The Universe in a Single Atom by the Dalai Lama

February 26th, 2007 at 3:27 pm (Buddhism, Esoteric, Philosophy, Science)

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The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is an amazing person, and for a student of Buddhism, his summation of that religion when asked as “My religion is kindness” is a great inspiration. I would really recommend that you look into Buddhism if you haven’t already done so - I believe it has a lot to teach us about how to live happily :)

But The Universe in a Single Atom is not entirely about Buddhism - it is rather, an example of one of the world’s great spiritual leaders, leader of an ancient tradition, tackling some very modern days issues which are often outside the remit of religion: namely, science. In my previous review I looked at Fritjof Capra’s Tao of Physics, and the Dalai Lama’s book sees this great man bringing science and sprituality together in a religio-political context, comparing ancient Buddhist science with the modern quantum physics. Apart from anything else, this book shows what a learned and yet open-minded man he is, and his compassion and loving kindess for all of humanity shines through - Buddhism is not a system which judges or discriminates. The book looks at plenty of modern day scientific problems and paradoxes, and the Dalai Lama is very open minded about these, acknowledging how much science has changed since the time of the Buddha, and also how science has served humanity.

But his message is a serious one - in a world where science has cured many of our immediate wants, and to all intents and purposes given us in the West everything we need, people are less happy than ever! For both myself and the Dalai Lama, this is indicative that material wants are not our only wants - which is why he argues for a compassionate approach to science in this interesting and accessible book. In a world where science and technology increasingly makes leaps which are almost beyond comprehension, it is important to remember that these leaps are supposed to serve us and make our lives better - yet science has many double edged swords, for example the nuclear bomb and genetic engineering. The Dalai Lama urges us collectively as a species to ensure that science continues to serve humanity - and not the other way around!

A very interesting, thought provoking and accessible work, the Universe in a Single Atom is written with sensitivity and compassion, as you would expect from one of the world’s great spiritual teachers.

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