The science of Chinese Buddhism : early twentieth-century engagements / Erik J. Hammerstrom ; cover design, Noah Arlow.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hammerstrom, Erik J., author.

Contributor:

Arlow, Noah, cover designer.

Series:

Sheng Yen series in Chinese Buddhist studies.

Sheng Yen Series in Chinese Buddhist Studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Buddhism and science--China--History--20th century.

Buddhism and science.

China--Intellectual life--20th century.

China.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (260 p.)

Place of Publication:

New York, [New York] : Columbia University Press, 2015.

Language Note:

English

System Details:

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Summary:

Kexue, or science, captured the Chinese imagination in the early twentieth century, promising new knowledge about the world and a dynamic path to prosperity. Chinese Buddhists embraced scientific language and ideas to carve out a place for their religion within a rapidly modernizing society. Examining dozens of previously unstudied writings from the Chinese Buddhist press, this book maps Buddhists' efforts to rethink their traditions through science in the initial decades of the twentieth century. Buddhists believed science offered an exciting, alternative route to knowledge grounded in empirical thought, much like their own. They encouraged young scholars to study subatomic and relativistic physics while still maintaining Buddhism's vital illumination of human nature and its crucial support of an ethical system rooted in radical egalitarianism. Showcasing the rich and progressive steps Chinese religious scholars took in adapting to science's rising authority, this volume offers a key perspective on how a major Eastern power transitioned to modernity in the twentieth century and how its intellectuals anticipated many of the ideas debated by scholars of science and Buddhism today.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Preface

Introduction

1. The Historical Context

2. Views on the Physical Universe

3. Empiricism and Means of Verification

4. The Nature of Mind

5. Ethics, Science, and Society

6. Science and Self-Cultivation

Epilogue

Notes

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780231539586

0231539584

OCLC:

922006794