“Gotama did for the self what Copernicus did for the earth: he put it in its rightful place, despite its continuing to… — Stephen Batchelor Buddhism Copy Share Image
“We perceive the world in a particular way and confidently expect it to conform to its appearance. But we fail to recognize… — Stephen Batchelor Copy Share Image
“Anxiety, alienation, loneliness, emptiness, and meaninglessness are the fruits of living as an isolated subject admist a multitude of lifeless objects. Although… — Stephen Batchelor Life Copy Share Image
“... We have to constantly confront our deepest anxieties, our emptiness, our despair, our doubts; and there is nowhere for us to… — Stephen Batchelor Copy Share Image
“There is nothing one can have that one cannot fear to lose. Instead of living life in order to have more abundantly,… — Stephen Batchelor Fear Copy Share Image
Buddhism, I think, is probably facing the single most difficult transition from one historical epoch to another, which is really the transition… — Stephen Batchelor Buddhism Copy Share Image
[Mindfulness] is not concerned with anything transcendent or divine. It serves as an antidote to theism, a cure for sentimental piety, a… — Stephen Batchelor Antidote Copy Share Image
The art of dharma practice requires commitment, technical accomplishment, and imagination. As with all arts, we will fail to realize its full… — Stephen Batchelor Accomplishment Copy Share Image
The denial of "self" challenges only the notion of a static self independent of body and mind-not the ordinary sense of ourself… — Stephen Batchelor Ambiguity Copy Share Image
While 'Buddhism' suggests another belief system, 'dharma practice' suggests a course of action. The four ennobling truths are not propositions to believe;… — Stephen Batchelor Action Copy Share Image
“The inner aim of thought is never fully realized until it ripens into vocal utterances through which others can have access- albeit… — Stephen Batchelor Personal experience Copy Share Image
“Our religion, with its beliefs, rituals, and dogmas becomes another segment among all the other segments that constitute our linear and fragmented… — Stephen Batchelor Buddhism Copy Share Image
“For others, however, the significance of anxiety in disclosing a fundamental insight into human existence is grasped. At this point their consciences… — Stephen Batchelor Greater purpose Copy Share Image
“Wisdom that neglects method leads to excessive introversion and an inability to effectively communicate with others. Method without wisdom can produce well-intentioned… — Stephen Batchelor Root cause Copy Share Image
So the Buddha is presenting awakening not as a single mystical experience that may come upon us at some meditation, some private… — Stephen Batchelor Awakening Copy Share Image
“I was more concerned with refining my sense of the sheer mysteriousness of life so that it infused each moment of my… — Stephen Batchelor Buddhism Copy Share Image
The Buddha described his teaching as "going against the stream." The unflinching light of mindful awareness reveals the extent to which we… — Stephen Batchelor Awareness Copy Share Image
“One of the most difficult things to remember is to remember to remember. We forget that we live in a body with… — Stephen Batchelor Acceptance Copy Share Image
“Did I live? The human world is like a vast musical instrument on which we play our individual part while simultaneously listening… — Stephen Batchelor Buddhism Copy Share Image
Evasion of the unadorned immediacy of life is as deep-seated as it is relentless. Even with the ardent desire to be aware… — Stephen Batchelor Aftershock Copy Share Image
“The root of all inauthentic manifestations of being-with-others is the attitude of self-concern. It is in this state of mind that, either… — Stephen Batchelor Authenticity Copy Share Image
“No matter how hard I tried, I was incapable of giving more importance to a hypothetical, post-mortem existence than to this very… — Stephen Batchelor Atheism Copy Share Image
I reject karma and rebirth not only because I find them unintelligible, but because I believe they obscure and distort what the… — Stephen Batchelor Believe Copy Share Image
“The true value of any dogma or belief lies in its ability to point beyond itself to a deeper reality which can… — Stephen Batchelor Faith Copy Share Image