TripleGem - the Buddhist think tank

Buddhamind - Creative Mind

devoffice@nbo.org.uk — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:40:00 GMT

The recent 2009 ‘Buddha Mind – Creative Mind’ weekend event organised by the Institute of Oriental Philosophy at Taplow Court was perhaps even more enjoyable than the previous 2008 event.

The weekend explored the links and relationship between the creative life, artistic expression and Buddhist thought and practice. John Peacock gave an interesting and rich reflection on creativity and its direct relevance to us. The search for meaning creates artists of us all and our lives become our primary creative works. John completed his contribution at the end of the evening dinner by playing the sitar.

Howard Jones followed John’s opening talk with a personal exploration of the impact that Buddhist practice had had on his own life as a musician. Not only had he welcomed the anchoring effect of practice in a lifestyle noted for its turbulence and stress, but he had also developed a sense of offering and generosity in his performances. We were privileged to hear Howard perform a couple of pieces during his talk.

The main part of the event on Saturday and Sunday comprised a mixture of formal presentations and workshops on a variety of creative areas. Samanera Amaranatho commenced on Saturday with a fascinating presentation on - Creativity, the Arts and the Ordained Life. This was followed by Roy Exley on Buddhism and art since the 1905’s, John Danvers on Creativity in relation to Buddhism, consciousness and non-attachment, and Professor Partha Mitter on the history of Buddhist art in India.

Amongst those leading the many engaging workshops were: Amitajyoti - on ‘Painting as a Practice for Unification and Integration’

Robert Beer - ‘Art is Outside, Heart is Inside: Symbolism and the search for meaning’

Alison Harper - ‘Discovering Tenderness: The Importance of connecting to an idea or feeling while making artwork’

Jan De- Ruiter - ‘Zen Art, A Unique Approach: The concepts of Wabi and Sabi in art and everyday life’

Houria Niati - ‘Enacting Vision: a Personal Perspective. War, Buddhism, art and the complexities of identity’

Akasaka – ‘Drawing as Meditation Practice’

Sunday commenced with Ajaykumar, followed by Ratnagarbha speaking on - ‘The Red Wheelbarrow: Buddhism in modern poetry’

Sue Gorman followed with - Is Mindfulness Apparent in the Aesthetic? A Potter’s Perspective’ and then Sister Zangmo described her personal journey from a troubled childhood to ordaining as Buddhist Nun in the Tibetan tradition - Letter to my Mother, Buddhism, Ordination and Art Practice.

Sunday workshops included:

Guy Malkerson – ‘Zen in the Sonic Realm: The harmonising of Buddha mind, impermanence and interconnectedness’

Haydn Ford – ‘Experiential Drama Workshop exploring themes around the Eternity of Life’

Ven. Amaranatho – ‘Holy Leisure: An open enquiry into the art and spontaneity of now’

Hat Naylor – ‘Character, Archetypes and Stereotypes: How to create dynamic characters in fiction and scriptwriting’

In addition to the formal programme, there was also a exhibition of art works, Japanese Arts Demonstrations of the Tea Ceremony, Ikebana, Calligraphy, and Japanese Music, and a highlight for many, of Professor Richard Gombrich singing some Wagnerian arias.

The weekend was a very stimulating and rich mixture of ideas, history, creative disciplines, music, art and Buddhism, in the delightful grounds of Taplow Court. Unusually, there was a broad mixture of Buddhists from many different traditions as well as non-Buddhist participants who were interested in the weekend from an artistic perspective. Many who consider themselves Buddhists, tend to congregate around their own tradition with little or no opportunity to mix with those from other traditions.

The Taplow event provided just such an intra-Buddhist opportunity where it was possible to find out a little more about other traditions and how they fit together in the current diversity we find in the West. Without exposure to other traditions and other practitioners, it is unlikely that any sense of being part of a broad Buddhist community will develop in the West. The Buddha Mind Creative Mind weekend not only provided an invaluable opportunity to speak with talented and inspiring individuals from a wide range of Buddhist and cultural backgrounds, but also to learn of the ways that Buddhist practices are combining with Western artistic traditions in a creative synthesis.

Details of future events can be found at www.iopuk.org

Images by Lokabandhu

Buddhist Climate Project

devoffice@nbo.org.uk — Mon, 18 May 2009 12:08:00 GMT

In the run-up to the crucial U.N. Climate Treaty Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009, the Buddhist Declaration on climate change will present to the world's media a unique spiritual view of climate change and our urgent responsibility to address the solutions. It emerged from the contributions of over 20 Buddhist teachers of all traditions to the book A Buddhist Response to the Climate Emergency. The Time to Act is Now was composed as a pan-Buddhist statement by Zen teacher Dr David Tetsuun Loy and senior Theravadin teacher Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi with scientific input from Dr John Stanley.

The Dalai Lama was the first to sign this Declaration. We invite all concerned members of the international Buddhist community to study the document and add their voice by co-signing it at the end of this page.

Buddhists voting on the 4th June?

devoffice@nbo.org.uk — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:20:00 GMT

Attached to this news item is information about road shows publicising the forthcoming European Elections on the 4th June.

Part of the responsibilities and rights of being a British citizen is that we all have the right to vote. This right has been gained as the result of a lot of struggle (and suffering) by men and women over recent centuries and is a right we should cherish and exercise.

The turn-out for European Elections can be low and this favours candidates from the more marginal and extreme parties. Elected members automatically attract large amounts of European funding and gain a platform for their views.

So read the attached material, circulate this more widely; attend road shows if you can; and most of all go out and vote on the 4th June. If you exercise your vote, you will help candidates who more closely represent your views to win seats and prevent extremist elements, who possibly promote xenophobic policies, from gaining funding and a platform by default.

UK Office of the European Parliament letter

Euro roadshows

Roadshow locations

The Big Lunch

devoffice@nbo.org.uk — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:24:00 GMT

On the 19th July a series of street parties are being organised across the UK. These are being called the 'Big Lunch' and are intended to help people to meet and get to know their neighbours. Many different types of organisation are contributing time and effort to organise Big Lunches and anyone can volunteer towards existing arrangements or set up something new in their street.

Perhaps Buddhist groups can organise some events, or contribute to existing plans? Or maybe some groups are already organising something? Please let TG know.

More details can be found from here.

Rights and Responsibilities

devoffice@nbo.org.uk — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 15:36:00 GMT

The Government has initiated consultation on the subject of Rights and Responsibilities with the possibility of eventually establishing a written bill of rights. Below is a document (in blue) from the Ministry of Justice.

The Network of Buddhist Organisations (NBO) wish to canvas any views from Buddhist on this proposal. These may be sent to yanda_lovelock at yahoo.com

Today sees the Government launch a Green Paper, Rights and Responsibilities: developing our constitutional framework, to kickstart a debate about the future of rights and responsibilities in the United Kingdom.

There are two broad areas for discussion that we want people to consider and debate in the next few months. The first is the fundamental arguments for and against a Bill of Rights and Responsibilities. The second is about the advantages and disadvantages of including particular rights and responsibilities in any such Bill.

On the former, the Government believes that such a Bill could help identify rights and responsibilities in a clear and accessible manner, bringing them together in one place. It could make clear the importance of balancing how we exercise our rights, with the responsibilities we owe to both the individuals around us and society as a whole.

On the latter the Green Paper explores a range of subject matters like equality, good administration, children's wellbeing, healthcare, criminal justice and victims of crime and the environment. But this isn't an exhaustive list and it might be that people want to consider including other issues.

You can view or download Rights and Responsibilities: developing our constitutional framework by following this link:

www.justice.gov.uk/publications/rights-responsibilities.htm

And you can participate online through the People, Power and Politics website, which will track the debate as it unfolds and highlight additional opportunities for getting involved (including through twitter, Facebook and Youtube):

http://governance.justice.gov.uk/

And if you want to email us you can do so at rightsandresponsibilities@justice.gsi.gov.uk

We look forward to hearing your views.

Good reputation

devoffice@nbo.org.uk — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 09:54:00 GMT

The Network of Buddhist Organisations (NBO) will hold its annual general meeting on the 2st March at the London Buddhist Centre in Bethnel Green. The focus of the day will be on young people and Buddhism. In keeping with many UK faiths (and other organisations), the age profile of Buddhists is gradually moving to the middle aged and beyond. The surge of hippies and students of the sixties and seventies who trekked to Asia or read books about Buddhism and became Buddhists have become the senior citizens of today, and have not been followed by a similar number of interested younger people.

This is not to say that young people have stopped being interested in Buddhism, just that the surge of interest thirty years ago has abated. It is still a common experience that many students visiting Buddhist centres and speaking with Buddhists show an appreciation for what they hear and see.

The changing age demographic has many causes and may be partly linked with the more general loss of interest in organised religions of all kinds. Some of the excitement about Buddhism arose because it appeared to lack the dogmatism, superstitition and oppressiveness that some associated with organised monotheistic religions and so was a welcome relief.

Since the sixties and seventies conditions have changed. Most young people have not experienced the same sort of Christian upbringing that their parents lived through, and hence do not have the same conditioning to react against. Western Buddhist parents commonly baulk at the idea of presuming their children to be Buddhists: they work on the principle that surely this is something for each young person to decide for themselves?

The Buddha does not appear in the Pali texts to have been interested in establishing a popular mass movement. He was motivated by compassion to teach what he knew to those with 'little dust in their eyes'. However, he did attract a growing number of sincere followers (and later, some less sincere followers).

Over the forty five years of his ministry he gradually created and extended a set of rules (Vinaya) which limited and controlled entry into the monastic community (Sangha) and governed the behaviour of the ordained. The vinaya rules not only include moral precepts but also govern the general public behaviour of monks and nuns. It is clear that the reputation of the Buddhist Sangha was, and is, an important consideration since it is its high reputation that inspires new followers and encourages material support - and shows that the Buddhist path 'works'.

It is from these elements of the Buddhist teaching that we can gain some useful reflections on the gradual decline in interest in all religions amongst young people. The best way to encourage interest and support is to show that a religious path works and inspire others through good and wise behaviour. This implies not only that practice should be the main emphasis for those who follow the Buddhist path, but that the broader community comprising those from all faiths and none should be given the opportunity to experience the presence and teachings of accomplished Buddhist practititioners.

If those who practise Buddhism exemplify the fruits of practise - then support will follow. If those who purport to follow Buddhism (or any religion) appear to be fractious, sectarian and dogmatic then even those 'with little dust in their eyes' will not want to follow or support them.

Are Human Rights a good thing?

devoffice@nbo.org.uk — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 11:32:00 GMT

To question the value of Human Rights can seem quite shocking - almost like declaring oneself an atheist a few hundred years ago. However, in a paper published on Monday by the Church of England, doubts are cast on the use of Human Rights. They are considered 'to advance the cause of secular liberalism at the expense of faith'.

The paper cites fears raised by Dr Williams over the "rights culture".

"The uncomfortable truth is that a purely secular account of human rights is always going to be problematic if it attempts to establish the language of rights as a supreme and non-contestable governing concept in ethics."

While the archbishop supports the concept of human rights, he argues that they need to resist moral relativism and "political utility".

The problem seems to be that Human Rights ideology has grown in stature since the end of the second world war to the point where it now claims the moral high ground as a trans-religious ethical framework underpinning legislation and policy across Europe, America and the UN.

This is obviously uncomfortable for established religions since it contradicts their claim to embody supreme authority, conflicts with their view of themselves as the best arbiters of human purpose and morality, and is used to highlight their own moral shortcomings--for example discrimination against homosexuals and women.

Do Buddhist teachings contradict Human Rights? And how does new Equalities legislation - based upon Human Rights - affect religions in general and Buddhism in particular? Read the TripleGem paper - Religious Apartheid? - to explore the issues.

All Faiths and None

devoffice@nbo.org.uk — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:36:00 GMT

All Faiths and None (AFAN) is aimed at providing resources on religion and belief for colleges. AFAN is composed of a group of people with different worldviews, both religious and non-religious who are exploring some of the big questions in life from their personal viewpoints. The AFAN website provides resources to enable college students and staff to develop an understanding of the worldviews.

The website includes short essays on a range of topics from death, to sex, to violence and freedom. A good and wide range of Buddhist essays by Samanera Amaranatho are contained here.

There are also videos, music and images exploring these topics from a range of perspectives. The different resources can be used to explore further the values and beliefs held by people in the world today.

AFAN hope that these resources will help to build mutual understanding, and recognition of common values and unique differences. Teachers wanting to use these resources in their colleges will find the necessary tools to facilitate this in the teachers’ section of the website.

Opportunities for Young Buddhists

devoffice@nbo.org.uk — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 10:55:00 GMT

TripleGem is aware of a number of opportunities for young Buddhists to work on a range of projects. The projects typically require young people between the ages of 18 and 25 and include voluntary and paid fellowships. If you are interested then please email:

devoffice (at) nbo.org.uk

Religious and plant names removed from children's dictionary

devoffice@nbo.org.uk — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 11:28:00 GMT

Apparently, Oxford University Press has removed words like "abbey" "aisle", "bishop", "chapel", "empire" "monarch" "monastery" "monk" "nun" and "sin" from its Junior Dictionary along with many words relating to the natural world such as "Acorn", "allotment", "gooseberry", "marzipan", "minnow", "rhubarb", "sycamore", "violet", and "willow"

These have lost out to new inclusions such as "blog", "broadband" "MP3 player" "celebrity" "negotiate", "interdependent", and "boisterous".

The publisher claims the changes have been made to reflect the fact that Britain is a modern, multicultural, multifaith society.

I suppose that young people are more likely to want to look up "blog" than "rhubarb", but then which is more difficult to spell? Given that the dictionary only holds some 10,000 entries it is inevitable that decisions must be taken as to what it contains.

Let us hope that it includes a good array of Buddhist related words such as "nirvana", "mindfulness", "meditation", and "sila". (It seems unlikely that "pat,iccasamuppaada" would be included, although "interdependent" is a fairly close translation and this is a new entry in the dictionary.)

Perhaps readers can suggest important Buddhist words for inclusion.

Mindfulness therapy alleviates depression

devoffice@nbo.org.uk — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:48:00 GMT

The BBC has publicised a recent study providing yet more evidence for the efficacy of mindfulness based cognitive therapy in treating and preventing depression. Mindfulness is a fundamental Buddhist teaching known as ‘sati’ and refers to the practice of bringing attention to the current moment and avoiding engagement with thoughts, ideas, and sensations. This cultivates the ability to experience a ‘presence of mind’ which knows the contents of consciousness without identifying or attaching to them.

Depression may typically be triggered or prolonged by dwelling upon certain ideas, phrases, thoughts, emotions or sensations, or combinations of these. Mindfulness practice develops the ability to recognise these patterns of experience and to avoid getting caught up with and reinforcing them. Research and practice over recent years has proved mindfulness based therapies to be as effective as drugs in many cases and better value for the NHS.

Mindfulness practice is also something that can be continued by anyone during daily life as a means of maintaining mental health and equilibrium, unlike drug treatments which leave one with the same underlying habitual tendencies.

Buddhism is occasionally portrayed as being negative and of only associating ‘suffering’ with our experience of life. How interesting that the core Buddhist practice of mindfulness is now being proven to lead to more healthy and happy mind-states. This links in with research on happiness which identifies healthy thinking habits as very important for our well-being.

The Buddhist word often translated as ‘suffering’ is ‘dukkha’ (in the ancient Pali language). As is the case with many core Buddhist terms, there is not a simple way to translate dukkha, and ‘suffering’ only gives a partial understanding.

Although Buddhist teaching directs us to examine and understand suffering this is as part of an overall framework which points to the end of suffering. So Buddhist teaching is not that suffering is all that there is and that there is no way out; quite the reverse.

Mindfulness is a central part of the path to the end of suffering, but it also has to be combined with controlling our behaviour and actions – since these are intimately connected with ideas, thoughts and feelings, and will reinforce the mindset that they arose from.

So perhaps mindfulness therapy can be extended with ‘moral therapy’. Or maybe we need to think up a more neutral and clinical sounding term – perhaps ‘action therapy’ would be suitable. ‘Action therapy’ would build upon mindfulness and provide guidelines for action that lead to happy results for ourselves and others.

Has anyone got some funding to carry out this research?

References:

Paper from Professor Willem Kuyken the author of the recent study :http://centres.exeter.ac.uk/mood/pdf/Volkskrant%20artcle%20on%20MBCT%20English%20Translation%202006.pdf

Report in the Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1090754/Meditation-effective-medication-treating-depression.html

The Atheist Bus Campaign

devoffice@nbo.org.uk — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:26:00 GMT

A large amount of money – currently £110,000 – has been donated in just six days towards a campaign to publicise atheist slogans on buses. This is a lot of money, especially at a time when our financial security is under threat as a likely global recession gathers momentum. The campaign appears to have tapped into widespread resentment towards the growing presence of religion in public life.

This government does seem to be doing what it can to reawaken religious activism through faith schools, religious equality and hatred legislation, grants to religious groups, and the encouragement of faith groups to increase their involvement in social welfare. There has also been a growing trend for religiously motivated publicity to appear on buses and in public places over recent years. And there has been a growth of religiously motivated terrorism. All of this at a time when most measures of religious adherence in the UK show a continuing decline.

It is a moot point whether the chosen slogan will have much effect, although it is probably the fact that an atheist slogan is been publicly supported and displayed that is the point.

As has been widely reported, the slogan will read ‘There is probably no god so stop worrying and start enjoying life’. The use of ‘probably’ has been criticised as weak and agnostic, but it is hard to think of an alternative without entering theological territory.

And perhaps atheists do need to do a bit of research on what ‘god’ it is that they are opposed to. It does not take much study to realise that the most obvious problem with ‘god’ is that the word has become largely meaningless. Or rather that it has so many different and often contradictory meanings that it is utterly ambiguous.

Karen Armstrong in ‘A History of God’ written over ten years ago describes the way the meaning of the word ‘god’ has evolved and fragmented to the point where the apparently simple question ‘do you believe in god?’ cannot be answered without a lengthy digression on what is being asked.

Atheists such as Richard Dawkins tend to pick on the supernatural god of the Old Testament. This is an obvious and clear target. As Simon Barrow of the Christian Ekklesia organisation observes when he agrees that such a god does not exist:

‘ It is indeed most probable that the kind of vindictive sky-god caricatured by the "new atheists", perpetuated by fundamentalists, and subtly compared to flying space teapots …, does not exist.’

He goes further to speak of an alternative understanding of what the word ‘god’ means:

‘The non-reality of "the gods" and the non-viability of any notion which makes God a thing, person or event subject to humanly verifiable rules of existence and to human classes of object is, of course, taken for granted by thoughtful people whatever their affiliation – Christian, Muslim and humanist. Perfectly traditional theology going back to Thomas Aquinas and beyond makes this evident.’

I suppose one should observe that equally traditional theology has also clearly identified 'god' as an objective thing or even as three things and that the nature of 'god' has been a continual source of controversy (and often violence) in monotheistic religions from their beginnings.

Which traditional theology is one to choose and why?

Karen Armstrong refers to the god of the mystics – an experience or state that can be realised rather than an external or personal god. But the problem with this interpretation is that it contradicts the ‘invisible magic friend’ idea that so many naïve or fundamentalist religious people believe in.

When surveys are undertaken asking about belief in god, it is not clear that those asking or answering the question understand what is meant. The question could refer to a vengeful sky god, a superhuman being, a special mystical state or experience, the essential rightness or intelligence of the universe, an invisible magical guardian, a supernatural force or entity, a creator of the world or a combination of these.

Probably many people are conditioned when they are young (if they have the misfortune to be exposed to certain kinds of religious indoctrination) to learn that the word ‘god’ is dangerous (rather like swear words in this respect). They learn that although they cannot understand it, authority figures claim to, and can get very excited about it. The common survival tactic adopted by many is just to agree in order to avoid trouble.

So perhaps the atheist slogan would be better phrased as: ‘The word ‘god’ is meaningless’ – stop worrying about it and get on with your life’. Or perhaps: ‘What on earth does the word ‘god’ mean? Or perhaps ''God' is just a word - don't get too attached to it'.

Alternatives from a Buddhist perspective are invited.

Young Faith Ambassadors Required

devoffice@nbo.org.uk — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:34:00 GMT

'Tony Blair today launched an international search for thirty outstanding young people to serve as inter-religious ambassadors for the Millennium Development Goals. In Spring 2009 these young activists aged 18 - 25 will be selected to be the first Faiths Act Fellows.'

Ten of the thirty fellowships will be awarded to young people from the UK. There is an opportunity for suitable young Buddhists to apply for these fellowships with the aim of commencing in August 2009.

To be eligible, applicants must:

Be at least 18 and not over 26 years of age by August 1, 2009
Be a citizen or legal resident of the United States, the United Kingdom or Canada
Demonstrate strong commitment to the goals of inter-religious cooperation and achieving the MDGs
Demonstrate strong belief in the power of young people to make a difference
Be ready to spend 10 full months, from August 2009 through May 2010, serving with this initiative

Full details may be found here.

Do young people know how to engage with society?

devoffice@nbo.org.uk — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:49:00 GMT

Youth Citizenship Commission Consultation (YCCC)

The Governance of Britain Green Paper, published in July 2007, highlighted the need for Government to engage with young people and encourage them to play an active part in British society.

The Youth Citizenship Commission was set up to examine ways of developing young people’s understanding of citizenship and increase their participation in politics.

On 29 February 2008 Professor Jonathon Tonge of Liverpool University was appointed chair of the Commission. The Commission is made up of 11 other commissioners, including 3 young people and 8 individuals from a variety of professional backgrounds.

Terms of Reference

The Commission will focus on young people aged 11-19 and will:

Examine what citizenship means to young people
Consider how to increase young people’s participation in politics; the development of citizenship amongst disadvantaged groups; how active citizenship can be promoted through volunteering and community engagement; and how the political system can reflect the communication preferences of young people.
Lead a consultation with young people on whether the voting age should be lowered to 16.

The Commission will report to the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Justice, and the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families in spring 2009.

Views can be sent to the YCC mailbox – ycc@justice.gsi.gov.uk

For the full report and a draft response from the Network of Buddhist Organisations please read here.

Creationism ... again

devoffice@nbo.org.uk — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:07:00 GMT

There has been a great deal of reporting about evolution and creationism over the past week or so. This has arisen both from the evidence that a US Vice Presidential candidate - Sarah Palin - has Creationist beliefs, and from Prof. Reverend Michael Reiss, a senior representative of the Royal Society, apparently appearing to suggest that science teachers should accept creationism as a comparable worldview to science. Rev. Michael Reiss has since resigned his post as Education Director at the Royal Society.

Many people have little trouble with the implications of Darwin's theory and its later developments. However, (and ignoring young earth bible literalists), the nub of the issue for some moderate religious people is stated here in a letter by the Reverend Roger Knight. I include the letter below:

'The difficulty with Darwinism is neither that it requires that the Earth must be many millions of years older than Archbishop Usher’s naive calculation from the Bible suggests, nor that organisms evolved over millions of years rather than that they were created in their present forms at the very beginning. The real problem is that Darwinism would compel us to believe that we are what we are simply as a result of the application of the amoral principle of the survival of the fittest to the random mutation of our genetic material over many generations.

Such a notion deprives our existence of any ultimate significance and this is the reason why Darwinism is unpalatable to so many people of all religions and of none.

My guess is that, whatever they may say, most people believe in some theory of intelligent design.'

So the problem is that 'we are what we are' because of the amoral survival of the fittest and this contradicts certain ideas that have an appeal to some people, for example that we are 'created in the image of God', that we are capable of uniting with God in heaven (unlike the rest of creation) and that we are part of some larger grand narrative of sin and redemption. Evolution by natural selection appears to offer no grand purpose (just survival), associates us closely with the rest of the animal world, and contradicts the creation accounts of religions that have them. It appears to 'deprive our existence of any ultimate significance'.

But does it? Evolution by natural selection actually supports a number of inspiring and far-reaching ideas:

1. That the natural world of which we are a part follows orderly laws and patterns and that through honest observation (and painstaking accumulation of evidence), these patterns can be known

2. That intelligence is a fundamental property of the universe otherwise it could not have arisen in humans via natural selection.

3. That each sentient being alive today exists on an unbroken lineage over an immense time span of several billion years back to the earliest forms of life on Earth.

We also need to be clear that evolution by natural selection says a great deal about the way biological organisms adapt and survive but little or nothing about human aspiration and consciousness. Just because the biological world operates on evolutionary principles does not mean that human social and cultural systems must operate at a kind of 'brute' evolutionary level. Human intelligence gives us the potential to rise above a preoccupation with the survival of the fittest.

Unlike many religions, Buddhism does not offer much in the way of a creation myth or story although the Aggañña Sutta does describe a kind of 'fall from grace' of sentient beings living easy, long and pleasant lives and gradually going through a period of moral decline. This leads to strife, declining lifespans and the rise of complexity in obtaining food and organising society. In some ways this Buddhist account bears comparison with parts of Genesis.

The significance of the human form from a Buddhist perspective is that it is the form which is most suited to realise enlightenment. As such it is a very fortunate form to have. This is perhaps less inspiring then imagining that humans were specially created by a superhuman agency, but helps to reduce hubris and anthropocentrism on the one hand, and the opposite and equally unhelpful belief that man is utterly insignificant.

Buddhism is also reasonably compatible with Evolution by natural selection in a number of ways:

the arising and extinction of species and their adaptation fits well with the Buddhist idea of impermanence
Buddhist ideas of time being measured in many eons agrees with the vast magnitude of time that is needed for evolution to occur
Both Buddhism and evolution regard living beings and their environments as interacting in complex causal patterns in a common evolutionary process.
Evolution of species takes place in a lawlike way that fits the general Buddhist principle of Conditioned Arising and the lawfulness of the Dhamma (that the experienced world follows patterns)
Buddhism and Evolution by natural selection see humans and animals as part of the same overall system of life, although their frameworks are not identical
Both evolution and Buddhism agree that the natural world lacks a divine designer.

In Buddhism, our experience of the world is seen as driven by basic ignorance; in the evolutionary view, by genes mutating into forms that are better suited to survive and reproduce. Evolution cannot be said to follow any inbuilt goal although over time, and assuming no major catastrophes, lifeforms and ecosystems have become more complex. Buddhism also proposes no particular overall end or goal to the world, but sees complex cycles over vast periods of time.

Evolution treats living beings as collections of physical processes, while Buddhism has much to say on the interaction of mental processes with the physical world.

Evolution assumes that life started in the 'primordial soup' of complex chemicals with some of these combining to form self-replicating forms. Buddhism makes no suggestions of this kind, though such a process could be compatible with Buddhist ideas. The truth is that the very early development of life remains a mystery.

So the observation that:

Such a notion deprives our existence of any ultimate significance and this is the reason why Darwinism is unpalatable to so many people of all religions and of none.

- actually does not seem to apply to Buddhists and would only appear to apply to those who consider our physical biological bodies to be all that we are --

a materialist view.

It is odd that some followers of religious traditions such as Christianity, which operates within a supernatural worldview and which posits an immortal soul, should be so dismayed by a biological framework which is wholly focussed on the material and physical processes of life.