Tibetan and Himalayan Library - THL

Description: This volume contains contributions from prominent Buddhists, scholars, physicists, neurologists, and others on topics where Buddhism and the sciences share common ground. The book is divided into three sections covering the history of encounters between Buddhism and science, the interface between the cognitive sciences and Buddhism, and issues related to Buddhism and the physical sciences. Authors ask penetrating questions on, for example, the ethics of cross-cultural meditation research, the possibility of a "contemplative science," the mind-body problem, the question of evolution and human evil, lucid dreaming, the nature of the self, and the limits of inquiry in Buddhism and quantum theory. (Zach Rowinski 2004-05-17)

Table of Contents: Introduction: Buddhism and science--breaking down the barriers / B. Alan Wallace -- Pt. 1 Historical context : Buddhism and science: on the nature of the dialogue / José Ignacio Cabezón ; Science as an ally or a rival philosophy? Tibetan Buddhist thinkers' engagement with modern science / Thupten Jinpa -- pt. 2 Buddhism and the Cognitive Sciences : Understanding and transforming the mind / His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama ; The concepts "self", "person'', and "I'' in Western psychology and in Buddhism / David Galin ; Common ground, common cause: Buddhism and science on the afflictions of Identity / William S. Waldron ; Imagining: embodiment, phenomenology, and transformation / Francisco J. Varela and Natalie Depraz ; Lucid dreaming and the yoga of the dream state: A psychophysiological perspective / Stephen LaBerge ; On the relevance of a contemplative science / Matthieu Ricard -- pt. 3 Buddhism and the physical sciences : Emptiness and quantum theory / William L. Ames ; Time and impermanence in middle way Buddhism and modern physics / Victor Mansfield ; A cure for metaphysical illusions: Kant, quantum mechanics and madhyamaka / Michel Bitbol ; Emptiness and relativity / David Ritz Finkelstein ; Encounters between Buddhist and quantum epistemologies / Anton Zeilinger ; Conclusion: Life as a laboratory / Piet Hut ; Appendix: A history of the Mind and Life Institute ; Index

Published reviews: See Breaking New Ground by Susan Blackmore.