Dhamma Wheel Buddhist Forum

Someone was praising Neil deGrasse Tyson in another thread, and I didn't want to continue getting off-topic, so here's why I respect his attitude as a non-religious person towards religion.


Below is the entire talk, given at a skeptics' conference:



And below is perhaps his most hilarious interview, with Stephen Colbert:

Yes, he is excellent!

He has done so many other good videos too. There are some good and funny ones too where he refutes "Intelligent design."

I like this quote / fact (anatta?)
"The atoms of our bodies are traceable to stars that manufactured them in their cores and exploded these enriched ingredients across our galaxy, billions of years ago. For this reason, we are biologically connected to every other living thing in the world. We are chemically connected to all molecules on Earth. And we are atomically connected to all atoms in the universe. We are not figuratively, but literally stardust."
http://www.haveabit.com/neil-degrasse-tyson/34002

A great scientist and educator:
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey - Episode 1
Regions outside the US might not be able to play the link above. Try this instead..

David N. Snyder wrote:There are some good and funny ones too where he refutes "Intelligent design."

This too:

“And what comedian configured the region between our legs — an entertainment complex built around a sewage system?”
— Death by Black Hole, page 360

That quote, iirc, is also in the second video I posted.

santa100 wrote:A great scientist and educator:
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey - Episode 1
Regions outside the US might not be able to play the link above. Try this instead..

At this link (scroll down to International premiers) you can see what channel and time the series will be on in your country:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmos:_A ... me_Odyssey

For many, including those Down Under, episode 1 is tonight (episode 2 in the U.S. and Canada).

All available episodes here (US regions) or here (non-US)

He happens to be delivering a lecture tonight at the University of Utah campus, "Science as a Way of Knowing".

waterchan wrote:

David N. Snyder wrote:There are some good and funny ones too where he refutes "Intelligent design."

This too:

“And what comedian configured the region between our legs — an entertainment complex built around a sewage system?”
— Death by Black Hole, page 360

That quote, iirc, is also in the second video I posted.

That was probably sort of ripped off or at least inspired by Yates, it must be said:

Crazy Jane Talks with the Bishop

I met the Bishop on the road
And much said he and I.
'Those breasts are flat and fallen now,
Those veins must soon be dry;
Live in a heavenly mansion,
Not in some foul sty.'

'Fair and foul are near of kin,
And fair needs foul,' I cried.
'My friends are gone, but that's a truth
Nor grave nor bed denied,
Learned in bodily lowliness
And in the heart's pride.

'A woman can be proud and stiff
When on love intent;
But Love has pitched his mansion in
The place of excrement;
For nothing can be sole or whole
That has not been rent.

I think according to Buddhism we are just more than a star dust.
I like to know what he think about Buddha's teaching.

SarathW wrote:I think according to Buddhism we are just more than a star dust.
I like to know what he think about Buddha's teaching.

I'm pretty sure he's a physicalist, believing that everything that exists is physical, or based on the physical; though he seems to be open to new evidence that would indicate otherwise.

SarathW wrote:I think according to Buddhism we are just more than a star dust.
I like to know what he think about Buddha's teaching.

Cosmology and Buddhist Thought: Interview With Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson

[i]Dr. Jerome Freedman[/i] and [b]Neil deGrasse Tyson[/b] wrote: Well, I was going to start with this particular concept. One of the principles of Buddhist thought is that when things are… Oh just so you know, I have the Reader’s Digest knowledge of Buddhism so when in doubt, assume I don’t know what you’re going to tell me.

Fine, I was not planning to assume anything about Buddhism… Because I know a couple of things but not enough to engage in your conversation.
...
It may be at the end of the day there’s no such thing as what we call consciousness. It’s something else. And we haven’t been asking the right questions.

A scientist never asks who I am, who is doing this investigation.
They always ask what they are.

Scientists may think differently than Buddhists but they fulfill extremely important worldly roles, especially broad-minded scientists like Neil deGrasse Tyson who has said that he is a professional scientist and not a professional skeptic. (This was said in the context of atheism as a social movement.) It is science that has more than doubled the human lifespan and helped create and prolong billions more human bodies, so that people like you and me can manifest in them and learn the Dhamma.

As long as we inhabit human bodies, we owe them the greatest respect.