Dalai Lama to Debate Cosmic Origins, Evolution With Russian Scientists

DHARAMSHALA (Sputnik) - The leader of Tibet’s Buddhists will sit down with a group of Russian scientists at his Indian residence this week for a debate on the universe, evolution and spirituality, his spokesman told Sputnik.

The event in Dharamshala on Thursday and Friday continues a 30-year tradition that brings together Tibetan monks and scientific minds from around the world to discuss fundamental questions.

"The dialogue between scientists and Buddhist philosophers led by His Holiness Dalai Lama was proposed by the spiritual leader of the Tibetan Buddhism," Telo Tulku Rinpoche, his spokesman in Russia, said.

Russian scientists – neurobiologists, physiologists, geneticists, and philosophers – had initially reacted with skepticism to the invitation, he confessed, but skepticism and doubt "are welcome in Buddhism as a means of exploring the reality."

The discussion will draw on the opinions expressed by Dalai Lama in his 2006 book called "The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality." The event was organized by the Moscow-based center of Tibetan culture, a Save Tibet nonprofit, and Dalai Lama’s own foundation.