As I understood it, the essential points in N.A. de S. Amaratunga’s contribution to the dialogue on consciousness in The Island of 16 April, are as follows.

1. The methodology of Buddhism is not the methodology of science.

2. Modern physiologists researching consciousness are probably influenced by Buddhism.

3. If they are not influenced by Buddhism they cannot be good scientists.

His thesis boils down to this: By a methodology which is not the methodology of science Buddhism discovered the nature of consciousness; modern physiologists are probably influenced in their research on consciousness by the teachings of Buddhism about consciousness; if they are not they are not good scientists.

It seems to me that if the epistemological method of Buddhism is not that of modern science, then, theoretically the teachings of Buddhism about consciousness cannot be expected to decisively influence the work of modern scientists on consciousness; and for that reason they do not cease to be good scientists.

Frankly, to me NAdeSA’s thesis reads more like imaginative fiction than evidence-based science.

If he wishes to continue this dialogue he should clarify three matters.

1. In the phrase "influenced by Buddhism" what exactly does he mean by the word "influenced"?

2. What is a "good scientist"?

3. What precisely is the epistemological method of Buddhism?

In his contribution to the dialogue published in The Island of 7 April, my friend Jayatissa Perera uses the term consciousness to signify the set of ideas, beliefs and attitudes of a group of people. This is a legitimate use of the word. For example, when we attempt to raise the consciousness of people against the criminal behaviour of the merchants of death who sell tobacco products to children, we are concerned with "consciousness" in the sense that JP has used the term. In this dialogue, however, we are concerned with consciousness in the sense of "awareness of our own existence and of our environment". What is the real basis of consciousness in that sense? That is the question.