宗教与科学是人类文明的两个重要方面。由于宗教与科学对人类生存的影响都极为深远，近代以来，宗教与科学的关系备受众多学者的关注。在西方学界，关于宗教与科学关系的论述，大致不出冲突、分离、对话、整合等几种模式。每一种模式对于宗教与科学关系的内涵都有所揭示，但是任一模式都不足以说明宗教与科学关系之全体。故在宗教与科学关系的认识上，迄今仍然聚讼纷纭，尚无定论。

20世纪以来，随西风东渐，科学以极大权威扫荡一切与其相悖的陈说陋见，对包括佛教在内的中国传统宗教形成强大的挑战。佛教，作为一种宗教文化体系，需要随着科学认识的进展，作出必要的调适以发挥自身之影响。如何因应科学挑战，融通佛教与科学的关系，成为众多关心佛教命运人士不容回避的使命。他们或者为信仰佛教之科学家，或者为佛学研究家，或者为对佛教文化有浓厚兴趣的一般知识分子。在融通佛教与科学的关系时，一些信教科学家提出了“佛教是殊胜的科学”、“佛法是应用科学”等观点，以说明佛教对于世道人心的特殊价值。佛教学者则基于他们对佛法的深刻领悟，说明佛教与科学相互融贯，在根本上并无不可调和之矛盾的道理。一般对佛教抱有兴趣之人士，则从他们对佛教、科学的理解出发，从不同角度、不同层面阐述他们对于佛教与科学关系的见解。这些论说，体现了对佛教、对科学的不同理解，对于融通佛教与科学的关系皆不无意义，然从佛教哲学自身进行观照，亦属于名言谛，具有一定意义上的方便说法之性质，故本书作者判其为“融摄”。随着世界文化交流日趋方便，不但有西方科学技术对古老的东方世界带来深远之影响，佛教也从它诞生、成长的东方世界传播到欧美等其他地区。时至今日，佛教已在各个文明圈内扎下根并受到众多学者和一般群众的接纳。佛教在教义、哲学、实践等方面具有自身特质，与其他宗教有很大不同，很多深受西方文明影响的科学家对此也有深刻的体认。他们注重佛教的哲学、伦理学、心理学等价值，认为佛教可成为与现代科学对谈的重要伙伴。这一异质文化之间的交流，不但一些自然科学家表现出强烈的兴趣，也为诸多心理学家、人文学者等所热心推助。此种现象即为今日佛教与科学的“对话”。

历史表明，人类社会的和谐发展需要不同文化的共同参与。现代科学在人类社会中的地位自然是无可替代的，但是科学主义的膨胀与科学文化的一家独大亦造成人类文明的许多弊端。面对这一局面，人类需要深刻反省自己的思想与行为，改过迁善，唯有如此，才能真正增进人类的福祉，促进文明的提升。诞生于“轴心文明”时期的佛教，历经两千多年的发展，已成为人类思想的重要载体，对于当今之“科学文化”固有其启发、补益之功。科学的进步固然会冲洗掉佛教中的迷信内容，淘汰其不合时宜之处，但是科学的发展也为佛教的自我更新带来了历史的机遇。因此，在当今社会格局下，作为不同文明成果的佛教与科学，确有展开积极对话、共同促成人类社会和谐发展之使命。

王萌于2001年考入四川大学宗教研究所随我攻读博士学位，2004年毕业后到中南民族大学从事宗教学的教学和研究工作。王萌原是学理工科出身，但他慎思好学，对哲学、宗教之真义兴趣浓厚、孜孜以求。在读博期间，他选择了佛教与科学的关系这一课题进行研究，可以说充分体现了他知识结构的长处和善于思考的特点。他毕业之前，已有数篇论文发表于权威及核心期刊，现又对博士论文加以整理出版，其志可嘉。佛教与科学分属两个不同的领域，作者能够超越信仰的樊篱与世俗的偏见，在纷繁芜杂的材料中理清思路，发现问题的实质，是难能可贵的。

当然，佛教与科学的对话，不论其内容还是蕴涵都是十分丰富的，有些问题尚需进一步探讨、厘定。宗教与科学的关系研究在国外已成热点，而其中“佛教与科学”也已为一些有识之士所关注。在国内虽有许多人士对此类问题作出探讨，而从宗教学理论视点进行系统研究之成果尚未得见。以此而论，王萌此专著的出版，弥补了学术空白，对帮助人们正确认识佛教与科学的关系有启迪意义，是令人欣喜的事。

是为序。

陈兵

2010年6月于四川大学竹林村

Religion and science are two important aspects of human civilization. Because religion and science have a profound impact on human existence, the relationship between religion and science has attracted the attention of many scholars in modern times. In Western academic circles, the discussion of the relationship between religion and science generally does not follow several modes such as conflict, separation, dialogue, and integration. Each model reveals the implications of the relationship between religion and science, but neither model is sufficient to explain the totality of the relationship between religion and science. Therefore, the understanding of the relationship between religion and science is still controversial and inconclusive. Since the 20th century, with the eastward wind, science has swept away all contrary clichés with great authority, posing a powerful challenge to traditional Chinese religions, including Buddhism. Buddhism, as a religious and cultural system, needs to make the necessary adjustments to exert its influence as scientific understanding progresses. How to cope with scientific challenges and integrate the relationship between Buddhism and science has become an unavoidable mission for many people who care about the fate of Buddhism. They are either Buddhist scientists, Buddhist researchers, or general intellectuals with a keen interest in Buddhist culture. When integrating the relationship between Buddhism and science, some religious scientists put forward the views of "Buddhism is a special science" and "Buddhism is an applied science" to illustrate the special value of Buddhism to the hearts of the world. Based on their profound understanding of the Dharma, Buddhist scholars have shown that Buddhism and science are integrated with each other, and there is no irreconcilable contradiction at all. People who are generally interested in Buddhism expound their views on the relationship between Buddhism and science from different angles and levels based on their understanding of Buddhism and science. These theories reflect the different understandings of Buddhism and science, and are not meaningless for integrating the relationship between Buddhism and science, but from the perspective of Buddhist philosophy itself, they are also famous sayings, and have the nature of convenient statements in a certain sense, so the author of this book judges them as "fusion". With the increasing convenience of cultural exchanges in the world, not only Western science and technology have had a profound impact on the ancient Eastern world, but Buddhism has also spread from the Eastern world where it was born and grew up to other regions such as Europe and the United States. Today, Buddhism has taken root in various civilizations and has been accepted by many scholars and the general public. Buddhism has its own characteristics in teachings, philosophy, practice, etc., which are very different from other religions, and many scientists who have been deeply influenced by Western civilization have also deeply recognized this. They focused on the philosophical, ethical, and psychological values of Buddhism, and believed that Buddhism could be an important partner in dialogue with modern science. This exchange between heterogeneous cultures has not only shown strong interest among some natural scientists, but also enthusiastically promoted by many psychologists and humanities. This phenomenon is the "dialogue" between Buddhism and science today. History shows that the harmonious development of human society requires the participation of different cultures. The status of modern science in human society is naturally irreplaceable, but the expansion of scientism and the monopoly of scientific culture have also caused many drawbacks of human civilization. In the face of this situation, human beings need to deeply reflect on their own thoughts and behaviors, and correct their own good, only in this way can we truly improve the well-being of mankind and promote the upgrading of civilization. Buddhism, which was born in the period of "axis civilization", has become an important carrier of human thought after more than 2,000 years of development, and has inherent enlightenment and supplement for today's "scientific culture". Of course, the progress of science will wash away the superstitious content of Buddhism and eliminate its anachronism, but the development of science has also brought historical opportunities for the self-renewal of Buddhism. Therefore, in today's social landscape, Buddhism and science, as the achievements of different civilizations, do have the mission of actively engaging in dialogue and jointly promoting the harmonious development of human society. Wang Meng was admitted to the Institute of Religious Studies of Sichuan University in 2001 to pursue a doctorate with me, and after graduation in 2004, he went to South Central University for Nationalities to engage in teaching and research in religious studies. Wang Meng originally came from a science and engineering background, but he was cautious and studious, and he was deeply interested in philosophy and religion. During his Ph.D., he chose the topic of the relationship between Buddhism and science for research, which can be said to fully reflect the strength of his knowledge structure and the characteristics of good thinking. Before graduation, he had published several papers in authoritative and core journals, and now he has compiled and published his doctoral dissertations. Buddhism and science belong to two different fields, and it is invaluable for the author to transcend the barriers of faith and worldly prejudices, clarify his thoughts in the complex materials, and discover the essence of the problem. Of course, the dialogue between Buddhism and science is very rich in content and meaning, and some issues need to be further explored and determined. The study of the relationship between religion and science has become a hot spot abroad, and "Buddhism and science" has also attracted the attention of some people of insight. Although many people in China have discussed such issues, the results of systematic research from the viewpoint of religious theory have not yet been seen. In this sense, the publication of Wang Meng's monograph fills the academic gap and is of enlightening significance in helping people correctly understand the relationship between Buddhism and science, which is a gratifying thing. is the order. Chen Bing in Zhulin Village, Sichuan University in June 2010（AI翻译）