Buddha’s views on universe proved once again through latest Scientific Revelation

“It is hard to find an end to this Universe” said Lord Buddha, yet the Scientists keep going deeper and deeper to find out the roots of the Universe, but they understand that Buddha’s saying was true.
It is interesting that the Buddha’s explanation of the origin of the universe corresponds very closely to the scientific view.

In the Aganna Sutta, the Buddha described the universe being destroyed and then re-evolving into its present form over a period of countless millions of years.

The first life formed on the surface of the water and again, over countless millions of years, evolved from simple into complex organisms. All these processes are without beginning or end, and are set in motion by natural causes.

Here is the Latest article relating to the Universe by scientists dated 21st Oct 2011.
Astronomers find oldest galaxy so far
-Source AP-

Astronomers believe they've found the oldest thing they've ever seen in the universe so far: It's a galaxy far, far away from a time long, long ago. Hidden in a Hubble Space Telescope photo released earlier this year is a small smudge of light that European astronomers now calculate is a galaxy from 13.1 billion years ago.

"We're looking at the universe when it was a 20th of its current age," said California Institute of Technology astronomy professor Richard Ellis, who wasn't part of the discovery team. "In human terms, we're looking at a 4-year-old boy in the life span of an adult."

Scientists make use of the Big Bang Theory of Lord Buddha – “Maha Pipirumwadaya”

Earlier this year, astronomers had made a general estimate of 600 to 800 million years after the Big Bang for the most distant fuzzy points of light in the Hubble photograph, which was presented at an astronomy meeting back in January.

In the new study, researchers focused on a single galaxy in their analysis of hydrogen's light signature, further pinpointing the age. Garth Illingworth of the University of California, Santa Cruz, who was the scientist behind the Hubble image, said it provides confirmation for the age using a different method, something he called amazing "for such faint objects."

"We're looking almost to the edge, almost within 100 million years of seeing the very first objects," Ellis said. "One hundred million years to a human seems an awful long time, but in astronomical time periods, that's nothing compared to the life of the stars."

Albert Einstein on Buddhism

The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend personal God and avoid dogma and theology. Covering both the natural and the spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things natural and spiritual as a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers this description. If there is any religion that could cope with modern scientific needs it would be Buddhism.
(Albert Einstein)

I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our
science can reveal it.
(Albert Einstein, 1954) From Albert Einstein:
The Human Side, edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh Hoffman,
Princeton University Press

Scientific research is based on the idea that everything that takes place is determined by laws of nature, and therefore this holds for the action of people. For this reason, a research scientist will hardly be inclined to believe that events could be influenced by a prayer, i.e. by a
wish addressed to a Supernatural Being.
(Albert Einstein, 1936)
Source: Albert Einstein: The Human Side, Edited by Helen Dukas and Banesh
Hoffmann

A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy,
education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary.
Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear
of punishment and hope of reward after death.
(Albert Einstein)
"Religion and Science", New York Times Magazine, 9 November 1930

Karma : You can run but you can’t Hide

“Countless rebirths lie ahead, both good and bad. The effects of karma (actions) are inevitable, and in previous lifetimes we have accumulated negative karma which will inevitably have its fruition in this or future lives. Just as someone witnessed by police in a criminal act will eventually be caught and punished, so we too must face the consequences of faulty actions we have committed in the past, there is no way to be at ease; we must eventually undergo their effects."
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama-

The Sanskrit word Karma literally means action. In Buddhism however, karma mainly refers to one's intention or motivation while doing an action.

The shortest possible explanation of karma is that what goes around comes around someday, somewhere, so whatever you so do intentionally to others, will definitely come back to you, not necessarily in this birth but in some future birth.

Even science has proven this primary teaching of Buddhism.

Isaac Newtons 3rd Law – “Every action has a Reaction”, this point was the basic teaching in Buddhism as karma which scientists took thousands of years to understand.

The 're-actions' or results of our actions show up with a time delay, and it becomes extremely hard to tell which action caused which result.

I even got to know through the website “viewonbuddhism.org” that the bible has also extracted teachings from Buddhism.

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A person reaps what he sows.
(Gal. 6:7)
All things whatsoever you would that men should do to you,
do even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
(Matthew 7:12)

Remember, your future is within your own hands. Since action is a phenomenon that is committed by a person, it is within your own hands whether or not you engage in action.

When we meet with big problems; disease, loss of family or friends, getting trapped in a war or natural disaster. At those times, we suddenly wonder: "Why me?" The law of karma does not look for a reason outside ourselves for our good or bad fortune, it simply explains our own suffering as a result of our negative deeds that we have done towards others, and also our happiness as a result of our actions to help others.

As the Buddha taught:
"Do not think a small sin will not return in your future lives.
Just as falling drops of water will fill a large container,
The little sins that steadfast accumulate will completely overwhelm you”

Life After Death

All About Buddhism: Life After Death

Courtesy – Thripitaka.blogspot.com

We buddhists believe a living being ( layman ) is connected to a chain of lives. When we pass away from one life, we just stick to another life.

There may or may not be a transition period which is bit controversial, but for a person who hasn't attain nirvana ( "Nibbana" -The ultimate goal in buddhism ) will have new life after the current one.

In the new life , we can be a human, an animal or maybe a single celled being like amiba. The activities we perform in our current life and in past lives plays the major role in success of the new life after death. According to buddhism, it is not god's wish to make someone poor and some other person wish, it is our past life actions which determine the future life. Therefore Buddhists are not dependent upon a "highly powered, uncontrollable source".

Are we going our journey with a single "atman" like in Hindu? Of course not. The next life is like a mirror image of yours. If the mirror image is you , then there should be a duplicate of you in the world which is not true, but you can't argue that the mirror image doesn't represent you. Think about it. In the next life, you are not the same person as you are now, again you are not a different person into some extent. Simply, if we do good things, we gather good karma and you have the highest possibility to have a better life after death. So, why should we think of breaking the chain?. Lets take an example. Suppose you are the richest person in the world. Do you think that you would be free from all the problems in the world. No. You might have the risk of loosing your property. You maybe afraid that someone would break your record. That is life, we don't satisfy ourselves. We make our own goals and try to achieve and suffer. We need to get rid of continuous suffering.