TTLV: Identifying the Relationship Between Science and Buddhism from a Scientific Perspective

INFORMATION ABOUT THE MASTER'S THESIS

1. Student's full name: Dao Thi My Dung.

2. Gender: Female.

3. Date of birth: April 3, 1973.

4. Place of birth: Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa.

5. Decision No. 1883/QD-XHNV-SDH dated October 21, 2010, of the Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, recognizing the student.

6. Changes in the training process: None

7. Thesis title:Identifying the relationship between science and Buddhism from a scientific perspective. 

8. Major: Science and Technology Management. Code: 60 34 04 12

9. Scientific supervisor:Dr. Trinh Ngoc ThachAffiliation: Committee on Culture, Education, Youth, and Children of the National Assembly.

10. Summary of the thesis results:

Through exploring and identifying the relationship between Buddhism and science from a scientific perspective, we can see that Buddhism and science share more similarities than differences.

The role of science in Buddhism:

- Developing a worldview: Making religious beliefs and faiths more scientifically grounded.

- Developing a worldview: Religious education based on scientific truth will influence people, helping them to orient their social relationships and strive towards truth, goodness, and beauty in life.

- Developing techniques and technologies to disseminate knowledge and beliefs, modernizing the infrastructure of Buddhism, and contributing to expanding international relations and exchanges for Buddhism.

Science also uses Buddhism to refine its methodology in researching and solving human problems related to the world, or to supplement what science has yet to explain, enriching the fields of spiritual research and expanding scientific activities. Thanks to the progress of science, Buddhism has developed in many aspects, and thus the relationship between science and Buddhism is increasingly evident from different perspectives. This shows us that both Buddhism and science have their own functions and important positions in society; they have a mutually reinforcing relationship that promotes their development.

Differences: However, not everyone in every era recognizes the benefits of the interactive relationship between science and Buddhism. Sometimes, they absolutize the separation between science and religion, making Buddhism and science contradictory, unrelated, and pushing Buddhism into an extreme position only for superstitious people. Conversely, they also push science into a class where people only focus on truth, forgetting the present, making human perception rigid, mechanical, and lacking the practicality of moral life. This is the difference between the two forms of science and Buddhism.

11. Practical applications: To create a theoretical basis for clearly identifying the relationship between Buddhism and science, thereby promoting better management and application of information technology in Buddhist universities, colleges, and temples nationwide.

12. Further research directions: The beneficial effects of the relationship between Buddhism and science and technology in Vietnamese Buddhist universities.

13. Published works related to the thesis:

a. Published research works:

1. Thich Dong Hoa (Dao Thi My Dung) Buddhism and the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations. Edited by Venerable Thich Nhat Tu, Venerable Thich Duc Thien, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Truong Van Chung. 2014 - Religious Publishing House. Article:Buddhism and environmental protection.

2. Thich Dong Hoa (Dao Thi My Dung) Proceedings of the Conference commemorating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnam Buddhist Association (1981-2011). Article:Needs and solutions for spreading Buddhist teachings to remote areas.2012 - Religious Publishing House.

3. Thich Dong Hoa (Dao Thi My Dung). Proceedings of the Buddhist Seminar in Hanoi: 30 Years of a Journey. Vietnam Buddhist Association, Hanoi City. Article:Needs and solutions for spreading Buddhist teachings to remote areas.2012 - Hanoi Publishing House.

b. Scientific papers presented at conferences:

1.Thich Dong Hoa (Dao Thi My Dung). Scientific Conference on King-Buddhist Emperor Tran Nhan Tong - Life and Career. (On the occasion of the 700th anniversary of his entry into Nirvana 1308-2008). Conference Proceedings (2008). Article:Emperor Tran Nhan Tong in Vietnamese spirituality.

2. Thich Dong Hoa (Dao Thi My Dung). Central Scientific Conference on Buddhist Propagation of the Vietnam Buddhist Association. Conference Proceedings (2010). Article:Buddhist education - Guiding the future.

3. Thich Dong Hoa (Dao Thi My Dung). Scientific Conference commemorating the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam Buddhist Association. Conference Proceedings (2011). Article:Needs and solutions for spreading Buddhist teachings to remote areas.

4. Thich Dong Hoa (Dao Thi My Dung). Truc Lam Yen Tu Buddhist Conference and the planning, preservation and promotion of the values ​​of the Yen Tu historical site today. Conference Proceedings (2013). Article:The influence of Truc Lam Yen Tu Buddhism on contemporary Vietnamese cultural life.

5.Thich Dong Hoa (Dao Thi My Dung). Buddhism's contribution to achieving the United Nations' new millennium development goals. Conference Proceedings (2014). Article:Buddhism and the global movement for environmental protection.

6. Thich Dong Hoa (Dao Thi My Dung). Scientific Symposium on Vu Lan - Filial Piety in Buddhism and Vietnamese Society Today, organized by the Center for the Preservation of Religious and Cultural Heritage. Conference Proceedings (2014). Article:Buddhist education on filial piety.

7. Thich Dong Hoa (Dao Thi My Dung). Buddhism during the Ly Dynasty and 1,000 years of Thang Long-Hanoi. Conference Proceedings (2010). Article:Zen Master Vạn Hạnh played a significant role in inheriting, consolidating, and developing Đại Việt Buddhism during the Lý Dynasty.

c. Articles published in journals:

1. Dao Thi My Dung (2014). Environmental protection from the scientific perspective of Buddhism.Educational Equipment Magazine, Special Issue July 2014.

2. Dao Thi My Dung (2014). The need for scientific research in religions.Journal of Educational Management,number 63

3. Dao Thi My Dung (2014). Buddhist education on filial piety.The Journal of Religious Affairs of the Government's Committee on Religious Affairs.Number 8.

4. Dao Thi My Dung (2014). Cultural beauty in organizing Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations with children at Tang Phuc Pagoda - Hanoi.The Journal of Religious Affairs of the Government's Committee on Religious Affairs.Number 9.

INFORMATION ON MASTER'S THESIS

1. Full name: Dao Thi My Dung 2. Sex: Female

3. Date of birth: April 3, 1973 4. Place of birth: Nha Trang – Khanh Hoa

5. Admission decision number: 1883/QD-XHNV-SDH Dated October 21^st2010 of Rector of University of Social Sciences and Humanities

6. Changes in academic process: No

7. Official thesis title: Identifying the relationship between Science and Buddhism from epistemology

8. Major: Science and Technology Management 9. Code: 60 34 04 12

10. Supervisors: Dr Trinh Ngoc Thach Office: Committee of Culture, Education, Youth and Children of National Assembly

11. Summary of the findings of the thesis:

There are more similarities than differences in the relationship between Buddhism and Science from an epistemological Approach. The commons are that under the help of science, Buddhism could be developed according to extensiveness of applying information technology for propagating religious tenets, such as: recording, tape, internet, phone, movie... On the contrary, with the help of Buddhism, science could be completed from the aspect of epistemology in researches on resolving relations between human being and world, or supplementing mysterious things, which haven't been explained by science. Thereby, researches on psyche have been rich and scientific fields have been extended. With the advances of science, Buddhism has developed in some aspects, thus relations between science and Buddhism have been performed clearly. Obviously Buddhism and Science have specific/proper functions and play important roles in society. They have mutually interacted and motivated for development.

Differences: However not everyone in every eras has the perception of advantage of interactive relation between science and Buddhism. Sometimes, they absolutely have conceived of separation between science and Buddhism, so Buddhism and science have contradicted each other and haven't linked each other. It is shown that at the negative aspect Buddhism belongs to the superstitious class, on the contrary, science belongs to rationalistic man, who forget the present to become hard and mechanical, and their cognition has been lack of practice of moral life. This is the difference between science and Buddhism.

12. Practical applicability, if any: Establishing literature for identifying the relationship between Buddhism and Science in order to develop management and application of information technology at universities, vocational Buddhism colleges and pagodas in Vietnam.

13. Further research directions, if any: Advantages of relationship between Buddhism and science and technology at Vietnam Buddhism universities

14. Thesis-related publications:

a. Articles published in books

1. Thich Dong Hoa (Dao Thi My Dung) Buddhism and United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Ven. Dr. Thich Nhat Tu, Ven. Dr. Thich Duc Thien, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Truong Van Chung Chief author (2014). Articles:Buddhism and environmental protection

2. Thich Dong Hoa (Dao Thi My Dung) Report of Conference of 30th Anniversary of Vietnam Buddist Sangha (1981-2011). Articles:Demands and solutions for the propagation of the Buddhistic Dharma to remote areas., Religion Publisher.

3. Thich Dong Hoa (Dao Thi My Dung) Report of Conference of 30th Anniversary of Hanoi Buddhistic Meeting: 30-year journey. Hanoi Vietnam Buddist Sangha, Chief author (2012). Articles:Demands and solutions for the propagation of the Buddhistic Dharma to remote areas., Hanoi Publisher.

b. Conference articles:

1. Thich Dong Hoa (Dao Thi My Dung). Scientific Conference King-Monk Tran Nhan Tong: Life and career (On occasion of the 700th anniversary of the attainment of Nirvana of the King, 1308-2008), Article:King-Monk Tran Nhan Tong in Vietnamese peoples spirit.

2. Thich Dong Hoa (Dao Thi My Dung). Scientific Conference of Communication Department of Vietnam Buddhist Sangha. Conference Report (2010). Articles:Buddhist education - future orientation.

3. Thich Dong Hoa (Dao Thi My Dung). Scientific Conference on the 30th anniversary of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha. Conference Report (2011). Articles:Receives and solutions for the propagation of the Buddhistic Dharma to remote areas.

4. Thich Dong Hoa (Dao Thi My Dung). Conference Truc Lam Yen Tu Buddhism and activities of planning, conservation, promotion values ​​of the Yen Tu relic at present. Conference Report (2013). Articles:The Impact of Truc Lam Yen Tu Buddhism in cultural life in Vietnam at present.

5. Thich Dong Hoa (Dao Thi My Dung). Contribution of Buddhism to execution millennium development goals of the United Nations. Conference Proceedings (2014). Articles:Buddhism with global warming on environmental protection.

6. Thich Dong Hoa (Dao Thi My Dung). Sciencific Seminar Vu Lan - Filialness Buddhism and Vietnamese society today, the Centers for heritage conservation Religious Culture. Conference Yearbook (2014). Articles:Buddhism Education on filialness.

7. Thich Dong Hoa (Dao Thi My Dung). Buddhism in Ly Dynasty with 1,000 years of Thang Long-Hanoi. Conference Report (2010). Articles:Zen Buddhism Van Hanh with inheritance and development of Dai Viet Buddhism in Ly Dynasty.

c. Journal articles:

1. Dao Thi My Dung (2014).Environmental protection under Buddhist epistemological perspectives. Educational Equipment Magazine, Special edition, July 2014

2. Dao Thi My Dung (2014).The demand for scientific research in religions. of Education Management Magazine, no. 63

3. Dao Thi My Dung (2014). Buddhist education on filial respect.Religious Affairs Magazine of Government Committee for Religious Affairs, no.8

4. Dao Thi My Dung (2014).Cultural beauty in organization of Mid-Autumn festival with chilren at Tang Phuc Pagoda, Hanoi. Religious Affairs Magazine of Government Committee for Religious Affairs, no.9