On 3 to 10 December 2023, Stephen Batchelor, Winton Higgins, and Lenorë Lambert led a residential study retreat at the St. Joseph's Retreat Centre in Kincumber, NSW, Australia on Secular Dharma and Ethical Living: How to Engage in a World in Crisis. The retreat was also livestreamed.
Stephen, Winton, and Lenorë presented a secular approach to the dharma, which leaves aside the metaphysical beliefs of the Buddhist religion to focus entirely on how to respond to the sufferings of this world. The structure of the retreat was based on Stephen Batchelor's reconfiguration and reinterpretation of the eightfold path, which emphasizes different modes of mindfulness, as well as the ethical perspectives and practices needed to engage effectively with the various interconnected crises our world faces in the twenty-first century — economic, environmental, social, psychological and spiritual.
Below you'll find Stephen's opening talk at the retreat, during which he provided an overview of his secular version of the eightfold path.
Additional talks at the retreat
During the weeklong retreat, Stephen, Winton, and Lenorë discussed each of the eight folds or aspects of a secular eightfold path, offering their unique perspectives on each.
The rest of the talks can be accessed by clicking here.
Thanks to Sydney Insight Meditators, the organizer of the retreat, and Stephen, Winton, and Lenorë for their kind permission to make these talks available.
Key Resources:
Essay: A Secular Buddhism, by Stephen Batchelor
Book: After Buddhism: rethinking the dharma for a secular age, by Stephen Batchelor
Book: Revamp: writings on secular Buddhism, by Winton Higgins
Book: The Buddha for modern minds: a non-religious guide to the Buddha and his teachings, by Lenorë Lambert
3 Replies to “Secular Dharma and Ethical Living Retreat”
It’s been such a wonderful experience to hear the talks and the discussions among teachers and retreatants. So many times I wanted to jump in to offer an idea or a strategy for climate advocates who are dharma practitioners. I’ve been journaling about this and hope in time to extract some notes to send to the participants. Thanks to everyone who made it possible for SBN readers to have this extraordinary experience.
Thank you so much for making these talks available to those of us on the other side of the world who were unable to be present to hear these wonderful teachers.
Thank you Lenore, Winton and Stephen for agreeing to the publishing of your excellent retreat on the Secular Buddhist Network. It is going to take me weeks of watching, listening and thinking about all your presentations, which is what I love doing here in my little rainforest retreat up in Far North Queensland.
It is a pity I couldn’t get to attend the retreat in person and meet all participants. You three are so advanced in the slow evolution and modern-day application of Gotama’s original insights, and your individual areas of expertise overlap and complement each other perfectly.
I would recommend this workshop to everybody to have a think about.
Ric