BUDDHISM & SCIENCE BY PAUL DAHLKE TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN BY THE BHIKKHU SĪLĀCĀRA MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED ST. MARTIN’S STREET, LONDON 1913 COPYRIGHT CONTENTS PAGE Introduction vii 1. What is a World-Theory and is it necessary? 1 2. Faith and a World-Theory 8 3. Science and a World-Theory 13 4. An Introduction to the Thought-World of the Buddha Gotama 23 5. The Doctrine of the Buddha 35 6. Buddhism as a Working Hypothesis 81 7. Buddhism and the Problem of Physics 110 8. Buddhism and the Problem of Physiology 126 9. Buddhism and the Problem of Biology 140 10. Buddhism and the Cosmological Problem 194 11. Buddhism and the Problem of Thought 206 Conclusion 254 INTRODUCTION The Purpose of the Book Three kinds of books there are. First, those that give nothing and from which we demand nothing. These constitute the greater portion of the book-world; empty entertainment for the idle. Secondly, those books that give the unfamiliar and are unfamiliar to us--that is, demand only our memory. These are manuals of instruction presenting facts. And thirdly, those books that give themselves and demand ourselves. These are the books that are mental nutriment in the real sense of the words, and impart to the entire process of mental development a stimulus which, like the stimulus imparted to a growing tree, never again can be lost. The present book makes claim to belong to the last category. As something experienced by myself, it is meant to become such an experience to others.