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Exploring the meaning of community
The community of practitioners – the sangha – is a crucial aspect of the dharmic path for secular Buddhists. But what do we mean by community? How is a community different than other forms of collective organizations? How do we create a true community of practitioners that help each other develop their practice and contribute to a ‘culture of awakening’?
Moving away from hierarchy and toward democratic sanghas
Developing a secular dharma which is relevant to our contemporary world requires us to engage in a serious examination of traditional models and practices of the community of practitioners – the sangha – and to be willing to experiment with new, more democratic forms.
Moving toward student-centric meditation teaching
Almost everything that has changed in how we have developed and teach reflective meditation over the past several years, arises from our experience reclaiming our practice and moving forward from a deeply painful split in our community. Like many Buddhist communities torn apart by failures of leadership, we continue to examine our ideals and assumptions about teaching and leadership and search for a middle path.
Sharing our practice in a group
In meditation, we cultivate an inner space of openness and acceptance free of judgement. But this space should not remain private: sooner or later we have to extend it, and before we try to cover the entire world with an enlightened society, let’s start with smaller circles.
Secular Buddhist meditation: cultivating virtues and insights to promote human flourishing
Mike Slott argues that the purpose of meditation for secular Buddhists is to cultivate certain virtues and insights which are crucial to promoting human flourishing in this world, not the attainment of nirvana.
Linda Modaro & Nelly Kaufer on reflective meditation
Linda Modaro and Nelly Kaufer teach an open awareness, secular meditation and dharma practice which they call reflective meditation. While it is based upon the Buddha’s teaching, this approach also includes principles of western psychology and neuroscience that help support teachers and their students in leading ethical and internally congruent lives.
Stephen Batchelor’s ten theses of secular dharma
In his 2015 book After Buddhism: rethinking the dharma for a secular age Stephen Batchelor offers ten theses of secular dharma, summing up his overall perspective on secular Buddhism.
Winton Higgins on Ron Purser’s “McMindfulness”
Commercialised mindfulness meditation is to Buddhist meditation what McDonald’s offerings are to real cooking, the title of Ron Purser’s book infers. But there’s more to that title – it has antecedents, according to Sydney secular Buddhist teacher, Winton Higgins.
A review of Ron Purser’s ‘McMindfulness: the new capitalist spirituality’
The title says it all. In McMindfulness: how mindfulness became the new capitalist spirituality, Ron Purser offers a scathing criticism of how the Buddhist practice of mindfulness has been transformed into a method to reduce the stress levels of individuals in a competitive, capitalist society. Is he right?
Dharma practice and solidarity in troubling times
According to Winton Higgins, the foundation of Buddhists' political engagement is the overarching ethical commitment to care, the responsibility to be 'engaged as a moral agent in what is going on in one’s own life'.
Getting started with secular meditation
Ramsey Margolis emphasizes that secular meditation is primarily about stillness and self-observation; when we sit regularly, we become becoming mindfully aware of not just the content of our thoughts but also the emotions and mind states that inform these thoughts
Key elements of secular Buddhism – a framework
While secular Buddhism is not a ‘school’ of Buddhism with a set of orthodox beliefs and established institutions which represent this trend, secular Buddhists do share some common perspectives.
The basis of meditation
At a Sŏn-style retreat in which the question 'What is this?' is posed Martine Batchelor explains that all forms of meditation practice are all based on two fundamental elements – anchoring and experiential inquiry.
Two misconceptions about secular Buddhism
Despite the claims of some critics, secular Buddhists are not anti-religious and the goal of a secular dharma is not simply stress reduction but a radical transformation of individuals and society.
Winton Higgins: books and articles
Winton Higgins' articles and dharma talks provide us with a clear understanding of the development of secular Buddhism and the ways in which a secular approach differs from traditional forms of Buddhism.
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