“The Kālāma-sutta (or, more accurately, the Kesamutti-sutta) is one of the best known and most widely cited suttas of the Pāli Nikāyas. Its importance, on the one hand, is that it seems to give an account of the Buddha’s epistemology; its popular appeal, on the other, is that the epistemology seems strikingly modern.” Looking closely at the Kālāma Sutta, one would assume that the structure is very familiar. One would theorize that it is consonant with science. In other words, one cannot ignore the fact that the data and the way the Buddha expounded his teaching is very similar to that of science methodology, namely, empiricism. It is very much alike to the scientific method that is well-known today—of theoretical, hypothesis, test, and results. …show more content…
The passage shows that it started off with a theory, and next asks one to critically analyze “When you yourselves know.” Further by cross investigate with the “wise” with what you know through theorizing. However, it does not stop there; it asks one to do more, put it to one’s personal experiments, try them out for oneself. Not only that, one should also observe the other who performs those actions. With all this having been done, one should make a conclusion to accept or reject such a thing. To simply borrow Evans’ words, “Reading the Kālāmas’ uncertainity…. [and cogitate at] the first portion of the Buddha’s answer to the Kālāmas reads like the beginning of an essay on critical reasoning or even scientific method.”
In Otto H. Chang’s article “Buddhism and Scientific Methods” he studies the similarities and differences of the two department’s way of investigation a problem/issue, Chang describes the methods and process commonly used in scientific research today as follows:
1. The first step in the solution of any problem, whether practical or theoretical, starts with the identification and statement of the research problem.
2. The second step of the process is [a] literature review. What has been done with this
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Nevertheless, there must be some germs that generate this statement. Maybe it was because of the similarity and consonance of science that can be found in Buddhism. It also could be that, what Buddhism offers has not yet been proven by science. However, it is a fact that many books have been written about Buddhism and science recently. For example, Alan Wallace’s Buddhism and Science, Donald S. Lopez Jr’s Buddhism and Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, Sharon Begley’s Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain, or Daniel Goleman’s Destructive Emotions: A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama. Whatever the case is, “Science, in a popular representation, offers …different appeal, an appeal to the quest for what has never been known by anyone yet is somehow there, waiting to be discovered, if we just knew how to find it.” As for the present moment, “we must live in doubt of our deepest knowledge. Perhaps this is why we yearn for the teachings of an itinerant mendicant in Iron Age India, even of such profound insight, to somehow anticipate the formulae of
Buddhism and Buddhist philosophy can have a substantial amount of unfamiliar terminology and specific meanings for words we think we know the definition to. In order to ensure comprehension and clarity a few terms need to be defined. Buddhism as a spiritual movement is the following of the teachings of a fifth century B.C. E. Indian spiritual leader named known as Siddhartha Gautama, Shakyamuni, or --in the case of this essay-- the Buddha. Tibetan Buddhism will be defined in a similar manner. Tibetan Buddhism is in the course of this essay will focus on one of the six schools of thought in the Tibetan Buddhist cannon. The “Oral Tradition” or the Kagyu School is the monastic linage that arrives in Kauai in the twentieth century.
"You know, my friend, that even as a young man, when we lived with the ascetics in the forest, I came to distrust doctrines and teachers and to turn my back to them. I am still of the same turn of mind, although I have, since that time, had many teachers. A beautiful courtesan was my teacher for a long time, and a rich merchant and a dice player. On one occasion, one of the Buddha’s wandering monks was my teacher. He halted in his pilgrimage to sit beside me when I fell asleep in the forest. I also learned something from him and I am grateful to him, very grateful. But most of all, I have learned from this river and from my predecessor, Vasudeva. He was a simple man; he was not a thinker, but he realized the essential as well as Gotama, he was a holy man, a saint" (141).
The Buddhist claimed that "to be concerned with speculative questions is like being concerned with the origin of a poisoned arrow while it is still in one's flesh, contaminating the bloodstream." Kasulis writes that a conflicting group supposed that nothing at all continued from the cause into the effect, that the two where completely distinct. The Abhidharma Buddhist scrutinized the principles behind the Buddhist teachings. Zen Action, Zen Person states that these became almost as important as practicing the teachings; that is the scrutnization of the principles. With all this wrangling over the principles and the debate on them, Nagarjuna came up with his "Logic of the Middle." The origin of this came from the doctrine of sunyata or rather emptiness, which Kasulis states is the "Logic of Emptiness."
...lusion, I have leaned much about the religion of Buddhism. I have leaned on how great and determined man Buddha was, and how his journey was one of the greatest accomplishment in the Buddhist religion. I also learned that Buddhism is not so laid back, but rather is very demanding and has a strict set of guidelines called the eightfold path. Buddhism is also like Christianity in that it has separate division or paths its followers chose to practice. One called Theravada and the other Mahayana. As well as leaning many new things about Buddhism, after reading this chapter it has changed my opinion on what Buddhism really is. I now have a greater respect for Buddhism and its philosophies. So in the end I am glad that I have read the chapter on Buddhism in Huston Smith’s book The World’s Religions. For now I am more informed and knowledgeable on the religion of Buddhism.
Buddhism places a high value on finding the truth. This fundamental principal allows for an acceptance of science, as it is seen as a modern truth to most. Furthermore, Buddhists believe in the evolution of human consciousness—this evolution, along with the truth presented from science, allows for an over arching acceptance of biological evolution. Even more interesting is that in the Agganna Sutta, a sacred Buddhist text, Buddha explains the world as having evolved over time. Though there is no mention of biological evolution, there is still an emphasis of evolution as a whole—both physically and spiritually. Tibetan Buddhism is known as the branch of Buddhism that has the largest emphasis on reincarnation, which is the most relevant to this research. Reincarnation is driven by the decisions made in each life and is basically the knowledge that one’s spirit travels between material beings over different lives. The spirit evolves as one becomes closer and closer to Nirvana, or perfection. Karma, too, influences the lives of the reincarnated as this idea causes the consequences of both good and bad deeds from each past life to be brought over to the current life. Overall, Tibetan Buddhism and evolution flow very well together as various Buddhist beliefs in spiritual evolution and karma, and the search for truth lead to the acceptance of science and evolution.
“The lack of conflict between science and religion arises from a lack of overlap between their respective domains of professional expertise—science in the empirical constitution of the universe, and religion in the search for proper ethical values and the spiritual meaning of our lives. The attainment of wisdom in a full life requires extensive attention to both domains—for a great book tells us that the truth can make us free and that we will live in optimal harmony with our fellows when we learn to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly.”
The study of Buddhism over the past century or so has resembled the encounter of the blind men and the elephant in many ways. Students of Buddhism have tended to fasten onto a small part of the tradition and assume their conclusions held true about the whole. Often the parts they have seized on have been a little like the elephant's tusks a striking, but unrepresentative, part of the whole animal. As a result, many erroneous and sweeping generalizations about Buddhism have been made, such as that it is 'negative', 'world-denying', 'pessimistic', and so forth.
In the first meditation he casts doubt on the previous foundations of knowledge and everything he has learned or assumed. He stated "But reason now persuades me that I should withhold assent no less carefully from opinions that are not completely certain and indubitable than I would from those that are patently false." In order to evaluate and discern what is actually true he divides the foundations of knowledge into three sources: the senses, reality, and context.
He talks about how people shouldn't be spreading rumors because they spread fast. In the words of Buddha in the famous Kalama Sutta states “Do not believe anything on account of rumors or because people talk a great deal about it” Buddha was a very wise man and he thought that you shouldn't believe things that have been told around and the Buddha was a very independent man so he learned everything about meditation and his
Then, the book addresses that Buddhism encourages people realizing the truth by seeing, knowing, understanding but not on faith or belief. You should always ask and question about the seemingly true beliefs. Through learning and experiment, you will find the truth of the belief. And now, this is your own knowledge and you really gained something instead of just believing a vague idea.
Sayings of the Buddha: A selection of suttas from the Pali Nikayas. Gethin, Rupert. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print.
Everyday psychologists, chemist, biologists, and other professionals use the scientific method to guide us through the research being conducted. In this case, I would use the scientific method to help guide me in running a successful research study to help determine the accuracy of a polygraph exam when knowing the exam can exhibit false results. Professionals would make observations, gather information, form theories, test predictions and interpret results all which is the standardized way of the scientific
History proves that as Buddhism spread throughout the Asian world in the early 1st century, it was occasionally altered to fit the specific needs and beliefs of people it touched. Mahayana Buddhism is one such example of this gradual evolution. It was primarily a movement started and kept alive by monks that slowly gained popularity amongst lay people but was in no way a unified movement. Mahayana Buddhism still adheres to the basic fundamental beliefs presented in the Pali Canons, however, it Sutras often expand upon these basic ideas and traditions in order to answer the questions of a later generation. After closer study of the Mahayana texts the “A Sutra for Long Life” and “The World Universe as a Sutra”, it seems evident that, although Mahayana Buddhism is based on the teachings of the traditional Pali Canon, it places a larger emphasis on philosophical inquires; and ultimately creates a more accessible version of enlightenment, and the Buddhist faith in general, for all.
A concise and effective researchable problem does not convey straight out how the investigation will enhance or resolve an issue; rather, it illustrates how not comprehending one minute thing hinders the conception of a larger issue. Furthermore, an effective researchable problem makes apparent how the explanation and resolution to a research problem has a purpose and function to the investigative problem.
The steps that are included in most pre-college textbooks are defining the problem, gathering background information, forming a hypothesis, making observations, testing the hypothesis, drawing conclusions, and communicating the results, but this method is not used. One reason for this myth is the way results are published in research journals because it makes people believe that scientists follow a certain research plan. Philosophers have shown that no research procedure is applied by all scientists. Usually scientists use imagination, knowledge, perseverance, and other methods used by problem solvers. This myth teaches that science is not different from other challenges that humans face. This myth has a chance to be corrected because many newer textbooks are taking the method out of the discussions of