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The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality
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Manufacturer: Broadway
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 294.3365
EAN: 9780767920810
ISBN: 0767920813
Label: Broadway
Manufacturer: Broadway
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 224
Publication Date: 2006-09-12
Publisher: Broadway
Release Date: 2006-09-12
Studio: Broadway
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Editorial Reviews:
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Galileo, Copernicus, Newton, Niels Bohr, Einstein. Their insights shook our perception of who we are and where we stand in the world, and in their wake have left an uneasy coexistence: science vs. religion, faith vs. empirical inquiry. Which is the keeper of truth? Which is the true path to understanding reality?
After forty years of study with some of the greatest scientific minds, as well as a lifetime of meditative, spiritual, and philosophic study, the Dalai Lama presents a brilliant analysis of why all avenues of inquiry—scientific as well as spiritual—must be pursued in order to arrive at a complete picture of the truth. Through an examination of Darwinism and karma, quantum mechanics and philosophical insight into the nature of reality, neurobiology and the study of consciousness, the Dalai Lama draws significant parallels between contemplative and scientific examinations of reality.
This breathtakingly personal examination is a tribute to the Dalai Lama’s teachers—both of science and spirituality. The legacy of this book is a vision of the world in which our different approaches to understanding ourselves, our universe, and one another can be brought together in the service of humanity.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Well-Intended but A Misleading Effort
Comment: Well, I dislike being one of the few flys in the ointment with all of the enthusiastic reviews on this book, but the facts are, Buddhism has many of the same problems from an empiricial viewpoint that any of the major world religions have as well. While I admire the Dalai Lama's kindness, gentleness, wisdom, and so on as much as anyone here, we are focusing now only on his attempts to make Buddhism (more specifically, his Tibetan version) look scientifically respectable, and it is this so-called "convergence" that I want to address my remarks to.
Let's look (very) briefly at Buddhism as a religion before we worry about the science part. Let's start with a couple lynchpin assumptions of all Buddhist schools, i.e.- reincarnation and karma. Fact is, Buddhism never has been able to rid itself of the doctrine of the "eternal soul" that is central to its spiritual mother, Hinduism. All kinds of attempts have been made to reconcile the idea of reincarnation with the doctrine of "emptiness" (shunyata). It has not been a happy marriage, and the more one reads about supposed "resolutions" expounded by devotees, the more the explanations seem contrived and unconvincing, at least to outsiders. Mahayana devotees have tried to explain that it is not really one's soul/spirit/ego-self that transmigrates, because that would violate the "emptiness" dogma, but clearly "something" is supposed to reincarnate through various lives, which doesn't really solve the problem. The only real solution, if one wants to be consistent with the emptiness dogma, is to discard any idea of any entity "reincarnating" at all, which some Mahayanists have done. In other words, remove the troubling Hindu influence completely. Fine, but critics would point out one has already abandoned a central Buddhist teaching at this point. One can pick and choose ANY religious doctrine in this manner and come up with a more logically respectable system, but one should realize there is some sleight-of-hand going on. The karma doctrine suffers some of the same problems- most folks would like to believe there is some kind of "cosmic leveling system" for one's good or bad actions, but there is no empirical evidence that this is the case, alas. In fact, one could make a good case empirically that the OPPOSITE is what is seen on a daily basis- good people don't really get rewarded and bad people seem to usually get the advantage. It is sad that this is the case, and in a perfect world it "shouldn't" be like this to our human thinking, but one begins to see how the various religions of the world have tried to tackle this huge problem of injustices that we see around us. For Buddhism, the explanation is, of course, cosmic karma. Karma is a moral energy that is all-encompassing and in effect even after one dies, according to the doctrine. If somebody doesn't get their just rewards in this life, in some other they will...which, for our purposes here, should be seen as a purely metaphysical belief without any empirical support.
Buddhism as a religion has many other beliefs that are questionable on an empirical basis, such as a belief in "spirits", whether these are good guys (bodhisattvas and buddhas) or bad guys (demons)...It is clear to most outsiders that these beliefs are common in all ancient religions and reflects a worldview that is pre-modern. The specific problem here with Buddhism, however, is that devotees pride themselves on Buddhism being a supposedly "non-theistic" philosophy; indeed, that is one of the attractions of this religion for many Westerners who are burnt out with their own organized religion. The grass always seems greener on the other side. Theoretically, of course, Mahayanists tell us everything has no permanent basis and so any deity or spirit only has a "limited" exitence, but this hardly solves the "non-theism" assertion in the first place. And IN PRACTICE, it is clear to anyone observing various Buddhist countries that devotees behave the same as in any of the "theistic" religions- there are daily prayers to the gods, worship rituals, etc. And don't forget the empirical problem of miracles...oh yes, miracles abound in abundance even in these "non-theistic" religions. It seems quite ironic that the Dalai Lama's efforts to promote his own version of Buddhism, the Tibetan school, is particularly guilty of positing gods and spirits, much more than other Mahayana school such as zen (chan). I don't have space to get into the various schools here.
A brief comment on Buddhism supposedly "converging" with science...most practicing physicists are well-aware of the sloppy thinking involved in efforts to combine Eastern religious insights with modern science, such as Capra tried to do in his book "Tao of Physics". These early efforts to see supposed "paralells" between physics and Eastern thought are looked at with amusement by the great majority of physicists, but the New Age crowd has not caught on. I can't even begin here to describe problems such as confusing metaphysical doctrines like "emptiness" with purely PHYSICAL forces (such as energy, forces, vacuum state, etc.) as the terms are used quantitatively in physics. All kinds of false parallels and word games abound on this topic. Capra's book, and other like it ("Dancing Wu Li Masters", etc.) remain "bibles" for those New-Agers interested in science, but not interested enough to really examine the problems, perhaps...And I suspect many of the enthusastic reviewers here are in this same boat.
Speaking of such, there remains a tremendous gap between the average person's conception of "science" and what the actual situation really is. Case in point, we could use various Amazon reviews of this book, editorial reviews and otherwise, as object-lessons. One editorial review says, for example, "what emerges most powerfully is the Dalai Lama's belief that science must embrace Buddhism's mission and work toward increasing compassion and alleviating suffering". This indeed is a noble and worthy goal, but it completely misses the point of what science is and tries to do. Science is not about finding the right religious or ethical system to solve the injustices of the world, necessary as that is in its own right. Rather, it is a methodology to find reliable and consistent data about our physical universe, from what can be empirically verified. it does not address issues of human compassion or metaphysical moral systems very well, and never intended to. (And Buddhism isn't the only religion to address compassion, they all do; Tibetan Buddhism has no monopoly on ethical concerns. Here's my vote for hooking up science with ancient Celtic forest religion, at least the symbols are cool).
Folks need to learn to separate a person's status as a religious icon, which the Dalai Lama surely is, with that person's pronouncements outside their own field of familiarity. After all, the Dalai Lama isn't a physicist or cosmologist or molecular biologist, he's essentially a science fan. Well and good, I wish all religious leaders were science fans. But I don't take their pronouncements about the physical universe seriously, nor should you. And yes, I know skeptical reviews such as mine will be buried under an avalanche of enthusiastic ones and hardly anyone will see it. But I thought it worthwhile to write if only a single person (impermanent, of course- you do NOT have any ego-self even though common sense tells you that you do) begins spotting some misleading dialogue in these "convergence" efforts.
Customer Rating:
Summary: An Amazing Book
Comment: This book is for anyone who has questions about where and how spirituality and science intersect.
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Summary: Very Astute
Comment: This man is truly a deep human and a tribute to his lineage and the greatness that it represents. He covers the ground of science very succinctly and explores a new possibility of knowledge that benefits from the objective and subjective process. He brings to us wholeness and the admonition to realize the grave and dangerous territories we now face in this day and age. He call us to rise up to the human in each of us.
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Summary: His Holiness studies science to look for connections to Buddhism
Comment: In this 6 hour audio book, skillfully read by Richard Gere, the Dalai Lama draws parallels between Buddhism and the extensive studies he has pursued in several different scientific directions. For the past several years His Holiness has regularily invited top scientists from many areas of study to tutor him. He humbly discusses some areas where Buddhist Teachings should be rejected, because of recent scientific discoveries. He also points out several recent scientific discoveries that validate traditional Buddist teachings. A thoughtful presentation, well worth listening to, or reading. I highly recommend this book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: An intelligent & sincere bridge builder.
Comment: His Holiness makes a grand case for using the millennia old traditions of Buddhism (particularly The Middle Way school of thought) and their deeply subjective and esoteric processes in conjunction with the western style of third person objective science to study mind/consciousness. The Dalai Lama makes some exquisite arguments that imply a greater strength of reasoning with the symbiosis of the two desperate modalities. This book clearly demonstrates that each ideology (western science, eastern introspection) has their own distinct merits but that both methods are required if the aim of reducing or eliminating human suffering is to be attained. His Holiness treats the reader to some snippets of Buddhist thought, and I must admit, it is far more complex and rational than I ever suspected. Four stars from me!
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