On November 25, 2013, the Institute of Oriental Philosophy (IOP) organized a public lecture titled, “The search for life in the Universe―concordance with Buddhist thought” by Prof. Chandra Wickramasinghe, director of the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology, University of Buckingham.  The lecture was held in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

Prof. Chandra Wickramasinghe, a former student of Sir Fred Hoyle, is a distinguished astronomer who has made important contributions to the theory of cosmic dust.  In 1974 he first proposed the theory that dust in interstellar space and in comets was largely organic, a theory that has now been vindicated.  Jointly with Sir Fred Hoyle he was awarded the International Dag Hammarskjold Gold Medal for Science in 1986, and in 1992 he was decorated by the President of Sri Lanka with the titular honour of Vidya Jyothi.  He was awarded the International Sahabdeen Prize for Science in 1996.  He holds the highest doctorate (ScD) from the University of Cambridge and an honorary doctorate from Soka University in Tokyo, Japan, along with several other international distinctions. Formerly a Fellow of Jesus College Cambridge, he is now Professor of Applied Mathematics and Astronomy at Cardiff University of Wales.  He is an award-winning poet and the author or co-author of over 20 books and over 250 scientific papers.  He has held visiting professorial appointments in a large number of universities world-wide and has at one time been advisor to the President of Sri Lanka.  He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society.