My Spiritual Journey by Dalai Lama (good books for 8th graders txt) 📕

related to positive mental states. These changes have been measured, and recent discoveries in the neurosciences have demonstrated the internal plasticity of the brain, in terms of both synaptic connections and the birth of new neurons due to external stimuli such as voluntary physical exercise or an enriched environment.

The Buddhist contemplative tradition can help extend this field of scientific research by offering certain forms of mind training associated with cerebral plasticity. If it is proven, as Buddhist tradition maintains, that mental practice can effect observable synaptic and neural changes in the brain, this could have far-reaching implications. The repercussions of such research will not be limited to the development of our knowledge of the human brain. Perhaps more importantly, they could contribute to our understanding of education and mental health. Similarly, if, as Buddhist tradition claims, the deliberate practice of compassion can bring about a radical change in an individual’s outlook, leading to a greater empathy for others, this could have important consequences for society in general.

Finally, I believe that collaboration between the neurosciences and the contemplative tradition of Buddhism can shed a new light on the question of the interface between ethics and the neurosciences, which is of vital importance. Whatever we might think about the relationship between ethics and science, in actual practice, science has evolved first as an empirical, morally neutral discipline. It has come to be regarded mainly as a method of investigation that provides a detailed knowledge of the empirical world and the underlying laws of nature.

From a purely scientific standpoint, the creation of nuclear weapons represents a remarkable achievement. However, since these weapons have the power to inflict an immense amount of suffering by causing death and massive destruction, we regard this achievement as an aberration of science.

It is ethical evaluation that allows us to determine what is positive or negative in the sciences. Until recently, it would seem that ethics and science have been successfully compartmentalized, with the understanding that the human capacity for moral thinking evolved along with knowledge. Today, however, I believe that humanity is at a critical crossroads. The radical advances in the neurosciences, and especially in genetics, toward the end of the twentieth century have opened up a new era in human history. We have reached a point where the ethical challenges posed by these advances are immense.

Obviously, our moral thinking has not been able to keep pace with such a rapid development of knowledge and the power it confers. Yet the ramifications of these new discoveries and their applications are so far-reaching that our very concept of human nature and the preservation of the species are called into question. So it is no longer acceptable to adopt the view that our responsibility as a society is simply to support scientific knowledge and reinforce technological power, leaving open the question of what should be done with them. We must find a way to allow humanitarian and ethical considerations to determine the direction of scientific progress, especially in the life sciences.

By invoking fundamental ethical principles, I am not advocating a fusion between religious ethics and scientific research. I am referring rather to what I call “secular ethics,” which includes the key ethical principles such as compassion, tolerance, kindness, and the responsible use of science and power. These principles transcend the boundaries between believers and nonbelievers, as well as those between disciples of different religions. The world in which we live is one world. The modern economy, electronic media, international tourism, and environmental problems all remind us on a daily basis how interconnected the present world is. The scientific communities play a vital role in this interconnected world. Science today enjoys society’s great respect and trust, much more than my own philosophical and religious discipline does. I appeal to scholars to bring into their professional work the values stemming from the fundamental ethical principles we all share as human beings.11

Ethics in the sciences to save life

ISEE AN ENCOURAGING SIGN in the increasing compatibility between science and religion. Throughout all of the nineteenth century and for a large part of the twentieth, there has been profound confusion because of the conflict between these two seemingly contradictory views of the world. Today physics, biology, and psychology have reached such sophisticated levels that many researchers begin by asking the most profound questions about the ultimate nature of the universe and of life—the same questions that are of prime interest in the field of religion. So a real potential for a more unified vision does exist. More particularly, a new concept of the mind and of matter seems to be emerging. Historically, the East was more concerned with understanding the mind and the West was more involved in understanding matter. Now that both have met, these spiritual and material concepts of life can come to harmonize.

We have to renew our commitments to human values in the sciences. Although the main aim of science is to gain ever more knowledge of reality, another of its objectives is to improve the quality of life. Without altruistic motivation, scientists are unable to distinguish between beneficial technologies and harmful, short-term expedients. The damage caused to the environment around us is the most obvious consequence of this confusion. A suitable motivation is even more imperative when it is a question of managing the extraordinary spectrum of new biotechnologies with which we can now manipulate the subtle structures of the living organism. If we don’t base these manipulations on an ethical foundation, we risk causing irremediable harm to the delicate web of life.

The Dalai Lama thinks that in our time Buddhism should take on a special responsibility, one derived from the teaching of the Buddha that posits meditation on interdependence as inseparable from the practice of compassion. The concept of interdependence, as it was presented by the Buddha 2,500 years ago and then commented on by the sages of ancient India and Tibet, fits into the vision of the world that stems from general relativity