#229: Buddhism Without Beliefs | Stephen Batchelor

Stephen Batchelor is a Buddhist teacher who takes an unconventional approach to the practice. He was more of a scholar, studying logic and philosophy rather than mantras and deities. In his early life, Stephen traveled to India and met the Dalai Lama, which led him to become a monk who practiced Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Throughout his practice, Stephen felt torn between reason and faith, which ultimately resulted in his secular approach to Buddhism. He follows it as an ever-changing awakening rather than as a religious belief. Stephen eventually transitioned from Tibetan to Zen practice, as he was drawn by the meditation and existential questions of the world. He says keeping an open and questioning mind is key to the practice, and Zen frees the mind from what holds it back, allowing creativity and the ability to embark on the arts. Stephen says that though it's important to have a sense of where the Buddhist teachings come from, we shouldn't get stuck trying to preserve or replicate something that has survived for hundreds of years already. Instead, we should take the risk of translating the insights of these traditions into new forms of language, expression and art form that engage with our modernity.

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Dan’s Documentary: Guardians of the Amazon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdTAbgPQuNI

Stephen Batchelor

• Website: https://www.stephenbatchelor.org/index.php/en/
• The Art of Solitude: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0300250932/
• Books: https://www.amazon.com/Stephen-Batchelor/e/B000ARBI4K
• Mara Opera: Santa Fe New Mexico, Thursday 5th of March with Stephen Batchelor
• https://santafevipassana.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Mara-flyer.pdf

Other References

• Joseph Goldstein
• S.N Goenka
• His Holiness Dalai Lama
• Tibetan Buddhism
• Mahayana Buddhism
• Dr. Mark Epstein
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