After Buddhism: Rethinking the Dharma for a Secular Age in Secular Sangha: A Secular Buddhist Group

Nov 23, 2019 Justin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: the-path-and-the-way

Having read and reread “Buddhism Without Beliefs”, I went into this book with a familiarity with the author’s tone, ideas and approach. This latest evolution of his agnostic Buddhism (a term I self-identify with more so than with secular Buddhism) is a profound and thoughtful evolution of his ideas. I really appreciated and enjoyed the thorough research of the Pali cannon, his ideas about the differing voices and motivations for how it has been passed down and translated and interpreted, and how Having read and reread “Buddhism Without Beliefs”, I went into this book with a familiarity with the author’s tone, ideas and approach. This latest evolution of his agnostic Buddhism (a term I self-identify with more so than with secular Buddhism) is a profound and thoughtful evolution of his ideas. I really appreciated and enjoyed the thorough research of the Pali cannon, his ideas about the differing voices and motivations for how it has been passed down and translated and interpreted, and how he frames what the future of the dharma might and should entail. I understand the criticisms others have posed here about the confusion of promoting this idea of the buddhavaccana (what the words of the Buddha really meant) versus the way they’ve come down to us in regards to the very nature of oral traditions, the cherry picking of suttas and accounts and also the strange idea of both stripping the divinity of and humanizing Gotama Buddha while also unfolding Batchelor’s idea of his true intent and message as an ideal to strive for a though it were from an infallible source (for instance; his denial that the Buddha may have really believed in reincarnation or karma even though he discusses them throughout the cannon). Regardless, I really love and appreciate the way that he discusses the practice of the dharma as a way of life, a way of living that ultimately brings human flourishing in the here and now and was always meant to be this. I love the mysticism and the traditions of all of the schools of Buddhism but as a westerner brought up in the cultural context that I have been brought up in, I appreciate the ability to share in the ideas and conversation that people like Batchelor are creating about what it means to behold the beauty and profundity of the teachings of Buddhism while also not being a person rooted in the metaphysical worldview of ancient India. I look forward to expanding my understanding, my practice and my involvement in this conversation as it unfolds throughout our era. A very insightful and thought-provoking read. ...more

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Oct 13, 2024 Hugh Simonich rated it it was amazing

Batchelor brought secular Buddhism alive for me - what it means to know and follow the dharma in the modern world. In short, the dharma of secular Buddhism functions as the basis for all of modern day psychology - it is a pragmatic and contextual way of addressing psychological suffering, which involve an awareness of our suffering (manifested as reactivity), an understanding of why we suffer (due to the conditionality of being human), the experience of stopping reactivity, and the cultivation o Batchelor brought secular Buddhism alive for me - what it means to know and follow the dharma in the modern world. In short, the dharma of secular Buddhism functions as the basis for all of modern day psychology - it is a pragmatic and contextual way of addressing psychological suffering, which involve an awareness of our suffering (manifested as reactivity), an understanding of why we suffer (due to the conditionality of being human), the experience of stopping reactivity, and the cultivation of this way of life (the eightfold path). This is the Four Tasks, not the dogmatic, self-evident, claims of the Four Noble Truths to which the Four Tasks were later changed in the history of Buddhism after Gotama's death over 2,500 years ago.

"It is a plea to recover what the dharma has always been about: embracing the suffering of the world, letting go of reactivity, and experiencing that still, clear center from which we respond to the world in ways no longer determined by self-interest alone." p 306

Gotama was a pragmatist. He was not focused on defining "What is", but on "What works", but what works within context, from a framework of compassion, kindness and equanimity. "What is" is what entangles us in a thicket, traps us in a snare. He emphasized not the teacher, but the dharma, the teachable path to transcend reactivity, that is open and accessible to all. The core values of the dharma functions as the framework for humans to flourish and realize ultimate concerns. This is living from the perspective of nirvana - not transcending the world of conditionality, but living in this world functionally, spiritually and prosocially.

"A a pragmatist, what ultimately mattered to Gotama was not whether this or that opinion about reality was true or false but whether the opinion supported or impeded the practice of the fourfold task."..."The practice of mindfulness, for example, is liberated from the dogmatic constraints of Indian metaphysics..." p 304

Batchelor's writing is articulate. He's clear and logically flows from one chapter to the next. He's also a scholar of Buddhist history and philosophy, clearing up the best he can the additions and misappropriations to the historical Buddha and the major players who brought it forward. I loved that.

Batchelor adds another flavor to Buddhist history, philosophy and practice along with authors like Jay Garfield, Robert Wright, Alan Watts and several others. I appreciated his listing of the Ten Theses of Secular Dharma toward the end of the book.

Highly recommend for anyone interested in this subject.

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