In the current issue of Lion's Roar magazine, we look at academic research on reincarnation at the University of Virginia. How does that research compare to the Buddhist views? We break it down. What happens after you die? Traditionally, that question has been the province of religion. But, increasingly, academic researchers are trying to divine the answer using the [...]
Can you measure compassion?
In a new paper, researchers have proposed a scale for measuring the Buddhist virtues of loving-kindness and compassion. Academics from the psychology departments at three universities in South Korea have created a scale to measure loving-kindness and compassion — two of Buddhism’s four immeasurables, or brahmaviharas. Loving-kindness (fondness or goodwill for oneself [...]
Why Buddhism is True
Darwin and the Buddha agree on the problem, says evolutionary psychologist Robert Wright. The Buddha solved it. From the November 2017 Lion's Roar magazine. Melvin McLeod: Your new book, Why Buddhism Is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment, is getting more mainstream attention than any other Buddhist-oriented book I can think of. Were you [...]
The Cosmos Wakes Up
It was a 14-billion year journey from simple hydrogen to Mahatma Gandhi. David Loy asks: Is evolution the universe waking up to itself? Religions tend to deny or ignore evolution, but what happens if instead they embrace it and make it central to their message? For Buddhists, the relevant question is what the teachings on impermanence and insubstantiality imply [...]
Where Buddhism and Science Meet: Teachings, Commentary, and News
Now more than ever, Buddhists are using scientific tools and scientists are using Buddhist wisdom to uncover truths about the universe. Here, we present a collection of articles on the fruits of those collaborations. Featuring the Dalai Lama, Daniel Goleman, Karen Kissel Wegela, Vincent Horn, Judy Roitman, Jack Kornfield, Judy Lief, Sam Littlefair, and more. Buddhist [...]
Buddhist researchers seek to reveal link between heart, mind
Researchers at Hong Kong’s Center of Buddhist Studies have published findings that point to a connection between the heart and the mind. Buddhism has long asserted a connection between the heart and the mind. The Sanskrit word citta and the Japanese word kokoro each translate to English as both “heart” and “mind.” Now, Buddhist researchers are trying to identify that [...]
Author (and Zen Buddhist) Jane Hirshfield debuts “poem about the presidency” in Washington Post
The Washington Post today published "On the Fifth Day," a new "poem about the presidency" authored by Jane Hirshfield. "On the Fifth Day," according to the Washington Post, will be read by Hirshfield from the stage at the March for Science on April 22. Hirshfield, who has been heralded as one of our finest contemporary poets, is a Zen Buddhist -- though she resists the [...]
Leading neuroscientists and Buddhists agree: “Consciousness is everywhere”
New theories in neuroscience suggest consciousness is an intrinsic property of everything, just like gravity. That development opens a world of opportunity for collaboration between Buddhists and neuroscientists. "The heart of consciousness," says neuroscientist Christof Koch, "is that it feels like something. How is it that a piece of matter, like my brain, can feel [...]
The Beginner’s Mind of Scientist Sir Roger Penrose
Rev. Tony Stultz on the brilliant mind who models a rich exchange between Buddhism and scientific thought — for the benefit of all beings. If you don’t study physics or mathematics, you likely don’t know about Sir Roger Penrose. Penrose, a groundbreaking theorist on the nature of mind, is a model for how Buddhists can let go of their assumptions and use empirical inquiry [...]
Molecular dance meditation reveals: you’re just atoms and energy
Physics and Buddhism both posit that it's hard, if not impossible, to pinpoint "you." Harrison Blum, the Buddhist spiritual advisor at Northeastern University, has created a new guided meditation that allows practitioners to experience that truth. In three sessions last fall, participants sat and danced in meditation, while watching molecules and energy fields interact with [...]
