28186 00 i-viii r11kp.ps 8/13/01 12:03 PM Page i Q TH E UANTUM L OANTD TH E U S 28186 00 i-viii r11kp.ps 8/13/01 12:03 PM Page ii A JOURNEY TO THE FRONTIERS WHERE SCIENCE AND BUDDHISM MEET C R O W N P U B L I S H E R S , N E W Y O R K PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED AS L’INFINI DANS LA PAUME DE LA MAIN 28186 00 i-viii r11kp.ps 8/13/01 12:03 PM Page iii Q T H E UA N T U M L OA NTD T H E U S M A T T H I E U R I C A R D A N D T R I N H X U A N T H U A N 28186 00 i-viii r11kp.ps 8/13/01 12:03 PM Page iv Translation copyright © 2001 by Ian Monk All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,electronic or mechanical,including photocopying,recording,or by any information storage and retrieval system,without permission in writing from the publisher. Published by Crown Publishers,New York,New York. Member of the Crown Publishing Group. Random House,Inc. New York,Toronto,London,Sydney,Auckland www.randomhouse.com CROWN is a trademark and the Crown colophon is a registered trademark of Random House,Inc. Originally published in the French language as L’Infini dans la Paume de la Mainby Nil Éditions/Librairie Fayard in 2000. Copyright © 2000 by Nil Éditions. Printed in the United States of America Design by Lauren Dong Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ricard,Matthieu. [Infini dans la paume de la main. English] The quantum and the lotus: a journey to the frontiers where science and Buddhism meet / Matthieu Ricard and Trinh Xuan Thuan—1st ed. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Buddhism and science. 2. Physics—Philosophy. 3. Buddhism—Psychology. 4. Reality—Psychological aspects. 5. Physics—Religious aspects—Buddhism. 6. Spiritual life—Buddhism. 7. Enlightenment (Buddhism). I. Trinh,Xuan Thuan. II. Title. BQ4570.S3 R5313 2001 294.3'375—dc21 2001028852 ISBN 0-609-60854-1 S 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 N First American Edition 28186 00 i-viii r11kp.ps 8/13/01 12:03 PM Page v To our mothers 28186 00 i-viii r11kp.ps 8/13/01 12:03 PM Page vi 28186 00 i-viii r11kp.ps 8/13/01 12:03 PM Page vii Contents Introduction 1 1. AT THE CROSSROADS 7 2. TO BE AND NOT TO BE 23 3. IN SEARCH OF THE GREAT WATCHMAKER 37 4. THE UNIVERSE IN A GRAIN OF SAND 61 5. MIRAGES OF REALITY 79 6. LIKE A BOLT FROM THE BLUE 101 7. EACH TO HIS OWN REALITY 113 8. QUESTIONS OF TIME 127 vii 28186 00 i-viii r11kp.ps 8/13/01 12:03 PM Page viii Contents viii 9. CHAOS AND HARMONY 141 10. THE VIRTUAL FRONTIER 161 11. ROBOTS THAT THINK THEY CAN THINK? 183 12. THE GRAMMAR OF THE UNIVERSE 205 13. REASON AND CONTEMPLATION 229 14. BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER 251 15. FROM MEDITATION TO ACTION 257 THE MONK’S CONCLUSION 267 THE SCIENTIST’S CONCLUSION 275 Notes 283 Scientific Glossary 297 Buddhist Glossary 302 Acknowledgments 306 S Index 307 N 28186 01 p. 1-306 r14hd.ps 8/13/01 12:03 PM Page 1 I NTRODUCTION By Matthieu Ricard H ow should I lead my life? How should I live in society? What is knowable? These three questions have puzzled mankind through the ages. Ideally,our lives should lead us to a feeling of plenitude,so that we have no regrets at the moment when we die. Life in society should inspire us with a sense of universal responsibility. Knowl- edge should teach us about both the nature of the world around us and about our own minds. These same questions lie at the heart of the practices of science, philosophy, politics, art, social work, and spirituality. Artificially compartmentalizing these activities,as so often happens in our lives today, leads inevitably to diminished perspectives. Without a wis- dom bred of altruism,science and politics are double-edged swords, ethics is blind,emotions run wild,and spirituality becomes illusory. From the seventeenth century,the time of the scientific revolu- tion,to the present day,many people have considered science to be synonymous with knowledge. The exponential increase in the accu- mulation of information driven by the rise of science is not about to slow down. Meanwhile, religious practice has declined in demo- cratic,secular states,while often becoming more radical in religious states. The great spiritual traditions,whether they were dogmatic or based rather on pure contemplative experience,provided powerful ethical rules that people could use to structure and inspire their lives. As science has developed, many people have become disillu- sioned with the teachings of the world’s religions,and a secular faith in the revelations of science and the efficiency of technology has 1 28186 01 p. 1-306 r14hd.ps 8/13/01 12:03 PM Page 2 Q L The uantum and the otus 2 evolved. Others,however,point out that science is incapable of revealing all truths,and that while technology has produced huge benefits,the rav- ages it has caused are at least as great. What is more, science is silent when it comes to providing wisdom about how we should live. The correct view of science is as an instrument,intrinsically neither good nor bad. Either praising it to the skies or damning it is as senseless as applauding or criticizing strength. The strength of an arm can kill as well as save. Scientists are no better or worse than other human beings in general. Science does not produce wisdom. While the insights of science can help us change our world, only human thought and concern can enlighten us about the path we should follow in life. As a complement to science,therefore,we must also cultivate a “science of the mind,”or what we can call spirituality. This spirituality is not a luxury but a necessity. Over the last twenty years, a dialogue has been conducted between Buddhism and science,largely because of an interest in science shown by certain Buddhist thinkers,notably the Dalai Lama. In 1987,businessman Adam Engle and scientist Francisco Varela first organized what has become a regular series of encounters between the Dalai Lama and a number of eminent scientists: neurologists, biologists, psychiatrists, physicists,and philosophers. As the participants wrote: “An extraordinary quality of these meetings has been the open-minded yet critical attitude of the Buddhists and the scientists, both eager to expand their horizons by learning of the methods of inquiry and the insights of the other. Pub- lished accounts of these ‘Mind and Life’1 meetings have been received with growing enthusiasm by people interested in cross-cultural and interdisciplinary dialogue, especially concerning the nature of the mind.”2 Their titles include Gentle Bridges; Healing Emotions; Sleeping, Dreaming and Dying; and Science and Compassion.3 They have been complemented by more-in-depth studies such as The Embodied Mind,4 by Francisco Varela et al.,and Choosing Realityand The Taboo of Subjec- tivity5 by B. Alan Wallace. The conversations recorded in this book were undertaken in very much the same spirit. The main difference between the pursuit of knowledge in science versus the same pursuit in Buddhism is their ultimate goals. In Bud- S dhism, knowledge is acquired essentially for therapeutic purposes. The N objective is to free ourselves from the suffering that is caused by our