Science

A discussion on all aspects of Theravāda Buddhism
danieLion
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Re: Science

Post by danieLion »

daverupa wrote:...the Nikayas' pedagogical purpose is outside the realm of science.
Completely? There's no overlap?
daverupa
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Re: Science

Post by daverupa »

danieLion wrote:
daverupa wrote:...the Nikayas' pedagogical purpose is outside the realm of science.
Completely? There's no overlap?
I don't know.

:anjali:
  • "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

    "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.

- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]
danieLion
Posts: 1947
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Re: Science

Post by danieLion »

daverupa wrote:
danieLion wrote:
daverupa wrote:...the Nikayas' pedagogical purpose is outside the realm of science.
Completely? There's no overlap?
I don't know.

:anjali:
I don't either (but have a strong desire to; I might want to investigate that). :anjali:
danieLion
Posts: 1947
Joined: Wed May 25, 2011 4:49 am

Re: Science

Post by danieLion »

tattoogunman wrote:I look at Buddhism as being a glorified self help program and science can't mess with that :smile:
There's a science to and a science of self-help, too. :anjali:
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Kim OHara
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Location: North Queensland, Australia

Re: Science

Post by Kim OHara »

perkele wrote:
Kim O'Hara wrote:
Fede wrote:NEXT!! :jumping:
That's me, I guess :embarassed:
I'm going to answer the OP with a 'Yes, I think so.'
I would be quite sure if only I were quite sure about where to find all the cosmological stuff ... I think it's in the Canon. You know, Mount Meru as the centre of the universe, human lifetimes measured in thousands of years and diminishing in this present age, that sort of thing.
I have never paid much attention to it so I don't quite know where it comes from, but I am quite sure that lots of it has to be abandoned in the light of modern science, just like the Jewish and Maori and [insert ethnic group of choice] creation stories.
Abandoning it, fortunately, doesn't affect (far less invalidate) the most important teachings.

:namaste:
Kim
Okay, you are right in that regard. I have pretty much forgotten about/ignored it because these things are not an essential part of the teaching. When the Buddha said (I paraphrase) "It is only suffering that I teach and the end of suffering" that tells us what his teaching is about and I think one can check this to be true in pretty much every sutta that this was always his central concern and focus.
With regard to the cosmological things you mentioned (which I believe are more or less contained in one single sutta (not sure though)) I think they do have some valid purpose in that they bring home a vision of the vastness of samsara. Might be interesting to read it again and discuss maybe in another thread what is actually the point of this sutta. I do believe it has some valid message. But this message is surely not about geography, astronomy or biology as from a scientific point of view. And the significance of such details as Mount Meru as the center of the world etc. is surely not particularly emphasized.
I must say, however, that I'm not particularly familiar with this sutta (I think it's only one) and my reply is pretty much a gut reaction. Might be interesting to discuss it in another topic.
Getting back to creation stories vs science:
http://www.thepaincomics.com/Science%20vs.%20Norse.jpg
I hope the last panel would be different in a side-by-side comparison of Science and Buddhism.
:tongue:
Kim
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