News

Monday 18 November 2024

Dialogue of Buddhism and Modern Science" in the form of a public discussion of academic scientists and Buddhist Geshes

 
"Dialogue of Buddhism and Modern Science: Educational Programs and Research" - this was the topic of the public discussion of Professor of the Biological Faculty of Lomonosov Moscow State University, Head of the Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Neurocomputer Interfaces Alexander Yakovlevich Kaplan with Buddhist scientists, Geshe Ngawang Norbu (Secretary of the Gelukpa Foundation Buddhist Institute, Munggod, Karnataka) and Geshe Lodoy Sambu (Director of the Educational Program of the Ganden Dzangtse Monastery, Munggod, Karnataka).

This meeting was a logical continuation of two international Buddhist conferences held in the Institute of Oriental Studies: “Tibetology and Buddhology at the Crossroads of Science and Religion” on November 11-12 and “Towards the Russian-Language Buddhist Canon. Translation of the Buddhist Texts as a Dialogue of Cultures” on November 13-14, 2024.

The study of Buddhism by scientific methods and the participation of experienced monks in this process is of great interest to Russians. Buddhist teachings in general are gaining more and more supporters throughout the world. Although the announcement about that meeting was given only a day before the start of the event, about 150 people registered to listen to the scientific debates. Humanity studies and knows quite a lot about the environment, the external, material world, but we know almost nothing about our mind and consciousness functioning’s. This is what Buddhists devote all their attention to. You have probably heard that the 14th Dalai Lama Ngawang Lobsang Tenzin Gyatso strongly supports the study of Buddhism by scientific and even technological methods. The organizers of the public discussion of academic and Buddhist scholars were the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the  Foundation “Sokhranim Tibet”.