Trinh Thuan and The Intersection of Science and Buddhism

Author: Yong, Amos

Source: Zygon, Volume 42, Number 3, September 2007 , pp. 677-684(8)

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Abstract:

Trinh Thuan, professor of astronomy at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, since 1976, has published a number of books over the years that have touched on topics in the science-and-religion discussion. This essay reviews these volumes in light of a recent book he coauthored with Matthieu Ricard, a monk in the Tibetan Mahayana tradition with previous background and training in the biological sciences. The shift is observed in Thuan's views from at one point being attracted to a form of theism based on inferences drawn from the anthropic principle to later being intrigued by Ricard's explanations of the cosmos based on Buddhist consciousness theories. Thuan's journey as a scientist seeking further understanding is a lesson to the religion-and-science dialogue that more of the world's religious traditions need to be engaged with their specificities so that what emerges is an expanded conversation.

Keywords: anthropic principle; astrophysical cosmology; beauty; Buddhism and science

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9744.2007.00859.x

Affiliations: 1: Professor of Theology at Regent University School of Divinity, 1000 Regent University Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23464;, Email: ayong@regent.edu.

Publication date: 2007-09-01