The Quantum and the Lotus: A Journey to the Frontiers Where Science and Buddhism Meet

by Matthieu Ricard

Book Overview

Matthieu Ricard trained as a molecular biologist, working in the lab of a Nobel prize-winning scientist, but when he read some Buddhist philosophy, he became drawn to Buddhism. Eventually he left his... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1400080797
• ISBN13: 9781400080793
• Release Date: October 2004
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.1" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Contemporary Physics, Buddhism, and Metaphysics

I was a bit skeptical upon first seeing this book. I worried about another floofy book about New Age/Western Buddhism. Thankfully, my fears were unfounded. This book is a fairly dense "argument" between the present positions of astrophysics/quantum physics and the Buddhist metaphysics. I'm a philosopher by trade and I read a lot of popular science books (especially in physics) so I managed well with the text. However, I think it may frustrate some persons without any background. So, ultimately, unless you are somewhat familiar with contemporary physics, you might want, regrettably, to skip this one. The Buddhist in the book is a very intelligent chap, more than capable of explaining/defending his position. And he successfully presents Buddhism in a very intellectual manner. I learned a lot about the Buddhist position with regard to cosmology - which is wonderful because that's what I hoped to get out of the book. I think this book should quiet some of the stereotypes of Buddhists... and it would be most enjoyed by persons who do not draw a hard absolute line between natural science and religious practice.

This book has helped me see the big picture

First of all, this is a unique book that helps you really understand buddhism especially if you are familiar with modern day physics.Robert Thurman, the Tibetan Schoolar said that Buddhism is "an education system", not a religion. Then the steps that one takes reading this book are like clear concise course work. The authors explain modern quatum mechanics and shows how the notion of "inherent emptiness" is reflected in a scientific theory that has been rigorously tested.What I learned from this book is a new way of looking at reality.This reality is a non-material , non -linear reality that somehow coincides with modern scientific test results. We begin to see how the discipline and rigour with which science is held up to applies just as well to Buddhist thought processes. So that is the beauty of the book. Buddhism is not about faith, the practice is about finding what works through learning and practical experience.

Finally

Finally, a real scientist and a real Buddhist philosopher present a fair, balanced, and realistic dialogue on the correspondence between the modern scientific and Buddhist cosmologies. Watch out, Fritjof Capra and Wes Nisker, we're coming to getcha! Reality breaks through with a vengeance...Hopefully, this book will set a new standard for writing on the subject of Eastern religions and the "new science." No longer will solipsistic arm-waving be allowed - only sincere and open communication, from the heart, between truly informed scientific and spiritual perspectives. I find this book refreshing, hard-nosed, unafraid, and therefore liberating from our current fuzzy literature in this area. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Matthieu and Trinh.

The science of enlightenment.

"If there is any religion that could respond to the needs of modern science," Einstein said, "it would be Buddhism" (p. 282). Drawn from their extraordinary dialogues, Matthieu Ricard and Trinh Thuan explore Buddhist teachings and modern science in THE QUANTUM AND THE LOTUS. "Buddhism is basically a science of enlightenment," Ricard writes in the Introduction to this book. Before becoming a Buddhist monk and translator for the Dalai Lama, Ricard trained as a moleculor biologist and worked with a Nobel prize-winning scientist. Thuan, a Vietnamese Buddhist, became an acclaimed astrophysicist after studying at the California Institute of Technology. "Buddhism contends that if we want to grasp the true nature of reality, we must engage much more fully with the philosophical conundrums that quatum physics has revealed" (p. 113). This is the basic premise of THE QUANTUM AND THE LOTUS.The Buddha discouraged blind faith. In fact, he said, "Investigate the validity of my teachings as you would examine the purity of gold, rubbing it against a stone, hammering it, melting it. Do not accept my words simply out of respect for me. Accept them when you see that they are true" (p. 10). In their compelling dialogues, Ricard and Thuan explore life's big questions. Why are we alive? Why do we die? Why do we suffer? How did the universe begin? Is there an all-knowing Creator responsible for the remarkable harmony and precision of the universe? Is the phenomena of the universe interdependent and nonseparable? Why is the science of elementary particles important to everyday life? Why should the impermanence of phenomena incite us to live life differently? What is consciousness and where does it come from? Why does the human brain question the meaning of life and our place in the world? What are the limitations of analytical and contemplative thought, and can science ever reveal an "ultimate truth"? Are there any common grounds between Buddhist teachings and modern science? For Ricard, "the most fascinating part of this confrontation between the natural sciences and Buddhism is in the analysis of the ultimate nature of things" (p. 269). For Thuan, "these conversations form part of an ongoing dialogue between science and Buddhism. The most important thing that they taught me was that there is a definite convergence and resonance between the Buddhist and scientific visions of reality. Some of Buddhism's views on the world of phenomena are stikingly similar to the underlying notions of modern physics--in particular, its two main grand theories: quantum mechanics, which is the physics of the infinitely small; and relativity, the physics of the infinitely large" (p. 276).Perhaps this is the book Fritjof Capra envisioned writing someday after his TAO OF PHYSICS, integrating Buddhism and modern science. Like Capra's 1975 classic, THE QUANTUM AND THE LOTUS reveals that, "made of stardust, we share the same cosmic history as the lions on the savann

Deep thoughts. Great adventure

I'm fascinated by religion and physics. In this book, we get a wonderful blending of the two. The book consists of an interview between a Buddhist monk and a professor of astronomy. Much of the book focusses on space and time and the anthropic principle. The best parts are those that get us to question the ultimate nature of reality. To get you in the mood, here is a quote:"The mind is behind every experience in life. It is also what determines the way we see the world. It takes only the slightest change in our minds, in how we deal with mental states, and perceive people and things, for 'our' world to be turned completely upside-down." -- Matthieu Richard and Tringh Xuan Thuan, The Quantum and the Lotus