For decades, science has approached the cutting edge of Dharma in the west, as physicists, neuroscientists, astronomers and biologists affirm the insights about space, time, and consciousness first realized by our spiritual ancestors. In this section, we explore some of the most compelling contributors and topics in this dynamic intersection between spirituality and science.
A Physicist Encounters Naked Awareness
A review of The End of Suffering: Fearless Living in Troubled Times by Russell Targ
For a number of years at the Hazy Moon, Nyogen Roshi has been talking about science. Specifically how a number of scientists from different disciplines increasingly are hitting upon a track that parallels the insights of classical meditative or spiritual practices…
Don’t Be Seduced by the Cool in Quantum
Entropy is often thought of as a measure of randomness, disorder and in information theory, ignorance. It seems to be on the one hand trivially statistical and on the other hand deeply embedded in our experience…
Science Gets Personal
A review of Beyond Biocentrism: Rethinking Time, Space, Consciousness, and the Illusion of Death by Robert Lanza, MD with Bob Berman
Is it any wonder that some of us find ourselves uninterested in science that espouses lifeless mechanics and randomness theory? What if science were an exploration of mind? Your mind. How does it work? Where does the world I am living in come from?
Appreciating Life: A Profile of Bob Berman
You would think that the discovery of potentially habitable planets orbiting a nearby star would excite an astronomer. Bob Berman—a columnist for Astronomy magazine, the astronomy editor of the Old Farmers Almanac and the author of ten popular books—was unimpressed…
Audio Interviews with Tom Campbell
Tom Campbell, a professional physicist, has worked on some of the most complex military systems in the U.S. arsenal. Since the early 1970s, he has also been at the forefront of a movement to shift the study of consciousness from the periphery to the center of modern scientific inquiry. His “theory of everything,” which he develops at length in his book “My Big TOE”, encompasses not just the foundation of individual experience but also phenomena like spiritual healing and remote viewing.
Beliefs and Brains
A review of My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey by Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D. and Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife by Eben Alexander, M.D. Those of us who spend a lot of time at the Hazy Moon regularly hear Nyogen Roshi ask “Do you really believe …?” followed […]
A Conversation with Dr. Robert Lanza
Listen to excerpts from Dr. Robert Lanza’s talk at the Hazy Moon Zen Center. “Einsteinian orthodoxy is a diversion from what science is about, which is to help us understand our experience. When we realize that space and time are simply tools of consciousness, we also realize, quite literally, that we’re sitting on top of […]
Paradigm Shifter: Robert Lanza
A cover story on Robert Lanza in U.S. News and World Report summarized his remarkable life with these words:“[He] is the living embodiment of the character played by Matt Damon in the movie ‘Good Will Hunting.’ Growing up underprivileged in Stoughton, Mass., south of Boston, the young preteen caught the attention of Harvard Medical School […]
Circle and Wave
In this essay on the relationship between mathematics and Zen, Ralph Shikan Levinson draws on some of the fundamentals of geometry, particularly the quality of symmetry, as a way to interpret the identity of relative and absolute. He then applies some of his ideas to an appreciation of Zen poetry and art, particularly the work of Sengai Gibon (1750-1838).
Mind Breathes Fire
Nyogen Roshi sent me a New York Times article that he thought I would like: “A Black Hole Mystery Wrapped in a Firewall Paradox.” Leonard Susskind, a theoretical physicist and educator whose work I enjoy, had offered comments on the article. There were also references to the iconic physicist and intellectual provocateur Stephen Hawking, and […]
Where Am I? What Time Is It?
A review of Biocentrism: How Life and Consciousness are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe, by Robert Lanza, MD, with Bob Berman There are periods when I read from this book every morning, in the same way that I read Song dynasty Ch’an masters like Ta-Hui or Yuan-wu. I read for […]
Why A Zen Practitioner Reads About Science
Is there any reason for a Zen practitioner to read about science? When I started practice, I was certain the answer to that question was no. Obviously, one can have a Zen practice and not study science. So why bother? Don’t get me wrong: I love science, although I fell in love with it relatively […]