*The views expressed in the blog are those of the author.

The three universal truths which Buddha had discovered during his enlightenment are relevant with today’s world of Science.

The first universal truth of the Buddhas is that nothing is lost in the universe. Even the science says, Matter turns into energy, energy turns into matter. A dead leaf turns into soil. A seed sprouts and becomes a new plant. We are born of our parents, our children are born of us.

We consist of that which is around us, we are the same as everything. If we destroy something around us, we destroy ourselves. If we cheat another, we cheat ourselves. Understanding this truth, we would never ever harm anyone and will not be sad of losing anything.

The second universal truth of the Buddha is that everything is continuously changing. Life is like a river flowing on and on, ever-changing. Sometimes it flows slowly and sometimes swiftly. It is smooth and gentle in some places, but later snags and rocks crop up out of nowhere. As soon as we think we are safe, something unexpected happens.

Just like the present situation of pandemic. Nobody might have thought seven months back about the situation what we are facing today. It never came in my mind as a teacher teaching without students in the school. But truth is that schools are running, teaching is happening. Technology now allows people to connect anytime, anywhere, to anyone in the world, from almost any device. This dramatically changed the way people work and live their lives.

In the same way, once dinosaurs, mammoths, and saber-toothed tigers roamed this earth. They all died out, yet this was not the end of life. Other life forms like smaller mammals appeared, and eventually humans, too. Now we can even see the Earth from space and understand the changes that have taken place on this planet. Our ideas about life also change. People once believed that the world was flat, but now we know that it is round.

The third universal truth explained by the Buddha is that there are continuous changes due to the law of cause and effect. This is the same law of cause and effect found in every modern science textbook. In this way, Science and Buddhism are alike.

The law of cause and effect is known as karma. Nothing ever happens to us unless we deserve it. We receive exactly what we earn, whether it is good or bad. We are the way we are now due to the things we have done in the past. Our thoughts and actions determine the kind of life we can have. If we do good things, in the future good things will happen to us. If we do bad things, in the future bad things will happen to us. Every moment we create new karma by what we say, do, and think.

So, in the end we can say that, Buddhism is nothing but a Science. It teaches the practicality of the life. It shows us how to understand ourselves and live a life with awareness.

– Ms Tashi Dolma, TGT (Social Science)

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