The Dalai Lama on the final day of a three-day dialogue with scientists in India yesterday spoke about the possibility of holding a similar meeting in Taiwan.
Hopefully, there will be many more such dialogues between science and Buddhism, and more scientists in ethnically Chinese communities could be invited, he said, adding that he hoped such an event could be held in Taiwan.
“We welcome you to visit Taiwan,” Taiwanese Nobel laureate Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲), who led a group of Taiwanese scientists to the event in Dharamsala, told the Dalai Lama.
Photo: CNA
The scientists arrived in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday for a meeting with the Dalai Lama to discuss quantum mechanics in Buddhism, expand the scope of scientific studies to include the exploration of the inner mind and inculcate compassion in scientific research.
Academia Sinica members Wu Maw-kuen (吳茂昆), Lee Shih-chang (李世昌), Lee Ting-kuo (李定國) and Mou Chung-yuan (牟中原) were among the Taiwanese scientists at the event.
At its conclusion yesterday, the Dalai Lama put khata — ceremonial scarfs in Tibetan Buddhism — around the shoulders of the participants as a token of gratitude.
The Dalai Lama said he preferred talking to scientists from Chinese communities after 30 years of experience with Western scientists revealed beliefs revolving around a “creator.”
He spoke about a professor from Tsinghua University in Beijing who said he would seek to invite the Dalai Lama to scientific conferences to attend “not as the Dalai Lama, but as a scientist.”
Despite the event’s title — “Dialogue between His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and Chinese scientists on the quantum effect” — no scientists from China attended, as “there is no freedom in China,” the Dalai Lama said, adding that he could “therefore only invite Taiwanese scientists.”
“It is time that people tried to understand their inner selves, as the wisdom of Buddhist writings should not just be contained in books, but applied,” he said.
“Otherwise, the work of Buddhists would be reduced to praying, presiding over rituals and transferring merits,” he said.
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
The Chien Feng IV (勁蜂, Mighty Hornet) loitering munition is on track to enter flight tests next month in connection with potential adoption by Taiwanese and US armed forces, a government source said yesterday. The kamikaze drone, which boasts a range of 1,000km, debuted at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition in September, the official said on condition of anonymity. The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology and US-based Kratos Defense jointly developed the platform by leveraging the engine and airframe of the latter’s MQM-178 Firejet target drone, they said. The uncrewed aerial vehicle is designed to utilize an artificial intelligence computer
Renewed border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia showed no signs of abating yesterday, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced people in both countries living in strained conditions as more flooded into temporary shelters. Reporters on the Thai side of the border heard sounds of outgoing, indirect fire yesterday. About 400,000 people have been evacuated from affected areas in Thailand and about 700 schools closed while fighting was ongoing in four border provinces, said Thai Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, a spokesman for the military. Cambodia evacuated more than 127,000 villagers and closed hundreds of schools, the Thai Ministry of Defense said. Thailand’s military announced that
CABINET APPROVAL: People seeking assisted reproduction must be assessed to determine whether they would be adequate parents, the planned changes say Proposed amendments to the Assisted Reproduction Act (人工生殖法) advanced yesterday by the Executive Yuan would grant married lesbian couples and single women access to legal assisted reproductive services. The proposed revisions are “based on the fundamental principle of respecting women’s reproductive autonomy,” Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) quoted Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君), who presided over a Cabinet meeting earlier yesterday, as saying at the briefing. The draft amendment would be submitted to the legislature for review. The Ministry of Health and Welfare, which proposed the amendments, said that experts on children’s rights, gender equality, law and medicine attended cross-disciplinary meetings, adding that
RSS