THERE has never been a better time to ask whether religion and science can ever coexist. Both are concerned with truth. For science, truth is constantly updated on the basis of theory backed by experiment, whereas for religion it is based on dogma in which we must have faith. Yet in 2005 the Dalai Lama, leader of one of the world’s great religions, was invited by thousands of neuroscientists to address their conference in Washington DC.
Before we bring down the wrath of Dawkins, the reason the Dalai Lama could appear there is simple: Buddhism is not like other religions.…
