佛教是科学且超越科学

当今的时代是科学高度发展的时代，是钻研科学、利用科学的时代。然而就在这科学高度发展的同时，不少人仍持有疑虑，认为佛教将会受到极大的挑战和冲击——认为谈科学就不要讲佛教，谈佛教就不要讲科学，好象佛教和科学是水火不兼容似的，把两者对立起来。尤其是有些佛教徒谈到科学更是茫然。然而殊不知我们佛教就是科学的吗。不但是科学的，且还超越科学。

从何而谈起？

首先，二者的目标相同，思想观点更是一致。佛教自释迦太子放弃王位，半夜偷越王城就是为了去追求宇宙人生的真理，后来在菩堤树下悟道后，又证得了宇宙人生的真理，而当今的科学也是想揭开宇宙的秘密，发现宇宙人生的真理，目标都是为了造福人类，减除人们的痛苦和灾难。另外各种宗教对宇宙人生，世间真理无不涉及，无不探索，科学的概念产生于西方，历史比宗教迟，在西方国家的其它宗教早已对宇宙人生有所探索和解说，如“上帝造人”“耶稣安拉”能拯救人类等等。后来西方人对这种思想不赞成，于是一切从实际出发、从客观事物去分析问题、解决问题，便产生了无神论的科学，如爱因斯坦认为与科学相冲突的宗教，无论是出于恐惧，还是道德的需要，尽管本身有高下之分，其“所共有的是它们的上帝概念的拟人化的特征”，而佛教恰恰是它不承认任何拟人化的造物主，佛陀更不以造物主自居，佛教认为，佛陀只能教导众生离苦得乐的方法，佛陀自己虽已离苦得乐，但却不能带替众生离苦得乐。佛陀是宗教教育家，而不是幻术家及魔术师，他从来不宣称自己可以“代人赎罪”，只是主张所有人应对自己负责任，因为每个人的命运都掌握在自己手中。佛教不承认有能够主宰世界和人类的神灵，一切都是众生的业感，反对鬼神崇拜，绝非一般要求信徒向虚幻神灵顶礼膜拜的宗教可比，可以说佛教是一种无神论的宗教，这一思想又恰恰与科学的思维方式又不谋而合。

其次佛教的教理、生活方式、制度就是一些科学的理论。佛教在理论方面，目的不是为了研究科学，而是针对人们的“苦”字下功夫，进而追溯人生的真谛和宇宙的真理，在揭示这真理的过程中所阐述的论点，就是一些先知先觉的科学论段，如对于宏大宇宙的观点：宇宙之大无边无际，世界数目之多，不可甚数，只能用恒河沙数或微尘（空中尘埃）数来形容，即恒河沙数的世界，或微尘数世界，当然恒河有多少沙粒，空中有多少尘埃，谁也说不清楚，在这些世界不光是地球上才有生命（佛教说的众生），还有许多其它世界（佛教称他方世界）也有生命，如佛经中讲的东方琉璃世界，教主药师佛，西方极乐世界，教主阿弥陀佛，同时还有观世音菩萨，大势致菩萨，以及无量无边的佛教徒听阿弥陀佛说法，又对西方极乐世界的描写，“从是（地球）西方过十万亿佛土有世界名曰极乐”；这些世界却又不是永远不变的，而是成坏不停，有的已坏，有的已成，有的正坏，有的正成，有的将坏，有的将成，他们都是在因果连续，消长不停；这宇宙世界就时间来说没有开始，没有终结，旷远绵邈，无始无终。这就是早在2500多年前佛教对宏观宇宙世界提出的科学论段，科学的发展也证实了佛教对宏大宇宙说法的真实性，而近代科学家才说地球和太阳经过多少年终要毁灭。但还没有讲到以后怎样才形成新的世界。又佛教在微观方面，佛陀时代也有深入的揭露，在佛教的毗尼日用中，有：“佛观一钵水，八万四千虫，若不食持此咒，若食众生肉”的句子，在公元前六七世纪，佛陀用慧眼一看，便知水中有无数的微细生命（佛教八万四千指多，虫指细菌，微细生命），直到科学发达显微镜出现的近代，才进一步证明了佛陀境界在2500多年前就进入了高科技时代了。

佛教不光是教理上是科学的，而生活方式上也是科学的，首先佛教对人们生病的问题就持科学的态度，病也分三种情况：1、如果属于孽障这方面的病，这种病可能通过诵经、佛事就会好；2、如果是四大不调带来的自然的病，那就必须得请医用药治疗，在佛陀时代，有一比丘生病了，佛陀亲自给他换药擦洗等；3、如果孽障太重的病，那就无法治疗。因此佛教不象有的宗教强调的那样，生病了不需请医，不需吃药等等，这佛教在教理上首先就客观科学的分析了人生——即人有生老病死。其次在生活的一些细节上就是科学的，如在人很重要饮食问题上，佛制比丘定量食、定时食，这就是我们现在医学上所说的科学饮食要定时定量，生活有规律，不能暴吃暴饮（至于过午不食，那也有他一定的原因，这里就不讲了）。还有在经书经常见到“饭食经行”这样的句子，就是说吃了饭应该走一走，就相当于吃了饭散步似的，正如大家常说的“饭后百步走，活到九十九”。又有早在2500多年前佛教就有漱口的习惯，嚼杨支（当时没有牙膏，只用一种树枝来咀嚼）来漱洗。值得一提的还有佛教提倡的“素食”，现在许多书都在谈论素食对身体健康，少生病是有极大好处的，是科学的。总而言之，从佛教的生活方式看，虽然佛教创建的时候没有科学，但他的超前意识已经与科学不谋而合了，完全就有科学的意识贯穿于其中。还有佛教的制度也有他一定的科学性，如佛教作法时的羯磨制，就是一个民主制的科学制度，现在的政协会，议会等就是这一制度的体现，开会表决一个什么事，必须一定的人员到会才行，否则不生效。

佛教是科学的这不再多说了，就是在科学界内部的科学家也不得不承认，如大科学家爱因斯坦也曾说过：“如果有一个能应付现代科学需求，又能与科学相依共存的宗教那必定是佛教。”又如现代科学家沈家祯博士也说：“我本个是个科学家，但对佛法同样感兴趣，我认为佛法与科学是一而二，二而一的。”

佛教不但是科学，而且还超越科学。

佛教自释迦牟尼在菩堤树下悟道后，就证得了宇宙人生的真理，对宇宙人生的真相洞察得了了明明，如理如量。以及对人们的过去未来都了解清清楚楚，这叫住实相，即万物之本质、自性——它超越了一切语言文字，逻辑思维，即言语道断，心行处灭。这在教内无所不知，佛陀是智者、觉者，对宇宙人生一切皆知。当时佛陀的智能，神通皆是世人所不能及和其它九十六种外道所不能比的，这完全是大大超越了人们的思想意识形态，也并非现在的科学技术能比拟和相提并论的，并且也是科学摸不着头脑的问题。如我们佛教徒往生火化后有舍利子的问题，有的居士往生后有佛陀放光接引问题，或出现瑞相问题，神通问题，禅定问题，有念咒能治病，趋邪等等的问题都是有待科学解释的，科学要把佛教的这些问题搞清楚，又不知道要多少年，或者能否搞清楚都是问题，科学界还更没有意识到：究竟的真理已经超越一切语言文字、逻辑思维。原因就在于科学主要是借助于人的感官观察和仪器测量，它的发展研究也只能局限表面现象的范围，即用现象去解释现象，未能深入现象后面的本质，不能了知缘起无自性的实相，都是依靠人的感官分别妄念去研究，这就犹如火堆上不断上升的烟，离火越来越远，越来越分散，最后不知源于何处，不能了解事物本质真理。著名科学家钱学森说，以前我们研究科学只知道向外钻研，不知道向内部——向人体内部去研究，实际人体内部就是一个尖端的科学，人类灵魂的存在不敢否定；科学家爱因斯坦也说过：“没有科学的宗教是瘸子，没有宗教的科学瞎子。”我国革命的先行者孙中山已说过：“佛学是哲学之母，研究佛学可以补科学之偏，弥补法律之不足。”因此佛教是具有科学的一面，又并非科学所能比拟的。就从他涉及的范围就比科学大得多，哲学、教育、医学、艺术、建筑、文学、语言等等，他完全是超越了科学以外的意识形态。

最后，我们既然知道了佛教是科学且又超越科学的，那我们就要摆正对科学的态度，首先我们作为学佛、信佛的人在思想就不要反对科学，或者不接受科学，如果反对，或不接受那就是错误的思想，这里我就想起98年，在南京栖霞山护送佛牙到缅甸去，我经常听一个给我们翻译的少校讲，他们国家落后，他们永远骂几个佛教长老，原因是在五六十年代，他们国家就准备向法国引进制造玻璃的先进技术，可是他们在河边试验，因为一爆炸就炸死许多鱼，于是，几位长老就向国家强烈要求，不许引进这种技术，它是杀生的，于是他们国家就不引进这个科学方面的技术，使他们国家比先进国家落后近百年。你说这不接受科学，给国家带来损失多大，我们不管他是什么，他还是人为的，看我们怎样利用。其次我们对科学和佛教之间也要摆明态度，佛教是科学的，但不一定科学都是佛学的，佛教是释迦牟尼悟到了宇宙人生的真理，证得的实相，而科学呢，却还是在不断摸索前进的东西，有的是后一个理论推翻前一个论断，将来的理论或许会推翻现在的论断，而我们佛教的理论，从来不会变，佛陀时代是这样提，2500多年过去了，现在还是这样提，并且还没人能推翻，将来还是这样提，故佛教和科学原则上冲突的，我们要依佛教的。第三，我们作为佛教徒都应有责任，把科学发明的一切引导善的一方面来福利众生，科学本身不坏，要看我们怎样利用。我们有责任向国家、向人民、向专家劝导，不要用科学来害人。现在科学对人类或社会带来许多的不利因素，我们看以后怎样引导。总之，我要用科学来福利社会、人类，抑制不利于社会人类的因素，即我们要用科学的武器在菩提道上添砖加瓦，又要用他来斩妖降魔，为庄严国土，利乐有情，早日将娑婆世界（地球）变为极乐世界而努力。

Buddhism is science and more than science

TongRui

It is ages that science are high development,being well used and researched.At the same time ,some people have question that Buddhism will meet the biggest challenge and concussion---and thought that never talk about Buddhism and science together, they are just incompatible as fire and water.,taking both of them as confilict things.it’s pale that especially at the time of our Buddhist talking about science.However,don’t you know our Buddhism is a science,not only a science and more than science.

How to show the idea of the problem?

First,both of them have the same aim.In order to look for the truth,Buddhism look for the truth since Sayka prince gave up kingship and turned over the wall of King-city,and later awakened under Buddha’s tree,finally he got the truth of the universe and life.and science is still trying to reveal the secrets of the universe and discover the truth of universe life.The same of their aims are benefiting human beings ,reducing the disasters and pains of people.Also many different religions researched the universe and life,truth of the world,the concept of science was resulted from the western and had a history which is shorter than religion.In some western countries,they have some religions gave explaination to universe and life,such as:God created human beings” and Jesue Allah can save human beings.Due to the western’s disagreement on the thinking,so they have borned a science which called Antitheism under the fundation of taking consideration from the reality,analysising and solving problems from objective terms.such as Einstein said:no matter due to fear or needs of morality,though they may have limit between good ones and bad ones if it had conflicted with religion.they have a common feature which is personate of God,however what a coincidence is that Buddhism never agree it,and Buddha also never take himself as a demiurge.Buddhism think that they can only tell buddhist ways of being away from pains and getting happiness.Buddhism is an educator of religione but not a magician.it never promoted that he can take responsibility for others,but to persuade people to be brave to take responsibilty for themselves,Buddhism disagree that there is no God which can master all the world,everything is belongs to the world,everybody’s life belongs to themseleves.also opposing to believe any ghosts and gods.and this is difficult for the religions which require their believer believing ghosts and gods to compare with.If we must take Buddhism as a religion,it must be religion which promoted antitheism,and the thinking meet with science very well.

Second,theories of Buddhism,ways of life,and rules of Buddhism ,certainly they are some science theories.In the hand of theory,Buddhism is not for research,but for the pains of people,then look back for the truth of the universe and essence of life.In the process，they found some theoies such as ; the universe is so large and it has no space limited,numbers in the world are too much to account,consequently it could be just described as dust in sky or sand in Ganges?Of course,nobody really knows how many dust and sand does sky and Ganges exactly have .In the worlds,not only does the earth have life(all flesh in Buddhism) but many other worlds（Buddhism means other- worldly）do.such as Eastern Glazed World,Hierach YaoShi Buddha,Western Pure Land, Hierarch Amitabha,meanwhile it also has Arya Avalokiteshvara,DaShiZhi Buddhisattava and countless Buddhist took lessons on Amitabha,also described Western Pure Land as follows: It’s ten thousand million metres far away from the western earth,there is a place named Pure Land,but the worlds are not always the same and it was changing all the time,some born ,some dead,some borning ,some dieing.some will born,some will die.they were constant cause and effect.In the terms of time,there is no beginning or end in the universe,this was the theory promoted by Buddhism 2500 years ago.and till now it had proved to be right,However now scientist think that the earth and sun will be disappeared for some certain years later.,but without an anwser what a new world willl turn up.As well as the discovery of microcosmic,Buddhism had a deep research,A book of Buddhist’rules said ,Buddhist watch a bowl of water,finding eighty –four thousand germs,I had eaten meat if I wouldn’t speak incantation when I drink water.6th B.C ago,our Buddha knew there were countless germs just by eyes.(eighty-four thousand germs in Buddhism means countless germs).But till the invention of high developed microscope ,people can prove that Buddhism is ahead of high-tech ages 2500 years ago.

Buddhism is science not only on its theory but also the ways of life.First,Buddhism take a scientific attitude towards the ill of human beings,it can be divided into three kinds,1.if patient got sick by doing something unmoral,it can be get well by chanting sutra and Buddha-work.2.if one got illed naturely,it must to use medicine,in Buddha ages,Buddha himself embrocated a bhikkhu and so on.3.if someone got illed by doing so many bad actions and this was never be saved.Consequently,Buddhism is not the same as other relogion which promoted not to use medicine when got illed.The Buddhism first analysised the life from objective science,which tols us everybody can just have born, old and died onlyi once.Second,it’s also scientific at the details on eating. as a human being,eating is important to us,Buddha requires bhikkhu quantity and time under control,this quite siuts our contemporary medicine rules:living and eating under some certain rules,avoiding eating without any limitation(regarding the rule :no eating after noon,it also has certain reason ,and now here I won’t plan to explain more ).also reading from the scripture,you can see a Chinese sentence reading “Fan Shi Jing Xing” which means one shuould have a walk after meals.so there is also a common saying,hundred walks after meals ,ninty-nine years old you may live.2500 years ago Buddhist had a habit of gargling,eating a branch of a tree named Yang Branch (as there was no toothpaste),Buddhism strongly promoted to be a vegetarian,and now many books are discussing that be a vegetarian is healthy for human beings and can avoid getting illed.In a word,the theory on the way of Buddhism’s life is scientific,though there is no science befor Buddhism setting up.its advanced theory and sense had already meet with science with no question,and a sure thing that there may be sense of science in Buddhism’s living way.Rules of Buddhism also has certain scientificity,such as Buddhist Karma,it’s a domocratic and scientific rule,now political consultative conference,congress and so on have been found in the rule,if you want to decide something ,you must have a certaim number of people or it will not work.

I will not to talk more on the topic that Buddhism is science,this had been admitted even by the scientist,such as famous scientist Einstein once said:if there may be a religion which can meet modern science’s requirements and also may exsit with scientist together,it must be Buddhism”also as Dr Shen Jia Zhen said I am a scientist ,but I am very intrested on Buddhism,I think Buddhism and science exsited with each other.

However,Buddhism is not only science but more than science.

Since Sakyamuni awakened the way under the tree of Buddha,he got the truth of the universe and life,knowing well to the truth of the universe.He can know people’s past and future clearly,this was named absolutely reality,it beyond all the language and logic. Meanings can not be expressed by language and by thinking.It was well knowed in Buddhism.Buddha is a sophist,Buddha,and know all about the life in the universe.and nobody or other ninty-six religions cann’t compare,this had been completely beyond people’s thinking and sense.and now technology can’t achieve.Meanwhile science is a unclear matter as well as the problem that when some Buddhist were been fired after death there may be found Buddha's relics,some Buddhist may be welcomed with light by Buddha after died.lucky phenomenon,physci power,and meditation and so on.these were never be answered,if science want to research these problems and there is no idea that how many years shall we get the answer.,or it’s a problem that whether science can make it clear or not.The science group even can’t realize that Buddhist theory had been beyond all the languages and logic.the reasons were that science must take equipment and sense organ,its development and research may also limited in knowing appearance,namely it can just use phenomena to explain phenomena,can not do research into the essence,and have no idea on knowing absolutely reality of “Yuan Qi Wu Zi Xing”,just do research by using man’s sense organ,this as if the smoke moving up from the fire,and being more and more far away from the fire and finally disappeared.it does not know the essece of things.So scientist Qian Xue Seng said,once we just know to research the matters outside of our bodies,and never do research on the inner construction of our bodies,actually our inner body is a top science,we can’t deny the exsistence of soul. the greatest scientist Eistain said: without science,religion is just like a lame man,and if there is no religion,science is even like a blind man .Our forthrunner of revolutionary Sun Zhong Shan had also said,Buddhism is monther of philosophy,do research on Buddhism can make up the shortage of science and law.Consequently,Buddhism has feature of science,but more than science,it includes more subjects than science such asphilosophy,education,nedicine,art,construction，literature，and language，it had completely beyond the sense of science.

At last ,though we know that Buddhism is science and more than science,we should take a right attitude on science.First,as our Buddhist don’t refuse science,or oppose science,if so ,it’s a wrong idea.Here it remind me of that in 1998,we escort Buddha’s tooth from Buddhist Collegue of Xixia Mountain in Nanjing to Burma,A major interpreter always told us,as their country were out of time,they blamed the Buddhist elder for refusing to introduce a technology of producing glass from France into Burma ,but when they were having a test at the side of a river,it blasted many small fishes,so the Buddhist persuade their country not introducing the technology due to it killed so many lives.and this made their country fall behind other counties hundreds of years.What a lost did it bring to their country.so no matter what it is or it was made by man,the key point is how we make use of it.Second,we should take a right attitude to treat science and Buddhism,Buddhism is science,but not all the science is Buddhism,Buddhism had got the truth of the universe after Sakyamuni got and proved the truth.But science is still developing by groping the ways,and some new theories cancel the old ones.and future ones cancel existing ones.However Buddhism theory never be changed since ages of Buddha for 2500 years ,nobody can cancel it,today it will not be changed and future won’t either,Consequently if there is a conflict between Buddhism and science,we should follow Buddhism’s theory.Third,as a Buddhist,we should be responsible for bringing benefit to our human beings by making good use of science,we are responsible for persuading country ,experts and people not to use science to hurt human beings.Now science had brought us so many bad effects,we should give it a right direction of guiding.In a word ,we should make good use of science to benefit society and human beings,refuse the bad effect,that’s to say,we should make science as our arms to make our Buddhism better，aslo use it to kill bogey and belial.in order to make our earth to a pure land as early as we can.