Connection Between Quantum Physics And Spirituality, According To The Dalai Lama

The connection between quantum physics and spirituality is evident to the Dalai Lama. According to him, all the atoms in our body include part of this ancient screen that formed the Universe in the past.

We are stardust and we are biologically connected to any living being. We are beings of invisible vibrating energy, entities united to everything that exists…

If there’s one thing we all know, it’s that science and spirituality aren’t exactly known for reconciling their principles.

Thus, while in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance it was very dangerous to make progress in the scientific field in a context dominated by the ecclesiastical class (an example of this case is the sad story of Giordano Bruno), nowadays more spiritual approaches have felt this vision for years. criticism and skepticism from the scientific world.

Now, to say that these two traditionally antagonistic areas or universes of our society managed to reach an agreement on something is taking too much risk. However, some postures were brought together to awaken ideas that, without a doubt, can lead us to reflect .

Buddhist philosophy is a perspective capable of strengthening ties with an area as complex as it is fascinating in science: we are talking about quantum mechanics.

This first approach took place in 2015 in New Delhi, India . The Dalai Lama was present at a two-day conference on quantum physics and Madhyamaka philosophy where, together with a number of leading physicists and scientists from different fields, he explored a wide variety of themes in order to discover commonalities. Axes that complement each other and that, in some way, further enrich human knowledge.

Quantum Physics and Spirituality: What Does the Dalai Lama Tell Us?

Theories that establish a connection between quantum physics and spirituality are not new, nor are they just referenced by the Dalai Lama.

We have within our reach, for example, books such as Science and Spirituality: a Quantum Integration (without translation in Brazil) by Amit Goswami, retired professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Oregon, USA, and pioneer of a new paradigm that seeks to establish the bases of a science of consciousness.

At the same time, we also have Fritjof Capra, renowned Austrian physicist who is a researcher in subatomic physics. This scientist is known for his work The Tao of Physics (1975), in which he initiated a small opening of the academic world to the spiritual world.

Therefore, we are not mistaken in saying that there is a clear approximation between the physical community and Buddhist philosophy.

Indeed, physicists like Raja Ramanna, who passed away a few years ago, best known for his role in India’s nuclear development, became interested in his last days in the writings of the philosopher Nagarjuna to discover something fantastic: many of the utterances of the founder of the Madhyamaka school of Buddhism bordered on some principles of quantum physics.

Let’s look at these commonalities, these principles that the Dalai Lama spoke of at his 2015 conference in India.

What is quantum physics?

• The term “quantum” comes from “quantum”, which is the smallest unit that makes up light. Thus, what quantum mechanics seeks, above all, is to be able to understand the phenomenology of the atom and all the elementary particles that make it up.
• We are facing a science that began around the 20th century and in which names such as Max Planck established most of the theories that we currently have at our disposal.

• It is a discipline as impressive as it is complex that aims to define and understand what is not seen, what cannot be measured and all the indeterminism inscribed in the particles that make up our reality.
• So, one thing he discovered is that if we could see an atom under a microscope, what we would see is a small hurricane. A vortex in which quarks and photons orbit .

If we got a little closer, we would discover something even more impressive: an emptiness. Because atoms have no physical structure, because they are actually made of invisible energy, not tangible matter.

This idea, that we are energy, is one of the pillars that establish the connection between quantum physics and spirituality. And that’s what the Dalai Lama talked about.

An awareness that goes beyond the physical

Nowadays, we can find in almost any bookstore a series of books with the term “quantum” :  “quantum comparison”, “quantum mind”, “quantum psychology”, “quantum healing”, etc.

It’s as if this mysterious microworld suddenly orchestrates much of our daily activities. However, the connection between quantum physics and spirituality remains one of the most relevant due to the principles established by the Dalai Lama during his conference in India.

• Quantum physics demonstrates that, far beyond everything tangible and material, there is energy. Buddhism has always defended this idea and this need, that of transcending the physical to give greater importance to our consciousness. After all, it is this psychic impression that gives meaning and form to reality itself.

• We are what we think, and it is thought itself that projects what is around us.

a creative mind

• Amit Goswami, the University of Oregon physics professor cited earlier, says that the behavior of microparticles changes depending on what the observer does . When an observer looks, a kind of wave appears. When the researcher does not act, there is no change.

All of this demonstrates how atoms are sensitive to anything we do. Buddhism has always referred to this same aspect: our emotions and thoughts define us and the reality around us.

Universal connection

In each of our atoms resides part of that stardust from which the universe itself originated. Somehow, as the Dalai Lama said, we are all connected and part of the same essence.

Imagining this connection can help us understand the importance of doing good, because everything we do would reverberate in the Universe and be returned to us.

To conclude, the connection between quantum physics and spirituality leads us to see this area of ​​science from another perspective. It is perhaps a more suggestive perspective, and while it is not acceptable to the most orthodox and rigorous minds, it deserves our attention.