The Universe in a Single Atom by The Dali Lama

[stanley]

The Universe in a Single Atom by Tenzin Gayatso, (His Holiness, the Fourteenth Dali Lama), is an account published in 2005 of this prominent spiritual leader's encounters with modern scientific thought. Subjects covered include relativity and quantum physics, the Big Bang, evolution, ethics and the new genetics, and the nature of consciousness as approached by neuroscientists, psychologists, and traditional Buddhist thought.

In his prologue Gayatso modestly admits to no scientific training as part of his education. His knowledge comes from news coverage of scientific events,and the reading of astronomy text books. Perhaps he is too modest. We soon learn that for the past thirty years he has put himself to school at the feet of many prominent scientists and mathematicians. He states his purpose: "In these encounters, I have always attempted to grasp the underlying methods and models of scientific thought as well as the implications of particular theories or new discoveries." For Gayatso, to follow up on on these "implications" is to explore how science may influence ethics and human values.

In Gayatso's view, science and Buddhism have much to learn from one another. He disclaims any attempt, however, to unite spirituality and science. It seems to this reader that he regards the two modes as separate but possibly complimentary avenues of inquiry into the ultimate nature of reality. In this connection Gayatso tells an amusing story about an American woman married to a Tibetan who warns him against fraternizing with scientists. History has shown, she tells him, that science is the "killer of religion." The obverse to this, the secular humanist aversion to religion as superstition or fantasy is familiar to all of us. We can thank The Dali Lama for taking the middle road. In so doing he admits,"I suppose I have stuck my neck out...if scientific analysis were to conclusively demonstrate certain claims in Buddhism to be false,then we must accept the findings of science and abandon those claims."

For all his humble disclaimers, The Dali Lama demonstrates in this book of essays as good a grasp of fundamental modern scientific categories as any other" science" writer I have encountered. To the lay reader, be they secular humanist, Christian, Buddhist, et al, he brings discussions of current issues raised by the interface of science and traditional thought to places that cannot but compel that reader's careful attention.

I very much enjoyed this book. It was thought provoking, but not a difficult read. Gayatso had reservations about the need for simplification in order to make it accessible to the general reader. In my opinion he need not have. It was clear and not so simplistic that a thoughtful reader might not return to it several times. In my opinion this book is more than deserving of a rating of four.