SBN Editor, Author at Secular Buddhist Network

POSTS:

SBN Editor

Rethinking the Dharma / Reimagining Community #45 June 2023

Welcome to our June 2023 newsletter. This month we highlight new articles by Pedro Bellora, Katya de Kadt, Colette Descent, and Caspar Harris, as well as a practitioner’s account of his journey to secular Buddhism.

SBN’s online meditation group

The Secular Buddhist Network sponsors online meditation groups for secular Buddhists and those interested in a secular approach to the dharma.

A practitioner’s journey to secular Buddhism: Tom

Tom Cummings initially practiced Vipassana meditation, but he has found that secular Buddhism’s emphasis on our present human life as the one and only existence we have aligns well with the agnostic humanist perspective he has embraced for many years.

Rethinking the Dharma / Reimagining Community #44 May 2023

Welcome to our May 2023 newsletter. This month we highlight new articles by Kirk Mason and Mike Slott, a practitioner’s account of his journey to secular Buddhism, and a workshop by Dave Smith on mindfulness and the Four Noble Truths.

Mindfulness and the Four Noble Truths

At an online program sponsored by New York Insight Meditation Center, Dave Smith presented the Four Noble Truths as four tasks for engaging in an ethical, flourishing life.

Exploring a secular dharma: SBN’s online course

Registrations are now open for SBN’s free online course on exploring a secular dharma. Participants in the course will go through the course modules, discuss the topics in each module with each other, and meet on Zoom every two weeks with the instructors for the course.

A practitioner’s journey to secular Buddhism: Jim

Jim Bronson connected with the Theravāda tradition and Insight meditation over 20 years ago, after the death of his first wife. As a scientist, he was attracted to the secular aspects of Theravāda and began to learn more about secular Buddhism. He finds inspiration in Stephen Batchelor’s view that ‘a secular Buddhist is one who is committed to the practice of the dharma for the sake of this world alone.’

Rethinking the Dharma / Reimagining Community #43 April 2023

Welcome to our April 2023 newsletter. This month we highlight an interview with Stephen Batchelor on Mindfulness Based Ethical Living, a new article by Bhikkhu Santi, a practitioner’s account of her journey to secular Buddhism, and an upcoming secular dharma retreat with Stephen Batchelor, Winton Higgins, and Lenorë Lambert.

An interview with Stephen Batchelor on Mindfulness Based Ethical Living

On 22 February 2023, Stephen Batchelor was interviewed by Ayda Duroux, Saskia Graf, and Jochen Weber from Buddha-Stiftung, and Mike Slott from the Secular Buddhist Network. Stephen discussed the key aspects of a new practical and ethical philosophy, Mindfulness Based Ethical Living (MBEL).

Rethinking the Dharma / Reimagining Community #42 March 2023

Welcome to the March 2023 newsletter. This month we highlight new articles by Robert M. Ellis, Harry Somaraju, and Seth Zuihō Segall, a practitioner’s account of her journey to secular Buddhism, and a new SBN discussion group for practitioners who are socially engaged.

A practitioner’s journey to secular Buddhism: Kathy

Kathy Lang particularly appreciates the secular Buddhist emphasis on bringing the practice to everyday life and the the view of nirvana as a process of reducing reactivity, rather than as the metaphysical goal of a state beyond our present reality.

SBN’s new discussion group: secular dharma in the community

The Secular Buddhist Network has formed a discussion group for those who wish to share their experiences of and discuss new possibilities for bringing secular Buddhist ideas, ethics, and practices to community groups, social service organizations, and political movements.

Mindfulness for Everyone: an online course

Dave Smith, a Buddhist meditation teacher and co-founder of the Secular Dharma Foundation, is offering a new online course, Mindfulness for Everyone. This self-paced course offers a dynamic and comprehensive understanding of mindfulness from a secular perspective.

A practitioner’s journey to secular Buddhism: Cathryn

Cathryn Jacob became disillusioned with the dogmatism of an independent, charismatic church when she was young and was an atheist for many years. As part of her process of recovery later in life, Cathryn found that the Secular Dharma provided her with the concepts, skills and practices to ‘live life on life’s terms’, to flourish, and to help others do the same.

Rethinking the Dharma / Reimagining Community #41 February 2023

Welcome to the February 2023 newsletter. This month we highlight an interview with Nelly Kaufer and Linda Modaro on their new book on reflective meditation, a practitioner’s account of his journey to secular Buddhism, and a new article by Dennis SengTing Oliver. We also feature an important 2015 dharma talk by Winton Higgins on a secular approach to Insight meditation.