OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, NOVEMBER 2013The connection—or disconnect—between science and religion has been a matter of debate as long as the two constructs have existed. Some scientists accept the late Stephen Jay Gould’s suggestion that the two are “NOMA” (nonoverlapping magisteria), claiming that science and religion occupy distinct realms, the former concerned with what is, the latter solely with what should be. Others (including myself) reject the NOMA notion, pointing out that religion makes many claims about the real world that are frequently contradicted by scientific fact.
There is, however, an intriguing exception: Buddhism. Perhaps this is because Buddhism is as much philosophy as religion. Science and Buddhism have met, and they get along remarkably well. Instead of NOMA, think “POMA” (productively overlapping magisteria). That is the premise underlying my most recent book, Buddhist Biology: Ancient Eastern Wisdom Meets Modern Western Science.
Consider, for example, the extraordinary overlap between Buddhism and ecology. People who study ecology may not realize that they are also embracing an ancient spiritual tradition. Many who espouse Buddhism—succumbing, perhaps, to its chic, Hollywood appeal—are also endorsing a pragmatic worldview with implications that go beyond giddy adoration of the Dalai Lama.
“If you are a poet,” wrote the contemporary Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, “you will see that there ...
