“In pride we consciously elevate our own standing and concerns and look down upon others as essentially inferior.” — Stephen Batchelor Copy Share Image
“[A] person is formed from a continuum of words and actions over time and cannot be reduced to a fixed “self” that… — Stephen Batchelor Atheism Copy Share Image
...inner spiritual transformation is just as dependent upon the effect of our economic life upon the world as transformations in the world… — Stephen Batchelor Change Copy Share Image
“The collapsing of an empire. This changing word moves inexorably on. Thoughts bubble and the stiller the mind the more palpable the… — Stephen Batchelor Change Copy Share Image
“Every attitude we assume, ever word we utter, and every act we undertake establishes us in relation to others.” — Stephen Batchelor Copy Share Image
“Ironically, the more we crave to possess and dominate the world and others, the deeper and more unbearable becomes the chasm of… — Stephen Batchelor Emptiness Copy Share Image
Erotic names, robes, insignia of office, titles- the trappings of religion- confuse as much as they help. — Stephen Batchelor Copy Share Image
Living from our deepest understanding requires an enormous effort, especially when it goes against the stream of our instinctually programmed perceptions of… — Stephen Batchelor Effort 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
We took a bus to the nearby monastery of one of the last great Tang dynasty Chan masters, Yun-men. Yun-men was known… — Stephen Batchelor Copy Share Image
“Habitually, as we anxiously flee from the responsibility of our existence as a whole, we place our hope in the particular objects… — Stephen Batchelor Fear Copy Share Image
A compassionate heart still feels anger, greed, jealousy, and other such emotions. But it accepts them for what they are with equanimity,… — Stephen Batchelor Copy Share Image
We can be consicous of how we tend to ignore or escape anguish rather than understand and accept it. We can be… — Stephen Batchelor Copy Share Image
“Ignorance is not merely a deficiency of knowledge but, in addition, it positively apprehends reality in a distinctive way. And being a… — Stephen Batchelor Ignorance Copy Share Image
Yet Gotama's Dhamma is more than just a series of axioms. It is to be lived rather than simply adopted and believed… — Stephen Batchelor Copy Share Image
Each time the dharma moved into a different civilization or historical period, it faced a twofold challenge: to maintain its integrity as… — Stephen Batchelor Buddhism Copy Share Image
“We are participatory beings who inhabit a participatory reality, seeking relationships that enhance our sense of what it means to be alive.… — Stephen Batchelor Buddhism 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
“We perceive the world in a particular way and confidently expect it to conform to its appearance. But we fail to recognize… — Stephen Batchelor Reality Copy Share Image
“Being-in-the-world means that I am inextricably knit into the fabric of this fluid, indivisible, and contingent reality I share with others. There… — Stephen Batchelor Another life Copy Share Image
“What is it that makes a person insist passionately on the existence of metaphysical realities that can be neither demonstrated nor refuted?… — Stephen Batchelor Atheism Copy Share Image
“Patience is the specific antidote to anger and hatred. It is an attitude of accepting both the harm caused by others and… — Stephen Batchelor Anger Copy Share Image
The Four Noble Truths are pragmatic rather than dogmatic. They suggest a course of action to be followed rather than a set… — Stephen Batchelor Action Copy Share Image
“I was encouraged to ask in all seriousness what this life is for, what matters most for myself and others, what non-negotiable… — Stephen Batchelor Buddhism Copy Share Image
This body is fragile. It is just flesh. Listen to the heartbeat. Life depends on the pumping of a muscle. — Stephen Batchelor Body Copy Share Image
What is it that makes a person insist passionately on the existence of metaphysical realities that can be neither demonstrated nor refuted? (176) — Stephen Batchelor Atheism Copy Share Image
“By emphasizing doubt rather than belief, perplexity rather than certainty, and questions rather than answers, Zen practice granted me the freedom to… — Stephen Batchelor Buddhism 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 Dogma 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 Abundantly Copy Share Image
Consciousness is an emergent, contingent, and impermanent phenomenon. It has no magical capacity to break free from the field of events out… — Stephen Batchelor Copy Share Image
Agnosticism is no excuse for indecision. If anything, it is a catalyst for action; for in shifting concern away from a future… — Stephen Batchelor Action Copy Share Image
“One needs to be more vitally conscious of what is happening now. This is not to deny the reality of past and… — Stephen Batchelor Buddhism 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
“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
This deep agnosticism is more than the refusal of conventional agnosticism to take a stand on whether God exists or whether the… — Stephen Batchelor Agnosticism Copy Share Image
“The astronaut in his technical and complex machine, effortlessly orbiting the earth, alone and weightless in the emptiness of space, is the… — Stephen Batchelor Astronaut 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
“Mindful awareness is not presented as a passive concentration on a single, steady object, but as a refined engagement with a shifting,… — Stephen Batchelor Awareness Copy Share Image
“p. 62 "...meditation… exposes a contradiction between the sort of person we wish to be and the kind of person we are.… — Stephen Batchelor Meditation Copy Share Image
The individuation of dharma practice occurs whenever priority is given to the resolution of a personal existential dilemma over the need to… — Stephen Batchelor Authority Copy Share Image
![“[A] person is formed from a continuum of words and actions over time and cannot be reduced to a fixed “self” that is either “enlightened” or “unenlightened.” quote by Stephen Batchelor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf3/stephen-batchelor-5328_atheism_a-person-is-formed-from-a-continuum-of-w_1033885.png)
