discussion by the World’s religions, philosophies and sciences. Francis Story,1 most likely the Buddhist most active in attempting to prove the truth of the doctrine of rebirth, wrote a booklet entitled The Case for Rebirth, produced an inquiry into the memory of past lives of hundreds of Burmese and Ceylonese citizens, and around the year 2511/1968 created a tour of the United States and Asian countries lecturing on this topic. Finding in the alien-traditioned Western hemisphere their co-believers represented by historic figures such as Pythagoras, Empidocles and Thomas Alva Edison, and their belief supported by scientific study of modern day Western scholars, some Buddhists have grow to be convinced that the truth of the doctrine of rebirth has been proved. To the practising Buddhists, nonetheless, the ESP is some thing peripheral. The positive report on it might rouse in some folks a stronger belief or a far more active interest in Buddhism. But, so far as the crucial aspect of Buddhism is concerned, the Buddhists understand that the attainment of the real benefit of Buddhism is dependent on their own efforts and striving, not topic to the scientific verification of the ESP.

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