An, S. The Apologetic Discourse towards the Convergence between Pure Land Buddhism and Theoretical Physics of the Contemporary Chinese Buddhist Monk, Da An (1959- ). Religions2024, 15, 810.
An, S. The Apologetic Discourse towards the Convergence between Pure Land Buddhism and Theoretical Physics of the Contemporary Chinese Buddhist Monk, Da An (1959- ). Religions 2024, 15, 810.
An, S. The Apologetic Discourse towards the Convergence between Pure Land Buddhism and Theoretical Physics of the Contemporary Chinese Buddhist Monk, Da An (1959- ). Religions2024, 15, 810.
An, S. The Apologetic Discourse towards the Convergence between Pure Land Buddhism and Theoretical Physics of the Contemporary Chinese Buddhist Monk, Da An (1959- ). Religions 2024, 15, 810.
Abstract
This article explores the apologetic discourse towards the convergence between Pure Land Buddhism and science of the contemporary Chinese Buddhist monk Da An (1959- ). Faced with the formidable challenge posed by contemporary science towards public acceptance of Buddhism, Da An endeavors to employ science as a medium for propagating Pure Land teachings, seeking to accommodate the preferences of scientifically inclined individuals. He utilizes several theoretical physics concepts to validate that certain ostensibly miraculous accounts within Pure Land Buddhist texts are not incompatible with contemporary science. Further, he asserts that certain supernatural narratives therein indicate that some physical principles still residing in theoretical conjectures on Earth have already been validated and can be utilized at will by the celestial beings in Sukhāvatī, thus asserting the supremacy of Pure Land teachings over science. The article endeavors to examine the contemporary dialogue between Pure Land Buddhism and science, which has been overlooked in the current research realm of the interaction between Buddhism and science.
Keywords
pure land Buddhism; science; quantum mechanics; modernity
Subject
Arts and Humanities, Religious Studies
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
