POSTS:

Secular Buddhism Recommended

Buddhist modernism and secular Buddhism
Winton Higgins discusses the differences between Buddhist modernism, which established itself in the west in the 1960s, and a fully secular approach to the dharma.
Secular Buddhism briefly explained
Jochen Weber offers his perspective on the key elements of a secular approach to the dharma.
Secular Buddhism: to be or not to be a ‘Thing’
Lenorë Lambert argues that if we want to share the benefits of the secular dharma with others, we need to define ourselves more clearly and offer some of the benefits provided by organized groups.
A dialogue on secular dharma
At an online program on Perspectives on Secular Dharma, Stephen Batchelor, Seth Zuihō Segall, Karsten Struhl, and Mike Slott engaged in a wide-ranging dialogue on key topics related to a secular approach to the dharma.
An interview with Stephen Batchelor on secular dharma
In a recent interview Stephen Batchelor discussed the historical antecedents and development of secular Buddhism, the divergent 'core logics' of traditional and secular Buddhism, and the need to create a new Mindfulness Based Human Flourishing program.
The core concept of secular Buddhism: the four tasks
The core teachings and insights of Gotama are not ‘truths’ to be believed but a ‘fourfold’ task to help us live our lives in a mindful and compassionate way.
Seth Zuihō Segall and Winton Higgins debate the meaning and value of secular Buddhism
Beginning with Seth Zuihō Segall's article, 'Why I am not a secular Buddhist,' Seth and Winton Higgins have engaged in a dialogue on SBN about the meaning and value of secular Buddhism. They have discussed the notion of secularity, religion and religious experience, the role of community, and other key issues.
Three marks of existence, or three factors of human experience?
Mike Slott contends that, from secular Buddhist perspective, it is more appropriate to view impermancence, not-self, and dukkha as aspects of our experience rather than ontological characteristics of reality.
Bhikkhu Bodhi on traditional versus secular Buddhism
Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi explores the differences between traditional and secular forms of Buddhism, and expresses concern that both approaches have viewed political activism as marginal to the dharmic path.
Stephen Batchelor on ‘Buddhism in a nutshell’
Stephen Batchelor offers a summary of secular Buddhism: "I’m supposed to take a risk and say in 25 words or less what Buddhism is. That of course is a very arrogant presumption on one level. But what I have concluded tentatively in recent years is to identify four points that the Buddha taught that cannot be derived from the socio-historical context of his time, in other words that are distinctively and non-controversially his own ideas."
An outline of secular Buddhism – a living tradition
In a 2013 talk Winton Higgins offers an outline of secular Buddhism as a recent extension of Buddhist modernism. He explains why "we need to know a lot about the Buddha’s saeculum, and about our own, to trace our living practice and tradition back to him, and make it relevant to us today".