Humility

This is a quote from an op-ed piece the Dalai Lama wrote for The New York Times in 2005.

Here is a fuller version: 

If science proves some belief of Buddhism wrong, then Buddhism will have to change. In my view, science and Buddhism share a search for the truth and for understanding reality. By learning from science about aspects of reality where its understanding may be more advanced, I believe that Buddhism enriches its own worldview.

It is a refreshing attitude. I note that His Holiness says that he is speaking of science in the context of "aspects of reality where its understanding may be more advanced." He does not assume science is always more advanced or correct. But he does grant the possibility and is willing to listen to the arguments of science to see what he may learn.

This is an attitude that I wish we could bring to all sorts of conversations, maybe turning them into dialogues instead of debates or arguments. You know: liberal/conservative, Republican/Democrat, capital/labor, religion/science, gay/straight, black/white/brown, male/female, rich/poor.

Humility, St. Teresa said, is the truth. The humble person seeks always fuller knowledge of the truth in order to live in the truth. 

Humility, humor, humus, human. I think there is a connection.