Einstein and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings [Hardcover]

Thomas J. McFarlane (Editor), Wes Nisker (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 9, 2001

Einstein and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings shows how modern scientific and ancient Eastern thought reveal the same truths. These parallels touch on the essential nature of energy and matter, the relationship between subject and object, and the limits of language in understanding and describing reality. Science has many times been called the “new religion.” Focusing on the importance of science and religion in modern society, Einstein and Buddha shows how the future of humankind may well depend upon the relationship between the two. Provocative, stimulating, and insightful throughout, the book communicates the deep common ground of scientific and spiritual truth between Western thought and Eastern religion.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The parallels between modern physics and Eastern mysticism are no longer mere esoteric musings, and nowhere is that concept shown better than in Thomas McFarlane's Einstein and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings. As in other titles in the Parallel Sayings series, the author cuts and pastes sayings from one thinker or school of thought and matches them to resonant sayings from another wholly different tradition--to astonishing effect. The correspondences between modern physics and Buddhism (and Taoism, which McFarlane also includes) are attested to by the physicists themselves. In his preface, McFarlane, who has degrees in physics as well as philosophy and religion, identifies the major parallels as "the wholeness of all things, the description of reality through paradox, [and] the relationship between the observer and the observed." Only occasionally succumbing to pitfalls that crop up in other books in the series, such as focusing on translated terms rather than concepts or keying on narrow passages rather than fully contextualized views, McFarlane uncovers both the science of Buddhism and the mysticism of physics. --Brian Bruya

From Publishers Weekly

Jesus and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings has sold more than 30,000 copies for Ulysses Press, which follows up with Thomas J. McFarlane's Einstein and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings. While the sayings offer some striking convergences between scientific reflections and various Eastern writers' statements on knowledge, impermanence, existence and the universe, their brevity and diversity make for some shallowness of thought. "Einstein" here represents not just Albert Einstein, but Werner Heisenberg, Max Planck, Niels Bohr, Richard Feynman and David Bohm a scientific menagerie so various that Feynman in particular would have gotten a hearty chuckle from their being lumped together. And "Buddha" is not merely Buddha, or even Buddhist writers, but a hodgepodge of Buddhist, Vedic, Taoist and Confucianist scriptures. Religion and science is such a rich topic that it deserves more careful attention than is possible in this format. Dec.)

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 220 pages
• Publisher: Ulysses Press; 1 edition (September 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569752745
• ISBN-13: 978-1569752746
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,103,419 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some additional information about the book, by its Editor, December 9, 2001

By 

Thomas J. McFarlane (Eugene, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Einstein and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings (Hardcover)

Over 120 statements by Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg, Schrodinger, and other founders of modern physics are paired with remarkably similar statements by Buddha, Shankara, Chuang Tzu, and other Eastern contemplatives. The purpose of these parallels between Western physicists and Eastern contemplatives is not so much to answer questions as to ask them. These surprising parallel statements of the physicists and contemplatives, grouped into a variety of themes, let you ponder their significance for yourself. What do they suggest to you about the relationship between the scientific and spiritual approaches to understanding reality? Do these parallels hint at a deeper connection between science and religion? If so, what might that be? If not, what is the explanation for so many parallels? Regardless of whether or not you think the parallels indicate a profound unity behind physical and spiritual aspects of reality, these sayings should raise important questions and stimulate deeper insight into the relationship between science and religion.

Endorsements:
"Many have explored the remarkable convergence between the mystical traditions of the world and modern science. However, none of them has done this in a more succinct and convincing way than Einstein and Buddha; this remarkable collection of quotes by famous Eastern mystics and modern physicists is a fascinating contribution to the emerging paradigm." -Stanislav Grof, author of The Cosmic Game and Psychology of the Future

"This anthology provocatively illustrates the points of convergence between the quantitative investigation of the objects of consciousness and the qualitative exploration of consciousness itself." -B. Alan Wallace, author of The Taboo of Subjectivity: Toward a New Science of Consciousness

"Einstein and Buddha provides deep, simple and quotable insights that should help mend the rift between science and spirituality. If you put your thumbs over the quotation sources, you won't be able to tell who said what, when."
-Fred Alan Wolf, Ph.D., physicist and author of Mind into Matter, The Spiritual Universe

"Einstein and Buddha is an inspired effort to meet the 21st-century challenge of developing a synthetic world view. McFarlane juxtaposes quotations from Eastern contemplatives and Western scientists with insight, clarity and intellectual integrity." -Dr. Ron Leonard, Dept. of Philosophy, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quantum soup for the soul, June 26, 2005

By 

Charles Miller (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Einstein and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings (Hardcover)

I finished this delightful book this morning and went for a walk. My mind played over the objects in my life and my perceptions of them--shoe on sidewalk, air on skin, and even the sound waves bringing the blaring rap music to my ears from a teenager driving by. All these objects have qualities and values that my western mind assigns to them: the warm comfort when the heat of the sidewalk rises through the sole of my shoe to my foot, the pleasant coolness of the air on my skin, and the obnoxious assault on my ears from 110 decibels of mobile audio. But, at the quantum level, all is the same and indistinguishable, just as proclaimed by Buddha.

By juxtaposing quotations from quantum physicists and Buddhist scholars, Thomas McFarlane shows us how prescient the eastern religions were, and how relevant they are for our quantum world. This is a truly wonderful, thought-provoking little book.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Misleading Title, March 28, 2008

By 

Kathy Connolly (Connecticut) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Einstein and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings (Paperback)

Most of the science quotations are not from Einstein, which is a shame because Einstein's prose shines in comparison to the others. Most of the spiritual quotations are not from Buddha. Many are not even from Buddhists, but rather from Hindu writings, a scholar of eastern religions, and at least one Taoist that I recognize. I haven't done a background check on the others. That's like putting out a book titled _Einstein and Jesus, The Parallel Sayings_ and having lots of quotes from Muslim and Jewish religious figures. That might be an interesting book, but it would be unethically titled. That's as ethical as selling "scallops" that are really made with a cookie cutter and cut from some form of fish that easier to catch. _Einstein and Buddha_ would be more honestly titled _Physicists and Eastern Religions, the Parallel Sayings_. That would be less catchy and draw a smaller market, though.

I bought this book because of a strong interest in Einstein's writings related to spirituality and the human condition. So many of his quotes that I've read in quotation collections on the internet are brilliantly poetic. I did expect a few quotes from other authors, but here is what I got instead: The first chapter, _The Human Experience_ contains six quotes from Einstein, making it the only chapter in which Einstein's quotes are the majority of the science quotes. No other chapter does nearly as well. Interestingly the first chapter is about as far as most people get in a bookstore before deciding whether to purchase a book. The scientists who predominate in the rest of the book just don't have the focus and insight found in Einstein's writings.

In the second chapter, _The Touchstone of Truth_ (what an ironic chapter title) 1 of the 7 science quotes comes from Einstein. That's right, the only thing Einstein has to say about Truth in this chapter is: "Truth is what stands the test of experience."

Here's how the rest of the chapters break down:

Paradox and Contradiction - 0 of 8 science quotes are from Einstein.
Speakable and Unspeakable - 2 of 9.
Subject and Object - 0 of 10.
Name and Form - 4 of 10.
Illusions and Delusions. - 2 or 9.
Waves, Fields, and Energy. - 2 of 7.
Particles and Matter - 0 of 9.
Wholeness and Interdependence - 0 of 9.
Time and Space - 4 of 11.
Manifestation of Causality - 1 of 8.
Unity and Plurality - 3 or 8.
Physics and Mysticism - 1 of 7.