The scientific Buddha
Subtitle: his short and happy life
By: Donald S. Lopez, Jr
Series: The Dwight Harrington Terry Foundation lectures on religion in the light of science and philosophy
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: New Haven
Language: eng
ISBN-13: 9780300159127
Subjects: PHILOSOPHY / Buddhist; SCIENCE / History; RELIGION / Religion & Science; RELIGION / Buddhism / History; Buddhism and science
Description: "This book tells the story of the Scientific Buddha, "born" in Europe in the 1800s but commonly confused with the Buddha born in India 2,500 years ago. The Scientific Buddha was sent into battle against Christian missionaries, who were proclaiming across Asia that Buddhism was a form of superstition. He proved the missionaries wrong, teaching a dharma that was in harmony with modern science. And so his influence continues. Today his teaching of "mindfulness" is heralded as the cure for all manner of maladies, from depression to high blood pressure.In this potent critique, a well-known chronicler of the West's encounter with Buddhism demonstrates how the Scientific Buddha's teachings deviate in crucial ways from those of the far older Buddha of ancient India. Donald Lopez shows that the Western focus on the Scientific Buddha threatens to bleach Buddhism of its vibrancy, complexity, and power, even as the superficial focus on "mindfulness" turns Buddhism into merely the latest self-help movement. The Scientific Buddha has served his purpose, Lopez argues. It is now time for him to pass into nirvana. This is not to say, however, that the teachings of the ancient Buddha must be dismissed as mere cultural artifacts. They continue to present a meaningful challenge, even to our modern world"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: A Purified Religion; title: The Birth of the Scientific Buddha; title: The Problem with Karma; title: Interlude: A Primer on Buddhist Meditation; title: The Death of the Scientific Buddha.