The Enlightened Gene: Biology, Buddhism, and the Convergence that Explains the World

Konchok runs the Tibetan Yungdrung Bon Library at his monastery. He founded and has directed for over a decade Emory’s Program in Science & Society, which develops innovative programs for the public and students in and out of the classroom in science and religion, science and ethics, and science and art. Konchok attained his geshe degree at Menri in 2014, and he has been serving as a translator in the Emory Tibet Scienc

Strikingly, many of new biological discoveries—such as the millions of microbes that we now know live together as part of each of us, the connections between those microbes and our immune systems, the nature of our genomes and how they respond to the environment, and how this response might be passed to future generations—can actually be read as moving science closer to spiritual concepts, rather than further away. What this book discovers along the way will fundamentally change the way you think.Are humans inherently good? Where does compassion come from? Is death essential for life? Is experience inherited? These questions have occupied philosophers, religious thinkers and scientists since the dawn of civilization, but in today’s political discourse, much of the dialogue surrounding them and larger issues—such as climate change, abortion, genetically modified organisms, and evolution—are often framed as a dichotomy of science versus spirituality. The Enlightened Gene opens up and lays a foundation for serious conversations, integrating science and spirit in tackling life’s big questions. Arri Eisen, together with monk Geshe Yungdrung Konchok explore the striking ways in which the integration of Buddhism with cutting-edge discoveries in the biological sciences can change our understanding of life and how we live it. The singular b

F. There are real benefits for humanity to be gained by this historic encounter. I have no doubt that all who read this book will benefit from the insights generated by the convergence of science’s understanding of the material world and contemplative traditions’ understanding of the workings of the mind.” (From the foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama) . Their work represents not only scholarly achievement but also the friendship and understanding that can come from open dialogue between great intellectual traditions. I highly recommend this book.” (Robert A. Thurman, Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Buddhology, Columbia University)“The remarkable intellectual and spiritual voyage of an American biology professor and a Tibetan Buddhist monk exploring