Articles
Secular Dharma Semitreat :: Day Two
We’re cursed with yet another absolutely gorgeous day. Clearly bad kamma coming to fruition. Darn you, vipāka! Darn you, previous me! We started the day with instructions from Martine on listening meditation, simply hearing the sound without creating additional commentary around it. In this setting, the sounds are typically birds and chippies, so that was…
Read MoreSecular Dharma Semitreat :: Day One
by Ted Meissner First full day of the retreat, and traditional retreat habits of all kinds have taken up right where they left off. This includes the penchant for what I rationally know to be unpalatable Folgers instant coffee in the morning, and the same brand in decaf before bed. The food is proving to…
Read MoreSecular Dharma Semitreat :: Prologue
by Ted Meissner Several people have asked that I keep them posted about the Secular Dharma seminar with Stephen and Martine Batchelor, so I’ll be posting here on the blog as time, connectivity, and silence permit. The blog entries say “Semitreat” as the combination of it being somewhere between a seminar and a retreat, a…
Read MoreWhat is Dukkha?
This is the first of a series of posts in which I hope to explore ideas Stephen Batchelor discussed in a series of dharma talks in Fall 2010. You can hear them at dharmaseed.org. What is the First Noble Truth? If you’re deep enough in the Buddhist weeds to be reading this, you will probably…
Read MoreRefuge in the Buddha: Man or Myth?
The meaning and context of the word refuge in and of itself is worth some thought and consideration, especially to those of us who practice secular Buddhism. In most traditions, refuge is considered faith, faith that what one is being taught is true or valid. But those of us who come from and have rejected religious pasts, faith may cause one to balk. At the least, it should prompt you to question and explore just why and how one takes refuge.
Read MoreSecular Buddhism :: Part One :: What Is It?
This is Part One of a five part series, exploring some concepts of Secular Buddhism. This post is the What, upcoming posts will examine Who, Where, When, and How. *** Recently, and in the past few weeks in particular, there seems to have been an upsurge in the blogosphere about secular Buddhism. Commentary has been…
Read MoreA Reply to B. Alan Wallace's article "Distorted Visions of Buddhism: Agnostic and Atheist"
The following is a reply to B. Alan Wallace’s article “Distorted Visions of Buddhism: Agnostic and Atheist“. Readers may wish to read the article in its uncommented form before reading this response. Stephen Batchelor has also written An Open Letter to B. Alan Wallace, which appears in Mandala itself, and is an excellent response. The…
Read MoreProtected: Secular Buddhist Association :: UStream Channel
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