I like science, esp physics, partly because it can be proven and partly because it is this understanding that allowed many modern inventions. I also like physics because it meant that when I studied kinematics (way back in secondary school and JC), I only had to study once and can apply the same stuffs in three different exams!
The one thing I love was the mathematical proving1 in JC. Not that I was particularly good at it, ‘cos I frequently prove that 0 = 0 or 1 = 1 and not prove or disprove the intended question!
n
While I have this passion for maths, physics and science, I also wonder how many of us take it as fact or truth as long as scientists say so. How many of us have proven all the mathematical, physical and chemical laws, and how many of us assume it should be right?
Granted, I have confidence in those in labcoats, and I do not propose that we learn years of aerospace engineering before taking a plane or civil & structural engineering to stay in a highrise without becoming paranoid.
Physicists are using Large Hadron Collider (LHC) as the instrument to find or verify the presence Higgs boson (particles). Their experiments would be mostly unintelligible to most of human kind. Their findings will only be verified and proven by their fellows in the field, and not even by scientists in other fields. Should we doubt their findings?
In Buddhist teachings, the mind is our instrument, but we need to train it so that we can use it to see the true nature of all phenomena. The Buddha saw how it was and was consequently released from craving and attachment, leading to an ending of suffering.
Others who have repeated this procedure realised the same truth and was likewise liberated. They are then declared as Arahants, the Noble Ones, by virtue of their purity and freedom from craving, attachment and defilements.
Their accounts were recorded and later verified by others. Some even came from other schools to challenge the Buddha and his teachings, but through their own verification, ‘converted’ to the Buddhist teachings.
The invitation to Buddhists and non Buddhists alike has always been this: Ehi passiko. Come and see.
Suki hontu! ^_^
Footnote 1: The mathematics in university was so crazy, they had crazier names! These include things like binomial series, bernoulli, la place, fourier transform (no, not transformer transform!), root locus, among others … … come to think about it, I have this pet project to go figure most of them out completely, just so I don’t waste this life time of study in university! … but that is another blog post … ^_~
EDIT:
Meanwhile, for those who like studies and clinical tests by the scientists, there are numerous articles citing changes in the grey matter linked to meditation.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/28/how-meditation-may-change-the-brain/?src=me&ref=general