科學與宗教重新會合對佛教的意涵－－從宇宙意識到普世價值的開展

Implications of an Envisioned Rapprochement between Science and Religion for Buddhism—From Cosmic Consciousness to the Unfolding of a New Global Ethics

歷史上科學與宗教曾經由結合走向分離，科學獨尊機械唯物論，把物質當作宇宙根本要素，精神和意識只是物質的副產品，只有物質才是客觀的實在。然而過去幾十年的科學研究發現，物質宇宙與意識之間具有密切關係。尤以新物理學揭示次原子結構中並無客觀存在的「物質」，所謂物質可能只是意識的一種呈現方式，或是由高維意識層級結構所「綻放」的「顯秩序」。研究地球生態和細胞基因的學者也分別指出，地球生態系統和基因都具有生命意識和智能。科學所立足的思想典範，似乎正在出現微妙的轉變，由十八世紀以來的機械唯物論轉變成承認意識為宇宙實相的一個基本面向。科學思想典範的轉移，意味著科學與宗教之間，可能以意識為中介而重新會合：科學認識到意識是物質宇宙的基本面向，而宗教則認識到上帝或神的本質是「意識之光」（light of consciousness）。科學觀與宗教觀以宇宙意識作為共同基礎，有助於建立一個取代唯物價值觀的普世倫理價值新體系。這個轉變對佛教具有重要意涵。本文申論佛教對宇宙意識和普世倫理價值的洞見，以及西方佛學界如何從宇宙意識出發，闡發佛教同體大悲的義理，將佛性論由個人解脫發揚為關懷人類社群和眾生福祉的新宇宙觀。本文並探討佛教在未來新精神文明的締造上可能扮演的積極角色。

In history science and religion went from union to alienation, with science asserting materialistic mechanism and seeing spirit and consciousness as the by-products of matter. In the past decades, however, scientific research has posited a close connection between matter and consciousness. New physics in particular discovers that there is no objective reality of “matter” within the sub-atomic structure, and that matter may be a form of manifestation of consciousness. Furthermore, some scientists hypothesize the presence of life consciousness and natural intelligence in the geoecological systems as well as genes. These developments have led to the speculation that a subtle paradigm shift may be underway in the natural science a shift from materialistic mechanism to the recognition of consciousness as a fundamental dimension of the cosmic reality. A new vision is thus born that science and religion may be heading for a new rapprochement on the common basis of consciousness, in which science recognizes consciousness as a fundamental dimension of the universe while religion recognizes the nature of God as the “light of consciousness”. This consensus may contribute to the development of a new global ethics that takes the place of the existing materialistically oriented value system. Arguing that such a transformation will have significant implications for Buddhism, this article discusses the Buddhist insights into cosmic consciousness and universal ethical values, and sheds light on how Buddhist scholars and practitioners in the West have stressed cosmic consciousness as a starting point to expound the Buddhist doctrine on the interconnectedness of all beings and to reinterpret the traditional doctrine on Buddha nature as a new worldview concerned with the well-being of humanity as a whole in addition to individual liberation. This article also examines the important role which Buddhism can play in the creation of a new global ethics.