I am currently reading a very interesting book. It is written by Vic Mansfield and the title is "Tibetan Buddhism & Modern Physics". It also includes a foreword by the Dalai Lama. This is not the first book I read about parallels and similarities between concepts in eastern philosophy and modern physics. The first book I read on this subject was "The Tao of Physics" by Fritjof Capra. It impressed me so much when it first came out and really triggered my interest in the philosophical and religious side of physics.
Most people think of physics as something very difficult to understand and a big part of this comes from the language that physics uses - mathematics. Yes, I agree, physics on a very detailed level can get very complex but a lot of concepts can be understood on an elementary level without a lot of mathematics. Especially, when it comes to the interpretation of theories and how they relate to our understanding of the world Vic Mansfield and Fritjof Capra did a great job in explaining these concepts with simple words rather than abstract formulas.
Even though physics has made a huge progress in the recent 110 years with new theories developed like Quantum Mechanics and Relativity most peoples behavior and thinking is still based on a description of the world by classic physics developed a couple of hundred years ago.
Physics studies sections of the "world" (e.g. atoms) as an object through repeatable experiments and describes the results through models, a hypothesis or a theory (e.g. Quantum Mechanics). Buddhism studies the mind (and body) through meditation. NLP looks at "programs", language and communication and changes those to increase choice, success and happiness.
Are there any parallels?
Most people think of physics as something very difficult to understand and a big part of this comes from the language that physics uses - mathematics. Yes, I agree, physics on a very detailed level can get very complex but a lot of concepts can be understood on an elementary level without a lot of mathematics. Especially, when it comes to the interpretation of theories and how they relate to our understanding of the world Vic Mansfield and Fritjof Capra did a great job in explaining these concepts with simple words rather than abstract formulas.
Even though physics has made a huge progress in the recent 110 years with new theories developed like Quantum Mechanics and Relativity most peoples behavior and thinking is still based on a description of the world by classic physics developed a couple of hundred years ago.
Physics studies sections of the "world" (e.g. atoms) as an object through repeatable experiments and describes the results through models, a hypothesis or a theory (e.g. Quantum Mechanics). Buddhism studies the mind (and body) through meditation. NLP looks at "programs", language and communication and changes those to increase choice, success and happiness.
Are there any parallels?
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2 comments:
It fascinates me the many links between eastern philosphy and so called western science. Thanks for the book recommendation.
East meets West
Buddhism and Quantum Physics
The space between two things
http://ctkohl.googlepages.com
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