However, Bhikkhu Bodhi notes that this sutra does not rule out faith as an important component of the path. Jayatilleke argue that this and other passages from the Buddhist scriptures indicate that early Buddhism promotes an "honest, impartial search for truth" as well as "critical investigation and personal verification" which is compatible with a scientific outlook. Buddhist modernists consider this passage to show that the Buddha promoted a skeptical empirical investigation which rejected faith, dogma, scripture, Revelations and even rationalistic metaphysical speculations. The exact meaning of this passage has been widely debated and interpreted. The key passage which is widely quoted states:Ĭome, Kālāmas, do not go by oral tradition, by lineage of teaching, by hearsay, by a collection of scriptures, by logical reasoning, by inferential reasoning, by reasoned cogitation, by the acceptance of a view after pondering it, by the seeming competence of a speaker, or because you think: 'The ascetic is our guru.' But when, Kālāmas, you know for yourselves: 'These things are unwholesome these things are blameworthy these things are censured by the wise these things, if accepted and undertaken, lead to harm and suffering,' then you should abandon them. In this discourse, the Buddha is speaking to a number of villagers that are unsure of which ideas to believe. Perhaps the most popular Buddhist discourse used in this way is the Kālāma Sutta ( AN 3.65). Several passages from the Buddhist scriptures have been seen as indicating the importance of free thinking and empirical inquiry to Buddhism. Some modern commentators assert that Buddhist texts contain ideas which share commonalities with modern scientific methods, such as encouraging an impartial investigation of nature (an activity referred to as dhamma-vicaya in the Pali Canon) - the principal object of study being the nature of one's mind or self. Pre-modern Buddhism Rational inquiry in Buddhist texts For the Dalai Lama, Buddhism mainly focuses on studying consciousness from the first-person or phenomenological perspective, while science focuses on studying the objective world. įurthermore, while some have compared Buddhist ideas to modern theories of evolution, quantum theory, and cosmology, other figures such as the 14th Dalai Lama have also highlighted the methodological and metaphysical differences between these traditions. have also argued that this narrative of Buddhism as rationalistic developed recently, as a part of a Buddhist modernism that arose from the encounter between Buddhism and western thought. However, some scholars have criticized the idea that Buddhism is uniquely rational and science friendly, seeing these ideas as a minor element of traditional Buddhism. Furthermore, Buddhist doctrines such as impermanence and emptiness have been compared to the scientific understanding of the natural world. īuddhists also point to various statements in the Buddhist scriptures that promote rational and empirical investigation and invite people to put the teachings of the Buddha to the test before accepting them. The 14th Dalai Lama, for example, in a speech to the Society for Neuroscience, listed a "suspicion of absolutes" and a reliance on causality and empiricism as common philosophical principles shared by Buddhism and science. Those who argue that Buddhism is aligned with science point out certain commonalities between the scientific method and Buddhist thought. Some have even argued that Buddhism is "scientific" (a kind of "science of the mind" or an "inner science"). Nevertheless, since the 19th century, numerous modern figures have argued that Buddhism is rational and uniquely compatible with science. There are many examples throughout the Buddhist world of non-scientific worldviews, such as dogmatism, fundamentalism, clericalism, devotion to supernatural spirits and deities. Those who compare science with Buddhism may use "science" to refer to "a method of sober and rational investigation" or may refer to specific scientific theories, methods or technologies. Similarly, the issue of what "science" refers to remains a subject of debate, and there is no single view on this issue. Historically, Buddhism encompasses many types of beliefs, traditions and practices, so it is difficult to assert any single "Buddhism" in relation to science. The relationship between Buddhism and science is a subject of contemporary discussion and debate among Buddhists, scientists and scholars of Buddhism.
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