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Zen and the art of space exploration (Buddhism's role in beyond Earth travel) - C C - Feb 27, 2026
https://iai.tv/articles/zen-and-the-art-of-space-exploration-auid-3504?_auid=2020
INTRO: From Star Wars to The Three-Body Problem, science fiction repeatedly turns to Buddhism to imagine humanity’s future in space. Drawing on its doctrines of emptiness, interconnection, and cosmic plurality, Ben Van Overmeire argues that Buddhism offers a ready-made cosmology for thinking about alien life and a decentered universe – an alternative to Western narratives of conquest, colonisation, and divine centrality. This cross-cultural perspective offers vital insight into how we should approach outer space, which is an urgent question as commercial spaceflight expands and new powers enter the space race.
RE: Zen and the art of space exploration (Buddhism's role in beyond Earth travel) - Syne - Feb 27, 2026
You cannot override human nature. Buddhism largely exists in societies that are beat down or self-effacing. That is not the culture that explores and discovers.
RE: Zen and the art of space exploration (Buddhism's role in beyond Earth travel) - Magical Realist - Feb 28, 2026
When I first saw Star Wars in the theater I was struck by the similarity of the Jedi's philosophy to Taoism. This whole idea of the Force flowing thru everything even ourselves and being channeled to do good. And as is true for the Tao there is a light side and a dark side to the Force---the spinning wheel of opposites ever in dynamic conflict and transmutation. However there are some important differences as described in this article:
https://aiptcomics.com/2019/12/19/the-critical-angle-is-star-wars-really-about-taoism-yoda-rise-of-skywalker/
"It’s no secret that George Lucas borrowed liberally from a lot of non-western sources to create Star Wars. Unfortunately, his adaptation of Taoism suffers from decidedly Manichean influences. Manicheanism describes the universe as a struggle between good and evil, light and dark, and is often invoked when discussing the tendency to see dualities as morally black and white.
However, in Taoism, yang and yin energy are not good or bad, because they’re both essential for existence. Yang energy is the aggressive creative force, while yin is the passive receptive force that makes room for creation. In fact, Taoism recommends that humans cultivate more yin energy as a corrective for the fact that humans are typically overly yang.
These nuances are largely absent from the Jedi’s understanding of the Force. You get some of it in the calming influence of Yoda and more of it in the Extended Universe material about the grey Jedi and Anakin Solo, but for most people, the Force is divided into the light side good guys and the dark side baddies. The Jedi are passionless, well-meaning bureaucrats, while the Sith are bipolar sociopaths. The Jedi talk a lot about bringing balance to the Force, but they seem to have little clue what that means, beyond killing off all the Sith."