Unpublished translation © Rob Hogendoorn, r.m.hogendoorn@umail.leidenuniv.nl.

Previously published in
Dutch as Hogendoorn, R.M. “Westerse wetenschap voor Tibetaanse monniken.” Vorm & Leegte 10-2 (2004): 32-37.
[Version 08-01-2006]

Chang ing Per spectives: Science for Mo nks

Rob Hogendoorn

"Scans of Monks' Brains Show Meditation Alters Structure, Functioning" declared a headline in
the Wall Street Journal recently. The story was about a five-day meeting in Dharamsala, a
Tibetan settlement in the foothills of the Indian Himalayas. Together with their host, the 14th
Dalai Lama, a panel of eminent Western scientists and Tibetan monastics discussed the
relationship between "neuroplasticity" – the brain's ability to change its structure and function
– and meditation. With some astonishment the Tibetan scholars watched MRI-scans projected
on to a large screen showing the play of high-frequency gamma waves across the cerebral
cortex of a monk meditating on compassion. Such scans reveal that neural activity in areas of
the brain active during meditation on compassion is more intense in experienced meditators
than non-adepts. This raises the question whether training in compassion changes the way the
brain actually works.

An Unusual Gathering

The gathering in Dharamsala was certainly unusual, but by no means unique. Some twenty years
ago, out of a personal interest in science and technology, the Dalai Lama began seeking contact
with Western scientists. Since then he has deepened and shared his interest with a varied group
of experts in areas promising a constructive and fruitful exchange with Buddhism. Indeed, the
Mind and Life dialogues, as they became known, on subjects like mind and consciousness,
quantum physics and cosmology, were to prove so productive that in 2000 the Dalai Lama
initiated the Science for Monks programme, offering a select group of Tibetan monks an
encounter with modern scientific thought. Once a year the monks interrupt their traditional
monastic training for a month to study evolution theory, elementary mathematics, physics,
chemistry and cosmology with Western teachers.

Monks and Science

In explaining to the monks of the great Gelug monasteries in India why he considers Science for
Monks to be important, the Dalai Lama pointed out that up to the present time Tibetans had
been unable to demonstrate the value of Buddhist philosophy and epistemology to the wider
world, the main reason for this being, in his view, Tibetan scholars' ignorance of science. He said
he was nevertheless convinced that as soon as Buddhism's value and potential became more
widely recognized Tibetan scholars would play a crucial role in shedding light on its insights.

According to the Dalai Lama, the study of modern science is a contemporary form of the
objective search for truth, and as such has much in common with Buddhism. Science education
has the potential to deepen and reinforce faith in the Buddha's teachings. If, when introducing
Buddhist teaching to the new generation of Tibetans, teachers are able to present the views of
both Buddhism and modern science by drawing comparisons, the teachings will have more
validity and be easily comprehensible. This is the best method to generate belief and conviction:
"Our community shall not remain as it is. There will be changes. Not only in the exiled
community, but in future, when the Tibetans in and outside Tibet gather, then also there will be
changes. The knowledge of science will be instrumental in the preservation, promotion and
introduction of Buddhism to the new generation of Tibetans. Hence, it is very necessary to begin
the study of science."

1
Unpublished translation © Rob Hogendoorn, r.m.hogendoorn@umail.leidenuniv.nl. Previously published in
Dutch as Hogendoorn, R.M. “Westerse wetenschap voor Tibetaanse monniken.” Vorm & Leegte 10-2 (2004): 32-37.
[Version 08-01-2006]

Controversy

Although the present Dalai Lama as spiritual and secular leader of the Tibetan people enjoys a
considerable measure of respect and reverence, history shows that his standing even within in
his own Gelug school does not preclude dissent. The monastic universities of Sera, Drepung and
Ganden traditionally conferred an unparalleled degree of authority on the office of the Dalai
Lama; but their obedience to any particular incumbent is not unconditional. At the beginning of
the last century, the 13th Dalai Lama, for example, saw his plans for reform thwarted by
orthodox Gelugs: distrust of "subversive" Western influence drove conservative ecclesiastics to
twice force the closure of a newly-founded English-language school teaching the sciences.

Science for Monks has also caused controversy. Orthodox Gelugs, often the older generation
trained in pre-modern Tibet, voice concern that science studies will keep the monks from their
true calling - study and contemplation of the doctrine. More progressive monks, often those
brought up in exile, claim that revamping the curriculum is unavoidable if the tradition wants
to win the loyalty of future generations; the monasteries cannot remain indifferent while the
rest of the exile community learns about science through modern secular education.
Unfortunately, because informed debate between the two camps about science is lacking, the
dispute threatens to be prematurely decided not on the basis of the issues themselves but power
politics, leaving division in its wake.

Science for Monks is aimed expressly at all Tibetan monks, including those of the Nyingma,
Sakya, Kagyü and Bön sects. But here too there are conflicts of interests. No matter how fraught
the relationship between various Dalai Lamas and Gelug hierarchs has been over the centuries,
the supremacy of the Gelug school has remained unquestioned. The religious and political union
of the Gelug school with the institution of the Dalai Lama which has exercised central authority
in Tibetan society since the 17th century, has elevated Gelugs to primus inter pares. This has
often been to the detriment of the other traditions, whose representatives, despite their
reverence for the Dalai Lama, have little appetite for an initiative that in their eyes will only
reinforce Gelug hegemony.

Western Converts

Caught somewhere between these various spheres of influence are the Tibetan Buddhist
converts in the West. By uncritically adopting traditional forms of practice many of these
students may be inadvertently working to preserve a pre-modern Tibetan worldview, a
worldview that in the meantime many Tibetans themselves are rejecting. Other practitioners
acknowledge a sense of alienation resulting from confrontation with traditional Tibetan mores.
Georges Dreyfus, for example, one of only a handful of Westerners to have completed the
rigorous geshe curriculum, recalls how to his consternation a distinguished lama doggedly tried
to convince him that the earth is flat.

The conversion of Westerners to Tibetan Buddhism must by definition remain unconsummated

- total acculturation is not an option - nevertheless many converts display an unconditional
loyalty to their charismatic teachers, surrendering to a barely comprehended worldview
without any sense of cognitive dissonance or philosophical confusion. However sincere, such
faith must remain shaky, a bond easily severed, and in its very vulnerability a force for
conservatism. No-one wants to be robbed of a cherished illusion. Where the encounter with
science compels Tibetan monks to adjust their worldview, ironically enough traditionalists can
look to ‘orthodox’ converts for succor.

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Unpublished translation © Rob Hogendoorn, r.m.hogendoorn@umail.leidenuniv.nl. Previously published in
Dutch as Hogendoorn, R.M. “Westerse wetenschap voor Tibetaanse monniken.” Vorm & Leegte 10-2 (2004): 32-37.
[Version 08-01-2006]

Uncertain Future?

With Science for Monks the Dalai Lama urges Tibetan ecclesiastics to change their perspective,
to recognize that their relationship with the West, perhaps even with their Western converts, is
actually reciprocal in nature: they need to learn from each other. He speaks nowadays of a neo-
Buddhist perspective, a frame of reference that draws from both Buddhist wisdom and scientific
knowledge. During a Mind and Life in 2004 meeting the Dalai Lama observed that Buddhism
embraces scientific, philosophical and religious elements. The first two Noble Truths, he
explained, are scientific; the third is philosophical in nature; and the fourth is religious. Framed
in this way it would seem that Buddhism, in contrast to other religions, has nothing to fear from
science. But what about particular Buddhist schools? Is the Dalai Lama simply making up for
time lost on a difficult but familiar path, or is he forging a new path in an unknown direction?

The Gelug school, for example, is often portrayed as scholastic in character. It owes its identity
to its 14th century founder, Je Tsongkhapa, who still commands supreme authority within the
tradition, and whose insights, set forth in the canonical texts, are "rediscovered" by new
generations of practitioners over the centuries. There is some room for interpretation, but not
to the extent that its doctrinal foundations, in particular Je Tsonkhapa's texts, can be
superseded in any way. In this sense the future is fixed: whoever completes the path to
enlightenment arrives right where the tradition began centuries before.

Where does this leave Gelugs, even those with the mildest doctrinaire inclinations, confronted
by the march of modernity? How long can external pressures be ignored? Ultimately, centuries
of isolation could not spare the Tibetan people from subjugation and exile. Is bald denial of
modernity tradition's best defence? Or put another way: is Gelug wisdom set in stone or will
Tibetan monks find themselves admitting, like scientists, that the search for truth entails an
ongoing development of provisional insights?