Yet another aspect of lengthy interest to the Buddhists has been the scientific nature of Buddhism. There is a usual claim, and also a pride, among the Buddhists that Buddhism is the most scientific of all religions. An instance of this can be found in the following words of U Chan Htoon, former justice of the Supreme Court of Burma: “In the case of Buddhism………all the contemporary scientific concepts have been present from the beginning. There is no principle of science, from biological evolution to the General Theory of Relativity, that runs counter to any teaching of Gotama Buddha.”1 “There can not be any achievement of science, no matter how revolu-tionary, that will ever contradict the teachings of Buddhism.”2 Professor von Glasenapp, an eminent German Indologist, specifies the following Buddhist concepts as unchallenged by modern scientific suggestions: the principle of universal order (dhamma) a positivistic denial of eternal substances the contention that soul or self is an artificial abstraction the recognition of a plurality of worlds and the affirmation of the vital similarity between man and animal.three As Dr. Swearer says in his “Buddhism in Transition”: “There are at least 3 principal techniques in which the assertion of the scientific nature of Buddhism is presented: Buddhism is a lot more scientific than other religions, especially theism (viz., Christianity) there is a general agreement between the approach or method of Buddhism and science and, science proves or validates certain Buddhist teachings such as the doctrines of rebirth (samsara) and impermanence (anicca).”4 Here, Buddhist meditation becomes the experimental laboratory where the Truth of one’s existence can be proved by intuitive insight, an encounter of the individual, every for himself. The idea of impermanence finds its confirmation in Einstein’s field theory of contemporary physics.
THE ESP Also covered in the field of scientific study of Buddhism is the study on parapsychology, specially the ESP (extrasensory perception), and on the dilemma of rebirth. The growth of scientific interest in these ancient beliefs was evidenced by the founding of the Society for Psychical Study of London in 2425/1882, the American Society for Psychical Investigation in 2431/1888, and other similar societies later on in most European countries, particularly in the Netherlands, France and Italy where active function has been carried on. Stimulated by the successful function of these societies, a couple of universities in America and later in Europe have taken up psychical analysis as a significant subject for study. Parapsychological laboratories or research departments had been opened in leading universities such as Harvard, Stanford and Duke Universities in the United States, and the University of Utrecht and Groningen University in the Netherlands. Leading psychologists like William James, William McDougall, C.G. Jung, and Sigmund Freud took an interest in the investigation. During the period from the 1930s to the 1960s the very best-known work was that of Duke University in North Carolina. So far, nevertheless, except for hypnotism which is no longer regarded as paranormal, parapsychology has been of comparatively little interest to most professional scientists. But, a few years ago, a lot excitement was caused among some groups of the Buddhists by the research of psychologists and psychical analysis institutions working on the problem of remembering past existences. It was Dr. Ian Stevenson of the University of Virginia and Professor Gillbert Rhine of the Parapsychology Institute in Durham, North Carolina, that did much for the progress of study in this field. In Stevenson’s “Twenty Circumstances Suggestive of Reincarnation,” a study is produced of a number of case histories of people who remembered past lives. Joseph Head and L.S. Cranston, in their compiled and edited function “Reincarnation in World Thought,” present an exploration of what great thinkers by means of the ages have said on the subject, examining the contributions produced to the discussion by the World’s religions, philosophies and sciences. Francis Story,1 most likely the Buddhist most active in trying to prove the truth of the doctrine of rebirth, wrote a booklet entitled The Case for Rebirth, made an inquiry into the memory of past lives of hundreds of Burmese and Ceylonese citizens, and around the year 2511/1968 produced a tour of the United States and Asian countries lecturing on this topic. Obtaining in the alien-traditioned Western hemisphere their co-believers represented by historic figures such as Pythagoras, Empidocles and Thomas Alva Edison, and their belief supported by scientific study of modern Western scholars, some Buddhists have grow to be convinced that the truth of the doctrine of rebirth has been proved. To the practising Buddhists, however, the ESP is some thing peripheral. The positive report on it might rouse in some individuals a stronger belief or a much more active interest in Buddhism. But, so far as the crucial aspect of Buddhism is concerned, the Buddhists realize that the attainment of the real benefit of Buddhism is dependent on their own efforts and striving, not subject to the scientific verification of the ESP.