Jinpa, Thupten is the President of the Institute of Tibetan Classics, Montreal, an adjunct professor at the Faculty of Religious Studies, McGill University, and a visiting scholar at Stanford University, where he is on the executive committee of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE). His mailing address is Institute of Tibetan Classics, 304 Aberdare Road, Montreal, QC H3P 3K3, Canada.
關鍵詞
LOPEZ, Donald S., 1923-2008; BSTAN-'dzin-rgya-mtsho, Dalai Lama XIV, 1935-
摘要
On the stage of the religion-and-science dialogue, Buddhism, especially Tibetan Buddhism, is a late arrival. However, thanks primarily to the long-standing personal interest of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan tradition he represents has come to engage deeply with various disciplines of modern science. This essay follows the active engagement that has occurred particularly in the form of the biannual Mind and Life dialogues between the Dalai Lama and scientists. From the perspective of an active participant, I present the careful deliberations that ensure constructive parameters for these dialogues so that no one side can exert a hegemonic voice. I explore the challenges that are likely to confront the Buddhist side from its encounter with science, particularly with respect to its worldview. I identify specific areas where the two sides can and do engage in concrete collaboration, especially with respect to investigating healthy qualities of the mind and the effects of conscious mental training for attention and emotion regulation. Finally, I explore the question of the possible impact of this dialogue on modern science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]