If science enriches our way of life...

Head, Research & Education Department, Sera Jey Monastic University, Bylakuppe,GESHE THUPTEN CHODAK speaks to SEETHALAKSHMI S and RAHUL NANDANGeshe Thupten Chodak always wanted to be a monk. As a teenager,the fear of the law of karma — you reap what you sow — only strengthened his belief that one must constantly strive to be a better person.Born near Delhi, in 1961, N Tashi,later known as Geshe Thupten Chodak,joined Kathmandu’s Kopan Monastery in 1977 at the age of sixteen. The same year, he left for Bylakuppe, located in Karnataka,where the country’s first Tibetan settlement, Lugsung Samdupling had come into existence earlier.Tashi joined Sera Jey Monastery to become a monk; he was guided by Geshe Thupten Tashi. It took him 17 years to complete the basic course and an additional six years for PhD, before he finally became a master.After completing his doctorate in 1998-99,Tashi enrolled for a one-year tantric course in Hunsur, Karnataka.“Bylakuppe is the best place in the world,” says a smiling Geshe Thupten Chodak, head of Sera Jey Research and Education Department at Sera Jey Monastic University For Advanced Buddhist Studies and Practice in Bylakuppe.Back then Bylakuppe had only agricultural fields.We used to work in corn fields for a month,” he says.In 2000,Tashi was invited to participate in a science workshop for monks at Sera Jey Monastery, the first in any Tibetan Buddhist monastery in India. He was the first monk from the monastery to work on such a science project.“At the conference, I was asked what if science can falsify what Buddha has said.I told them,I will throw away my robes and join them.If science really enriches our way of living, it should be pursued and explored. That’s what I believe,” he says. He recalls his sisters telling him that science isn’t good for faith.“I told them that if Buddhist teachings are true,there’s no reason to fear science.”Tashi remembers scientists,at the workshop, telling him that there has been nothing new after what Buddha said over 2,500 years ago. “Maybe what Buddha said is the ultimate Truth, just like 2+2 will always be four.”He says science education has enabled him to learn a lot of new things and has opened up a lot of new opportunities. “International conferences and student exchange programmes with Tumkur University have helped the monks to open up to new ideas and practices,” says the Geshe.“Monks,at the monastery,are already familiar with theory and thought experiments. Practical scientific experiments will help them explore,apply and collate what they have learnt,” he says.What if more exposure to science and technology distracts the monks from spirituality and Buddhist teachings?Tashi explains:“If values of Buddhist teachings are deeply embedded in you, nothing can divert your focus. Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism have rich philosophies and they contribute and enrich each other’s teachings and values.”Fluent in English, he regrets not speaking Kannada despite living in Karnataka for the past 40 years.“The best way to learn Kannada is to watch lots of Kannada movies,”he says with a smile.