Einstein and Buddhism

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Ceisiwr
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Einstein and Buddhism

Post by Ceisiwr »

Just read a quote from Einstein that struck me, sounds like he knew Dhamma


The fact that man produces a concept "I" besides the totality of his mental and emotional experiences or perceptions does not prove that there must be any specific existence behind such a concept. We are succumbing to illusions produced by our self-created language, without reaching a better understanding of anything. Most of so-called philosophy is due to this kind of fallacy.


Just thought id share lol


:anjali:
“Knowing that this body is just like foam,
understanding it has the nature of a mirage,
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows,
one should go beyond the King of Death’s sight.”
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cooran
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Re: Einstein and Buddhism

Post by cooran »

Thanks clw_uk.

Could you give the reference location please? I'd be very interested to read more. :smile:

metta
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Ceisiwr
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Re: Einstein and Buddhism

Post by Ceisiwr »

Sure i got it from here

http://www.einsteinandreligion.com/eternlife.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
“Knowing that this body is just like foam,
understanding it has the nature of a mirage,
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows,
one should go beyond the King of Death’s sight.”
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Cittasanto
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Re: Einstein and Buddhism

Post by Cittasanto »

there is loads of things on the net about this, and quite a few videos on youtube,

http://uk.wrs.yahoo.com/_ylt=A1f4cfYMWa ... dhism.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgZ3zKNYURU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://news.fjnet.com/english/culture/t ... _41899.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
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Ceisiwr
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Re: Einstein and Buddhism

Post by Ceisiwr »

There is some more here

Buddhism has the characteristics of what would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future: It transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology; it covers both the natural and spritual; and it is based on a religious sense aspiring from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity. -Albert Einstein



http://thebuddhistblog.blogspot.com/200 ... dhism.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
“Knowing that this body is just like foam,
understanding it has the nature of a mirage,
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows,
one should go beyond the King of Death’s sight.”
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mikenz66
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Re: Einstein and Buddhism

Post by mikenz66 »

Hi Craig,

That's a quote that some of us have spent a while trying to verify. I've not yet seen a reliable source.

It's kind of interesting to see what Einstein had to say about these things, since he was obviously a clever fellow. However, much as I admire Einstein (and routinely use the physics he helped to create), he's certainly not the last word on Religion, Philosophy, or even Physics (of course, he had a hand in creating much of modern physics, but his major impact was a century ago). I'm not an expert on philosophy, but in light of occasional discussions with professional philosophers, my impression is that that the "philosophical" pronouncements of 20th Century Physicists, such as Einstein, Feynman, etc, often do not stand up particularly well to detailed analysis.

Metta
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DNS
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Re: Einstein and Buddhism

Post by DNS »

clw_uk wrote:
Buddhism has the characteristics of what would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future: It transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology; it covers both the natural and spritual; and it is based on a religious sense aspiring from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity. -Albert Einstein
That's a great quote, but no one has been able to find the source for that. It is quoted at many Dhamma/Dharma websites, but the references are usually just to other Buddhist sites. A couple of years ago there was a guy going around and challenging all of the sites that had that quote, including e-sangha's use of that quote.

I did find a reference to one book about Einstein's writings, even ordered it through inter-library loan and could not find the quote any where in the book. It sounds like something he might say and I suppose it could be a paraphrase of different quotes and writings.
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Ceisiwr
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Re: Einstein and Buddhism

Post by Ceisiwr »

I see what you mean, i tried searching now for it and it does seem to be a phantom quote, still the first one was quite good :jumping:

Wasnt trying to put it accross that he was the final word, just find him interesting so thought id share what he said :smile:



:anjali:
“Knowing that this body is just like foam,
understanding it has the nature of a mirage,
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows,
one should go beyond the King of Death’s sight.”
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retrofuturist
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Re: Einstein and Buddhism

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings,
clw_uk wrote:I see what you mean, i tried searching now for it and it does seem to be a phantom quote, still the first one was quite good :jumping:
I wonder if the first is a phantom quote too.

Metta,
Retro. :)
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Ben
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Re: Einstein and Buddhism

Post by Ben »

I spent quite a bit of time researching the authenticity of those 'buddhism' quotes attributed to Albert Einstein a couple of years ago. I got in touch with the Albert Einstein Archives - either in Germany or Israel, and received a response from the head archivist/curator who assured me that a lot of things were attributed to Einstein that he didn't say or publish. A case of people putting words into his mouth.
I could not locate any material stated by or published by Einstein that mentioned Buddhism, though I would love to be corrected on this one.
Kind regards

Ben
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jcsuperstar
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Re: Einstein and Buddhism

Post by jcsuperstar »

there was a quote of his in defense of christianity that was a fraud too, in fact even in his life he was aware of it and there are letters of his talking about how he had no idea where it came from...
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the mountain may be heavy in and of itself, but if you're not trying to carry it it's not heavy to you- Ajaan Suwat
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piotr
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Re: Einstein and Buddhism

Post by piotr »

Hi,
Ben wrote:I spent quite a bit of time researching the authenticity of those 'buddhism' quotes attributed to Albert Einstein a couple of years ago. I got in touch with the Albert Einstein Archives - either in Germany or Israel, and received a response from the head archivist/curator who assured me that a lot of things were attributed to Einstein that he didn't say or publish. A case of people putting words into his mouth.
I'm glad to hear about your efforts Ben. :smile: I came to the same conclusion after my private research in the Internet.
I could not locate any material stated by or published by Einstein that mentioned Buddhism, though I would love to be corrected on this one.
Here are some Einstein's essays where he mentions either Buddhism or the Buddha:

http://www.sacred-texts.com/aor/einstein/einsci.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Bhagavaṃmūlakā no, bhante, dhammā...
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