A group of Taiwanese scientists led by Nobel laureate Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) on Thursday attended the opening ceremony of a three-day dialogue on quantum mechanics in Buddhism with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India.
Having discussed similar issues with scientists from the West and India over the decades, the Dalai Lama in his opening remarks said this would be the first time he has engaged in such dialogue with scientists mainly from the Chinese community.
The Dalai Lama said that he hoped the dialogue would serve two purposes: expand the field of scientific research to include the study of the inner mind and promote the role of compassion, which some scientists believe is basic human nature, in the development of scientific research.
Photo: CNA
All religions carry the message of love, forgiveness, tolerance and self-discipline, but religion has limited effect in promoting the inner values of humanity, partly because it is often used to create division or to justify killing, the Dalai Lama said.
Different cultures and environments have varying effects on people’s receptiveness to the messages conveyed by religions, he said.
People would find compassionate human nature more convincing if it was based on scientific findings rather than religion, the Dalai Lama said.
Science means investigating reality without being content with belief, an approach similar to Buddhist teaching that emphasizes experimentation and not belief, the Dalai Lama said.
In his remarks, Lee raised the issue of global warming and scientists’ social responsibility.
Lee said that he has spent much of his time working on such issues because he worries about the future of humanity.
The dialogue offers a great opportunity for scientists to learn from the Dalai Lama through discussions on quantum mechanics, humanity and religion, Lee said.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang
RSS