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Secular Buddhism
A glossary of Buddhist terms (from a secular perspective)
A glossary of commonly used terms in dharma (aka ‘Buddhist’) circles set out in plain English, such as dharma, sangha, mindfulness and more.
Sangha essentials – creating community & bonding
In the third of three talks given at a day-long workshop in New Zealand in 2019 Winton Higgins discusses the centrality of creating communities or sanghas in the secular dharma path.
Insight meditation and the inner life
In the first of three talks at a day-long workshop in New Zealand in 2019 Winton Higgins discusses the Buddha’s foundational teaching for meditative practice, the Satipaṭṭhāna sutta (the discourse on the focuses of awareness) from a secular Buddhist perspective.
What to tell your inner yogi about climate change
Responsible citizenship goes to the core of our ethical commitments as dharma practitioners. So the existential threat to ourselves and all other life-forms, that climate change poses, must stand high on our civic agenda. It mightily evokes the overarching ethic of the dharma – the ethic of care – understood both as concernful awareness, and as a prompt to action.
Secular Buddhism and the real reasons to meditate
Mike Slott argues that the goal of meditation is to become a more mindful and compassionate person, one who can contribute to creating a society in which all human beings can flourish.
A dharmic understanding of evil: the banality of climate change
The mythical figure of Mara in the Pali canon provides us with an obvious starting point for understanding evil. He appears again and again to the Buddha and his advanced disciples, preferably when they’re meditating. He’s disguised as a well-meaning stranger offering friendly, banal advice, the import of which would throw the hearer right off course if s/he heeded him.
A review of After Buddhism – focussing dharma for years to come
Winton Higgins reviews Stephen Batchelor's 2015 book After Buddhism, discussing the book's key themes and its contribution to the development of a secular dharma for our age.
Core elements of a secular and socially-engaged Buddhism
Mike Slott explores how a radical social theory and core Buddhist insights are both essential to understanding the causes of suffering and creating a society in which all human beings can flourish.
The dharma as a culture of awakening – developing a sanghic life
In this 2016 talk Winton Higgins discusses how awakening, gaining significant insight into our human condition and its full potential for personal development, is a key component of a secular Buddhist approach.
Heidegger for dharma wallahs: the granddaddy of existentialism
In this 2015 talk Winton Higgins discusses the relevance of the ideas of German philosopher Heidegger for developing a secular dharma.
Are secular Buddhists modern or traditional?
Derek LeDayn discusses the following questions in this article: What is secular Buddhism, or what are secular Buddhisms? Is secular Buddhism the same as modern Buddhism, or Buddhist modernism? How different is it from traditional Buddhisms? Are individual secular Buddhists modern or traditional?
Jim Champion on meditation: what if I’m doing it wrong?
Jim Champion discusses the common view of meditators that they are somehow doing "something wrong" and argues that "what I’ve found so far in my practice of meditation (which most commonly involves sitting quietly, with the intention to meditate, in the morning and the evening) is that however much I want do it right, in fact I can't do it wrong.
Creating the Secular Buddhist Association in the USA
In the U.S., the Secular Buddhist Association has grown organically around Ted Meissner’s podcast, The Secular Buddhist, and its associated Facebook page. The individuals who were frequent participants on Facebook became the core volunteers who would go on to create the Secular Buddhist Association website and, later, the non-profit organization incorporated under that name.
A secular approach to insight meditation
In a dharma talk given in New Zealand in October 2015 Winton Higgins explores the differences between the traditional model of insight meditation using the foundational text of the Satipatthāna sutta and a secular approach.
A review of Sam Harris’ ‘Waking Up – the illusory nature of the self’
Mark Knickelbine reviews Sam Harris' book, "Waking Up." He has a positive view of the book, but believes that Harris has painted too limited a view of the kind of contemplative practice which can help us awaken in the modern world.
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