---
title: "1 Buddhist Teachings Quotes By Stephen Batchelor"
description: "1 Buddhist Teachings quotes by Stephen Batchelor. Plus more from Stephen Batchelor and more Buddhist Teachings sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/502/stephen-batchelor-5328_atheism_no-matter-how-hard-i-tried-i-was-incapab_494354.jpg"
---

> [“No matter how hard I tried, I was incapable of giving more importance to a hypothetical, post-mortem existence than to this very life here and now. Moreover, the Buddhist teachings and practices that had the most impact upon me did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/no-matter-how-hard-i-tried-i-was-incapable-of-giving-more-importance/)

[Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/502/stephen-batchelor-5328_atheism_no-matter-how-hard-i-tried-i-was-incapab_494354.jpg)

## More by Stephen Batchelor

> [“Gotama did for the self what Copernicus did for the earth: he put it in its rightful place, despite its continuing to appear just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/gotama-did-for-the-self-what-copernicus-did-for-the-earth-he-put-it/)

[Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/)

> [“We perceive the world in a particular way and confidently expect it to conform to its appearance. But we fail to recognize that certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/we-perceive-the-world-in-a-particular-way-and-confidently-expect-it/)

[Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/)

> [“Anxiety, alienation, loneliness, emptiness, and meaninglessness are the fruits of living as an isolated subject admist a multitude of lifeless objects. Although our scope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/anxiety-alienation-loneliness-emptiness-and-meaninglessness-are-the/)

[Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/)

> [“... We have to constantly confront our deepest anxieties, our emptiness, our despair, our doubts; and there is nowhere for us to escape and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/we-have-to-constantly-confront-our-deepest-anxieties-our-emptiness/)

[Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/)

> [“There is nothing one can have that one cannot fear to lose. Instead of living life in order to have more abundantly, live life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/there-is-nothing-one-can-have-that-one-cannot-fear-to-lose-instead-of/)

[Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/)

> [Buddhism, I think, is probably facing the single most difficult transition from one historical epoch to another, which is really the transition to modernity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/buddhism-i-think-is-probably-facing-the-single-most-difficult/)

[Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/)

> [ \[Mindfulness\] is not concerned with anything transcendent or divine. It serves as an antidote to theism, a cure for sentimental piety, a scalpel for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/mindfulness-is-not-concerned-with-anything-transcendent-or-divine-it/)

[Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/)

> [The art of dharma practice requires commitment, technical accomplishment, and imagination. As with all arts, we will fail to realize its full potential if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/the-art-of-dharma-practice-requires-commitment-technical/)

[Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/)

> [The denial of "self" challenges only the notion of a static self independent of body and mind-not the ordinary sense of ourself as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/the-denial-of-self-challenges-only-the-notion-of-a-static-self/)

[Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/)

> [While 'Buddhism' suggests another belief system, 'dharma practice' suggests a course of action. The four ennobling truths are not propositions to believe; they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/while-buddhism-suggests-another-belief-system-dharma-practice/)

[Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/)

> [“The inner aim of thought is never fully realized until it ripens into vocal utterances through which others can have access- albeit indirect- to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/the-inner-aim-of-thought-is-never-fully-realized-until-it-ripens-into/)

[Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/)

> [“Our religion, with its beliefs, rituals, and dogmas becomes another segment among all the other segments that constitute our linear and fragmented existence. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/our-religion-with-its-beliefs-rituals-and-dogmas-becomes-another/)

[Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/)

> [“For others, however, the significance of anxiety in disclosing a fundamental insight into human existence is grasped. At this point their consciences will never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/for-others-however-the-significance-of-anxiety-in-disclosing-a/)

[Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/)

> [“Wisdom that neglects method leads to excessive introversion and an inability to effectively communicate with others. Method without wisdom can produce well-intentioned but naive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/wisdom-that-neglects-method-leads-to-excessive-introversion-and-an/)

[Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/)

> [So the Buddha is presenting awakening not as a single mystical experience that may come upon us at some meditation, some private moment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/so-the-buddha-is-presenting-awakening-not-as-a-single-mystical/)

[Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-batchelor/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhist-teachings/stephen-batchelor/#itemlist",
            "name": "1 Buddhist Teachings Quotes By Stephen Batchelor",
            "numberOfItems": 1,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "“No matter how hard I tried, I was incapable of giving more importance to a hypothetical, post-mortem existence than to this very life here and now. Moreover, the Buddhist teachings and practices that had the most impact upon me did so precisely because they heightened my sense of being fully alive in and responsive to this world.”",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Stephen Batchelor"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-batchelor/no-matter-how-hard-i-tried-i-was-incapable-of-giving-more-importance/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/502/stephen-batchelor-5328_atheism_no-matter-how-hard-i-tried-i-was-incapab_494354.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/502/stephen-batchelor-5328_atheism_no-matter-how-hard-i-tried-i-was-incapab_494354.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/502/stephen-batchelor-5328_atheism_no-matter-how-hard-i-tried-i-was-incapab_494354.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“No matter how hard I tried, I was incapable of giving more importance to a hypothetical, post-mortem…” — Stephen Batchelor",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhist-teachings/stephen-batchelor/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhist-teachings/stephen-batchelor/",
            "name": "Buddhist Teachings Quotes by Stephen Batchelor",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhist-teachings/stephen-batchelor/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/502/stephen-batchelor-5328_atheism_no-matter-how-hard-i-tried-i-was-incapab_494354.jpg"
            },
            "description": "1 Buddhist Teachings quotes by Stephen Batchelor. Plus more from Stephen Batchelor and more Buddhist Teachings sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhist-teachings/stephen-batchelor/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhist-teachings/stephen-batchelor/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Buddhist Teachings",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhist-teachings/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Stephen Batchelor",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhist-teachings/stephen-batchelor/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```