Differences in methods

While on the subject of the three methods for finding knowledge, I would like to look at the differences between these methods in Buddhism and in science.

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Firstly, science uses the technique of amassing knowledge in order to find truth. This amassing of knowledge is completely divorced from concerns of lifestyle, whereas in Buddhism, the method of attaining knowledge is part of the way of life. Science has no concern with lifestyle, it looks for truth for its own sake, but in Buddhism, method is part of the way of life – in fact it is the way of life – having a positive effect on life in the present moment. Consider, for example, the effect of clear awareness, without the interference of delight and loathing, on the quality of life. The Buddhist search for knowledge has great worth in itself, regardless of whether or not the goal is attained.

Science takes its data exclusively from the experiences arising through the five senses, while Buddhism includes the experiences of the sixth sense, the mind, which science does not acknowledge. Buddhism states that the sixth sense is a verifiable truth. However, verification can only really be done through the respective senses from which that data arose. For instance, to verify a taste we must use the tongue; to verify volume of sound we must use the ear, not the eye. If we want to verify colours, we don't use our ears. The sense base which verifies sense data must be compatible with the kind of data that is being verified.

If the sixth sense is not recognized, we will be deprived of an immense amount of sense data, because there is much experience which arises exclusively in the mind. There are, for example, many experiences within the mind which can be immediately experienced and verified, such as love, hate, anger, fear. These things cannot be verified or experienced through other sense organs. If we experience love in the mind, we ourselves know our own mind, we can verify it for ourselves. When there is fear, or a feeling of anger, or feelings of comfort, peace, or contentment, we can know them directly in our own minds.

Therefore, in Buddhism we give this sixth sense, the mind and its thinking, a prominent role in the search for knowledge or truth. But science, which does not acknowledge this sixth sense, must resort to instruments designed for the other five senses, mainly the eyes and ears, such as the encephalogram, to study the thinking process.

Scientists tell us that in the future they'll be able to tell what people are thinking simply by using a machine, or by analysing the chemicals secreted by the brain. These things do have a factual basis, but the truth that these things will reveal will probably be like Sir Arthur Eddington's ''shadow world of symbols''. It is not really the truth, but a shadow of the truth.

This indicates that scientific truth, like the scientific method, is faulty, because it breaches one of the rules of observation. The instruments do not correspond with the data. As long as this is the case, science will have to continue observing shadows of reality for a long time to come.

Now this sixth sense, the mind, is also very important in Science. Science itself has developed through this sixth sense, from the very beginnings right up to and including the experimental and summary levels. On the first level, before any other senses can be used, the scientist must utilize thinking. He must organize a plan, a method of verification, and the must establish an hypothesis. All of these activities are mental processes, which are dependent on the sixth sense, the mind. Even in practical application there must be the mind following events with awareness, taking notes. And the mind is the arbitrator, the judge of whether or not to accept the various data that arise during the experiment.

The final stages of scientific enquiry, the assessment and Conclusions of the experiment, the formulation of a theory and so on, are all thought processes. We can confidently say that the theories of science are all results of thinking, they are fruits of the sixth sense, which is the headquarters of all the other senses. Buddhism acknowledges the importance of the sixth sense as a channel through which events can be directly experienced.

The important point is that awareness must be received through the appropriate sense organ. Something which mustbe cognized bathe eye must be cognized by the eye. Something which must be cognized by the tongue must be cognized by the tongue. By the same token, some thing which must be cognized through the mind cannot be cognized with eyes, ears or any sense organ other than the mind.

The truth of the mind is a verifiable cause and effect Process. It is subject to the laws of nature. Even though it may seem very intricate and difficult to follow, Buddhism teaches that the mind conforms to the streamed causes and conditions, just like any other natural phenomenon.

In the material world, or the world of physics, it is recognized that all things exist according to causes and conditions, but in cases where the conditions are extremely intricate, it is very difficult to predict or follow these events. A simple example is weather prediction, which is recognized as a very difficult task, because there are so many inconstants. The sequence of causes and conditions within the mind is even more complex than the factors involved in the weather, making prediction of results even more difficult.

Human beings are a part of nature which contain the whole of nature within them. If people were able to open their eyes and look, they would be able to attain the truth of nature as a direct experience. Using scientific instruments, extensions of the five senses, is a roundabout way of proceeding. It can only verify truth on some levels, just enough to conquer nature and the external world (to an extent), but it cannot lead man to the total truth of reality.

So far we have covered the differences and similarities in scope and object of Buddhism and science, the types of knowledge that are being looked for, the methods used for finding that knowledge, and the utilization of the knowledge gained, or the overall objective of this knowledge. Even though the methods for finding the truth have some similarities, they entail a difference of scope and emphasis, because the truths that are being searched for are different.

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