Science, philosophy, politics, art, social work, spirituality, for all of their differences, these disciplines share some common goals. “Our relationship to the world and to each other is a thread that runs through science as well as religion and in this fascinating book two men carry on a lively dialogue on the nature of man, mind and matter. Without a wisdom bred of altruism, science and politics are double-edged swords, ethics is blind, emotions run wild, and spirituality becomes illusory,” writes Matthieu Ricard in the introduction. One of the authors, Trinh Xuan Thuan, is an astrophysicist who was born a Buddhist and the other, Matthieu Ricard, is a Western scientist who became a Buddhist monk. These two friends conduct readers on a thought provoking journey of discovery that began with their meeting at an academic conference in 1997 and expanded into a correspondence that plumbed the depths of scientific and spiritual expression.

THE QUANTUM AND THE LOTUS lets readers eavesdrop on this conversation between friends, profound and buoyant at the same time, and readers are likely to agree with Trinh Xuan Thuan’s conclusion: “Science can operate without spirituality. Spirituality can exist without science. But man, to be complete, needs both.”

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