Buddha - the greatest scientist

by Amal HEWAVISSENTI

The presence of complex scientific elements in most of The Buddha's teachings fall beyond the average man's understanding. That the Buddha is not only a religious teacher but also the greatest scientist who saw through most of the scientific riddles more than 2500 years ago cannot be gainsaid. The Abhidhamma explains how the mind works, the majority of Sutras preached by Him helps the man understand that there are secrets governing the universe.

Scientific investigations have lately revealed what the Buddha preached thousands of years ago.

Technology of radio waves

The radio waves make it possible for a person to hear what is spoken by another thousands of kilometres away. When Ven. Ananda asked the Buddha "How far into the universe my lord, can you send your voice when preaching the Dhamma?", he said, "O' Ananda though you hear my voice here at this moment, it travels to the farthest recesses of the universe.

A number of planets (lokas) exist in the universe apart from our own planet". For the first time, the Buddha explained the milky way and galaxies. He said He could preach the Dhamma to living beings in countless other worlds (Planets).

Ven. Ananda Thera queried, "O lord, Your voice is heard only to me. It does not go so far as to that adjoining village. How can it travel to such a long distance? Buddha said though a normal voice is incapable of travelling a long distance, powerful sound waves can take the voice to far places. The Buddha said he could blend the power waves of his developed mind with sound waves and send them to the distant worlds in the universe.

The Buddha said that he could with the power of his upgraded mind, make them listen to his voice removed from the sound waves. This is the first religious presentation of the theory relating to radio waves. The modern techniques of sending sounds through FM (frequency modulation) and AM (amplitude modulation) which are prevalent and based on what the Buddha expounded centuries ago. In short, what happens in FM and AM is reassembling sound signals and splitting them into sounds once they have reached the destination.

Life on earth

NASA, recently concluded that life originated from another planet or solar system and later came to the earth. Its latest findings have borne out the Buddha's teachings that confirm the idea that life had its origin somewhere in the universe and later came down to the earth. It evolved into many forms, as discussed by Charles Darwin in his famous Theory of Evolution. The Agganya Sutra of Digha Nikaya, makes an indepth analysis of life on earth. It says that life came to the earth from a world called "Abhassara" at a certain stage of evolution of life in the universe - a concept that is identical with NASA. The common characteristics of the Theory of Evolution are to be found in certain phrases in the Agganya Sutra.

If NASA arrived at its conclusions purely on scientific grounds, Buddha's practical and scientific approach to life on earth is unquestionable. Modern scientists strongly believe that there is extraterrestrial life within our solar system and beyond. Buddha's teachings too spell out the existence of life beyond earth and they further elaborate on the nature of different worlds basically similar to the ideas held by scientists engaged in the exploration of the universe.

A non peril environmentalist

The Buddha believed that a healthy environment is a solace to the stress-laden minds and the sight of natural surroundings aptly helps one's mind to grasp the deep aspects of the Dhamma. Living in the natural environment, according to him, minimises tensions and the impact of diseases that have a psychological basis.

The Buddha emphasised the importance of creating natural gardens and protecting forests.

"This land is picturesque. The jungle around is highly pleasing. The river with white sand flows serenely. Yonder is a beautiful hamlet. This is the ideal place for anybody to appease his mind in meditation.

I am determined to stay here I live in close companionship with this forest. When I am in this forest, I am naturally enlightened. The uncontrollable mind turns itself into a well regulated mind."

The Buddha was engaged in rigorous experiments with the sublime truth not in well-equipped rooms but in jungles with streams flowing, and winds blowing from everywhere.

This shows the Buddha's scientific approach to the natural environment and its soothing effect on man's mind. The trees provide unlimited benefits and protection for man. Trees provide shelter to the ungrateful man who fells it down.

Concept of earthquake

Thus, the Buddha is inevitably seen high on the list of world's top scientists but he has adopted a totally different approach to scientific explanation of common phenomena. For instance, the Maha Parinibbana Sutra offers a picture of earthquakes in the Buddhist perspective. The nature of the earthquake presented in the Sutra bears a surprising resemblance to how modern scientists explain it. In this Sutra 10 types of earthquakes are introduced in order of their intensity.

Moreover, Buddhism has indicated that the final apocalypse of the earth is brought about by the destructive radiation of the Sun that evaporates everything that has life. This idea has a certain level of similarity to the devastating impact of global warming in the world today.

Scholars' views

A renowned professor of chemistry, J.K.P. Ariyarathne said that Buddhist teachings run parallel to what is generally accepted in modern chemistry.

Though the Buddha has not used the technical terms related to chemistry, his concepts are akin to general norms in chemistry. What the Buddha preached 2,500 years ago has been authentically proved by modern day scientists with much more yet to be discovered.

Arthur C. Clarke, a few years prior to his death acknowledged that one religion will survive others in the future and that would most probably be Buddhism. Therefore, it is vital to study the essence of Buddhism rather than touch on its superficial aspects for research. At the same time, it is up to intellectuals of our time to make the best use of Buddha's teachings to provide solutions to the scientific enigmas.