This book attempts to reconcile Buddhism with modern scientific knowledge, and explain Buddhism in scientific terms. It covers biology, astronomy, physics, psychology, and neuroanatomy.
I'm very skeptical of anything remotely resembling pseudoscience, but this book impressed me. It kept science and Buddhism pretty separate, first masterfully describing the basics of a scientific concept, and then discussing some Buddhist concepts that might be analogous or even overlap. It was purely speculative, and never claimed that Buddhist concepts are somehow proven by modern science.
This book focuses on Mahayana Buddhism, which I liked since I haven't yet learned much about Mahayaha. But it was unnecessarily antagonistic with Therevada, called Hinayana, or "lesser," by the Mahayanas. It was interesting to see the contrast, even if it was biased.
Although articulate and interesting to read, this book was not very engaging. My eyes glazed over a lot, especially during the middle section which is devoted entirely to explaining Buddhist philosophy, in the driest manner possible.
The book ends with this statement, "The only sure remedy for the ills besetting modern civilization is to establish Buddhist teachings in the hearts of each and every individual alive. This is the key to the twenty-first century - the means whereby we may achieve the ultimate victory for humanity." I begin this review with this quote, because as I was reading the book, I had similar thoughts. Excusing the obvious evangelical component of this conclusion, I think there is a lot we could gain as a society from incorporating Buddhist tenets of love into our everyday living. The essential points of Buddhism, at least represented by Ikeda, is continually seeking to improve your life condition (not in a material sense but in a spiritual sense), having empathy for yourself when you are in a "lower state of being," and that Buddhism does not contradict with science, in fact throughout the book Ikeda uses science as justification for Buddhist ideas that life energy continues, even after one's death. It's a nice book.
Essa foi uma leitura vagarosa por natureza, mas bem interessante. Minha expectativa era encontrar um texto puramente filosófico, mas me deparei com apontamentos práticos e bastante conteúdo científico. Gostei bastante.
Ci sono concetti interessanti e ben spiegati ma visibilmente copiati da testi di Nichiren, al quale si accosta e ne fornisce un'interpretazione. Meglio leggere direttamente quest ultimo
Hello everyone here, I would love to read this book however seems almost impossible to get hold of it... Currently i live in dubai, and if there is anyone here who would sell it please let me know Bo.ronto@gmail.com