Friday, January 7, 2011

Tibetan Monks Learn Science in USA

It looks like the Dalai Lama makes sense sometimes.  He's sent 6 monks to the US to study science, in an effort to better educated future generations of monks and nuns in the knowledge of the physical world.  The best part of the article is when the Dalai Lama is quoted saying "Even Buddha himself said 'All my followers shouldn't accept my teachers out of faith, but out of constant investigation.'"  I think that most religious leaders would consider this approach to be threatening, so the Dalai Lama deserves some credit. 

Obviously, the monks are going to struggle grasping the concepts of science, as most of them are in their 30s and don't even understand the basics of biology and chemistry, but this is clearly a step towards "nlightenment"for them. 

They're also shopping at the dollar store, and use Facebook as a way to communicate with their friends back home.  Emory University, where the monks are studying, has translated math and science books to the monk's native tongue, which has enabled this project to take place.  The Dalai Lama has planned on introducing science and mathematics into his teachings for more than 20 years. 

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