Buddhism and the New Story

Instructor(s): David Loy

Program Description:

Contemporary Buddhism has entered into a dialogue with modernity–cognitive and brain sciences, biological sciences, and evolutionary thinking. Teilhard de Chardin, Thomas Berry, Brian Swimme, and others have been developing what is sometimes called a "new story": a different way of understanding the evolutionary process, which offers an alternative to reductionistic interpretations of Darwinism. This involves a new perspective on the role of human beings in the unfolding of the cosmos, including our relationship to the earth, which is especially important today in light of the ecological crisis. In what ways is this new story compatible with traditional Buddhist teachings? What might "New Buddhism" contribute to it? And what does this new story imply for how we understand and practice Buddhism today?

About the Instructor(s):
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  David Loy

  David R. Loy is especially interested in the conversation between Buddhism and modernity. His books include A New Buddhist Path, Ecodharma: Buddhist teachings for the Ecological Crisis, Nonduality, Lack and Transcendance, A Buddhist History of the West, The Great Awakening, Money Sex War Karma and The World Is Made of Stories. A Zen practitioner for many years, he is qualified as a teacher in the Sanbo Zen tradition.