As Buddhist ideas and practices find their way into the lives of those who are not Buddhists by birth and have little interest in converting to a religion, how can we envisage a Dharma that both remains true the earliest texts while addressing the concerns of secular modernity in a comprehensive and rigorous way?
Stephen Batchelor will reflect on these questions by drawing on his own work as a writer, teacher and artist.
Stephen Batchelor is a contemporary Buddhist teacher and writer, best known for his secular or agnostic approach to Buddhism. Stephen Batchelor considers Buddhism to be a constantly evolving culture of awakening rather than a religious system based on immutable dogmas and beliefs. Through his writings, translations and teaching, he engages in a critical exploration of Buddhism's role in the modern world, which has earned him both condemnation as a heretic and praise as a reformer.
His most recent publications are After Buddhism and Secular Buddhism (both published by Yale University Press).