Skip to content

Dharma Documentaries

Dharma. Culture. Ecology.

Menu
  • Dharma
  • Culture
  • Ecology
  • Archives
  • About
Menu

The Scientific Buddha 1, A Purified Religion

Posted on July 1, 2016July 1, 2016 by Dharma Documentaries
The first in a series of four lectures by Prof. Donald Lopez looking at the emergence of the idea of the scientific Buddha in the mid 19th c. Europe, and its persistence ever since.

The Scientific Buddha 1, A Purified Religion

I occasionally include lectures in this collection when they seem to me to be of documentary interest, and in this regard I previously featured a lecture series by Prof. Donald Lopez which discussed the earliest meetings between Christianity and Buddhism. Those were very informative and based on original historical research.

In the present series of four lectures given at Yale University Prof. Lopez discusses what he calls the scientific Buddha, a Buddha which really only emerged in the mid-19th century, and at the height of the colonial period, when Buddhism first really encountered modern science.

The lectures open with a 10-minute introduction to the Professor, which you could in fact skip if it was not of interest. Then Prof Lopez takes stage and discusses at some length the origins of the endowed lecture series, and the foundation of Dwight H. Terry Lectureship itself. Although this might seem extraneous, it is not in fact, as it sets the basis for what is to come.

Prof. Lopez then goes on to give an outline of the scientific Buddha (or Buddhism) theory, its persistence and its many transformations over the past 150 years, and begins to outline why he feels this is inadequate from a Buddhist perspective.

Today’s lecture ends with a broad outline of the three talks to come, followed by an extensive question and answer session, which he handles well, even though some of the questions are off-point.

 

if this video is no longer available please leave a comment so I can update the page
(the comment is not published)

 

to see an album of stills click here

 

TAGS:
Culture, Academic, Buddha, History, Lectures

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please Note: Comments are Moderated before Publication

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Subscriptions

Follow our Facebook Page Follow our Tweets Subscribe to our Feed

Subscribe by Email

Email


Shortlink and QR

https://dharma-documentaries.net/b/3NT

Donations

This site has taken more than a dozen years and 1000s of hours to build, and has 800+ documentaries on it. If you would like to help, you can do so here. Even small amounts make a difference.

or Bank Transfer to:
Mr. Ng Choon Aun, Public Bank Berhad (Malaysia), Acc. No. 6352323912, Swift: PBBEMYKL

Copyright

If anyone has any copyright claims please contact me at dharmadocus@gmail.com and the posts and films will be immediately removed.

Top Ten Tags

Theravada
Mahayana
Vajrayana

India
Silk Road
China
Tibet

Arts
Lectures
Rights

Popular Posts

  • The Freedom of being a Buddhist Nun
  • Bright and Shining Mind in a Disabled Body
  • The Leshan Giant Buddha Statue
  • The Silk Road Series 7/16: Khotan-Oasis of Silk and Jade
  • David Eckel: Buddhism 3-4 of 24
  • The Tibetan Oracles
  • The Mountain Yogi, Lama Govinda
  • Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar: The Untold Truth
  • Indian Roots of Tibetan Buddhism
  • Avalokiteshvara (Chinese Movie)

Recent Posts

  • Buddha’s Lost Children
  • Zen Buddhism – In Search of Self
  • Why Has Bodhidharma Left for the East?
  • Bright and Shining Mind in a Disabled Body
  • From Myanmar to the World 2, Caves to Pagodas
  • From Myanmar to the World 1, Overland to India
  • The Rise of Dhamma
  • Lempad of Bali
  • Bagan, City of Temples (Fall of Civilizations)
  • Escape from Tibet

Random Posts

  • Thai Animated Life of Buddha
  • HH 17 Karmapa – The Years of his Youth
  • Green Gold: Restoring Degraded Land Resources
  • Devour the Earth
  • Legend of Dajian Huineng
  • Amazing Laos
  • Stone Pastures of Ladakh
  • David Eckel: Buddhism 9-10 of 24
  • Great Minds 12, Kautilya and Ashoka
  • Palace Museum in Taipei: How Chinese National Treasures were moved to Taiwan

Related Posts

  • The Scientific Buddha 4, The Future of the Past
  • The Scientific Buddha 3, The Problem With Karma
  • The Scientific Buddha 2, Building a Better Buddha
  • David Eckel: Buddhism 5-6 of 24
  • Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures of the Silk Road
  • Eternal Ancestors - Buddha's Relics
  • Bronze Technology in Cambodia
  • Great Minds 17, Xuanzang and Chinese Buddhism
  • Great Minds 14, Nagarjuna and Vasubandhu
  • Envisioning the Buddha
© 2023 Dharma Documentaries | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme