danny la rouge
More like *fanny* la rouge!
Introduction
This could have gone under Health or under Philosophy, but it’s about a way of thinking, practices and wisdom that I’ve found helpful in working towards better mental harmony and health.
Some of you will know that I’ve struggled with depression for many years now. I have good spells and bad spells, but it’s always been there. On the way back up from my most recent dip, I came across a group of ideas that can loosely be called Secular Buddhism. There is no unified international canon that all Secular Buddhists sign up to, rather it is a variety of ways that people find what is useful from Buddhist wisdom and practice while leaving to one side any metaphysical or supernatural claims that the various traditional schools of Buddhism might put forward.
Awakening
I had tried mediating at various points over the years, and always found my experiences unsatisfactory, as if I was either missing something fundamental, or there was actually nothing useful to be found. In my teens, I tried following Christmas Humphries’ instructions on mediation, and was just baffled. In recent years, I had tried Headspace, and couldn’t work out what on earth the guy was on about. Because of these and other failed attempts, I had, in my cynical way, settled on the latter explanation – there was nothing useful to be found in it.
Then I stumbled across a video by Martine Batchelor and it suddenly made sense to me. It turns out that I was expecting too much straight away, and that it’s actually a far simpler process than anyone had thus far given me to believe. Being willing to give it a try, because I needed a way to find calm in my life, and a way to find equilibrium in my mind, I had finally found a method that looked like it was going to work for me.
Therapeutic value
Having read through a number of books on the ways that modern psychology, neuroscience and therapy find use in meditation and other Buddhist insights, I have to say it makes a great deal of sense, and I’ve found a great deal that has been of practical benefit to me in compassion focused therapy and in books such as Buddha’s Brain. There is stuff here that works. For me at any rate. Though this isn’t a silver bullet, but a process.
Secular Buddhism? Don’t leave it vague for us!
Having said that there’s no one “Secular Buddhism”, the Massachusetts-based Secular Buddhist Association has a set of Guiding Principles, which includes the following:
These seem sensible to me as a starting point for a dialogue or exploration. A jumping off point. Buddhism lends itself to a secular mindset, because there is no creation myth or creator god. But it does have powerful tools that can have real and powerful impact on one’s sense of wellbeing. It’s a way of using the mind to shape the mind, and a way of finding an understandable framework for that project. It’s a way of giving purpose to the goal of training the mind.
Enlightenment
Of course, various traditional schools of Buddhism have supernatural elements. Tibetan Buddhism, for example, is notably burdened with ritual and superstition. But it is possible to find a core of fundamentals common to all schools of Buddhism that are entirely consistent with modern psychology, and which provide a helpful way of seeing yourself and your reactions to the world, and, importantly, of getting yourself into better shape for dealing with what life throws at you.
So, I will not ever believe in literal reincarnation, and I don’t see Enlightenment as meaning anything metaphysical. And while I may not be ready quite yet to call my self “A Buddhist”, I am enjoying the exploration so far. I’m not looking for rational, because I don’t think the human mind is rational. But what I’ve found is a way which makes sense to me of navigating the mind that evolution saddled us with: in the words of Hanson & Mendius, (2009), “a lizard, fighting with a squirrel, fighting with a monkey”.
If anyone’s interest is piqued, I’d be happy for you to join me on the journey. If you just want to call me a hippy, fill your boots, but not on this thread, if you don’t mind.
Some resources:
Secular Buddhism:
Books -
Batchelor, Stephen. (1997) Buddhism Without Beliefs. Riverhead Books.
Batchelor, Stephen. (2010) Confession of a Buddhist Atheist. Random House.
Wright, Robert. (2017) Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment. Simon & Schuster.
(I aim to read more of Stephen Batchelor’s books: I like his writing).
Podcasts –
The Secular Buddhist Podcast: The Secular Buddhist Podcast Archives | Secular Buddhist Association
- From the Secular Buddhist Association, Mass. Hosted by Ted Meissner. I like the style of these podcasts and the host.
Secular Buddhism: Secular Buddhism: 1 - What Is Secular Buddhism? on Apple Podcasts
- Noah Rashetta. Not related to the SBA, and I’m not so keen on his style. But the first 5 podcasts are a good general grounding in Buddhist theory, and there are some good interviews. (Notably with Stephen Batchelor and Robert Wright).
Meditation:
Batchelor, Martine. (2001). Meditation for Life. Wisdom Publications.
Martine Batchelor’s videos on Tricycle: https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/meditation-month-mindfulness/
Apps –
Oak meditation
- Free, basic, cheerful. Does the job.
Insight Timer
- More content, but while there’s plenty of free stuff, the premium product is expensive. (Therefore, I haven’t ventured into the paid-for content).
Therapy and psychology:
Hanson, Rick, and Mendius, Richard, (2009). Buddha’s Brain, the practical neuroscience of happiness, love & wisdom. New Harbinger.
Gilbert, Paul. (2010), The Compassionate Mind. Constable.
- Probably more technically involved than you need, which is why you might want to consider…
Irons, Chris and Beaumont, Elaine. (2017). The Compassionate Mind Workbook. Robinson.
- Like it says: a workbook. Requires you to work through stuff, some of which is emotionally difficult. You may need someone you trust to support you at times.
Kolts, Russell and Chodron, Thubten. (2012). Living with an Open Heart. Robinson.
- Not such a commitment: you can dip in and out.
Buddhism:
Ponlop, Dzogchen. (2011). Rebel Buddha, a guide to a revolution of mind. Shambala.
Skinner, Julian Daizan. (2017). Practical Zen – meditation and beyond. Singing Dragon.
(Skinner has a meditation app, Zenways. It’s free, but I didn’t think much of it personally).
Traditional texts:
The Dhammapada, (2015) Penguin Classics, No. 80. Penguin.
Bodhi, Bhikkhu (ed), (2005), In the Buddha’s Words, discourses from the Pali Canon. Wisdom.
This could have gone under Health or under Philosophy, but it’s about a way of thinking, practices and wisdom that I’ve found helpful in working towards better mental harmony and health.
Some of you will know that I’ve struggled with depression for many years now. I have good spells and bad spells, but it’s always been there. On the way back up from my most recent dip, I came across a group of ideas that can loosely be called Secular Buddhism. There is no unified international canon that all Secular Buddhists sign up to, rather it is a variety of ways that people find what is useful from Buddhist wisdom and practice while leaving to one side any metaphysical or supernatural claims that the various traditional schools of Buddhism might put forward.
Awakening
I had tried mediating at various points over the years, and always found my experiences unsatisfactory, as if I was either missing something fundamental, or there was actually nothing useful to be found. In my teens, I tried following Christmas Humphries’ instructions on mediation, and was just baffled. In recent years, I had tried Headspace, and couldn’t work out what on earth the guy was on about. Because of these and other failed attempts, I had, in my cynical way, settled on the latter explanation – there was nothing useful to be found in it.
Then I stumbled across a video by Martine Batchelor and it suddenly made sense to me. It turns out that I was expecting too much straight away, and that it’s actually a far simpler process than anyone had thus far given me to believe. Being willing to give it a try, because I needed a way to find calm in my life, and a way to find equilibrium in my mind, I had finally found a method that looked like it was going to work for me.
Therapeutic value
Having read through a number of books on the ways that modern psychology, neuroscience and therapy find use in meditation and other Buddhist insights, I have to say it makes a great deal of sense, and I’ve found a great deal that has been of practical benefit to me in compassion focused therapy and in books such as Buddha’s Brain. There is stuff here that works. For me at any rate. Though this isn’t a silver bullet, but a process.
Secular Buddhism? Don’t leave it vague for us!
Having said that there’s no one “Secular Buddhism”, the Massachusetts-based Secular Buddhist Association has a set of Guiding Principles, which includes the following:
Secular Buddhism understands Siddhattha Gotama as a human being, having lived within the cultural context of his time.
Secular Buddhism understands the four noble truths as an accurate, empirical description of the experience of living, and as a methodology of understanding, social behavior, and mental development.
Secular Buddhism is naturalistic, in that it references natural causes and effects, demonstrable in the known world.
Secular Buddhism is form independent, making it flexible for integration into daily life in a variety of cultural contexts.
Secular Buddhism is inclusive, fostering learning and practice across cultural and traditional bounds.
Secular Buddhism values the stories of Buddhist traditions as metaphorical expressions of meaningful and practical lessons.
Secular Buddhism values the texts of Buddhist traditions as tools for study, learning, and practice.
Secular Buddhism values individual preference and creativity on the forms of practice appropriate to them.
Secular Buddhism understands the four noble truths as an accurate, empirical description of the experience of living, and as a methodology of understanding, social behavior, and mental development.
Secular Buddhism is naturalistic, in that it references natural causes and effects, demonstrable in the known world.
Secular Buddhism is form independent, making it flexible for integration into daily life in a variety of cultural contexts.
Secular Buddhism is inclusive, fostering learning and practice across cultural and traditional bounds.
Secular Buddhism values the stories of Buddhist traditions as metaphorical expressions of meaningful and practical lessons.
Secular Buddhism values the texts of Buddhist traditions as tools for study, learning, and practice.
Secular Buddhism values individual preference and creativity on the forms of practice appropriate to them.
These seem sensible to me as a starting point for a dialogue or exploration. A jumping off point. Buddhism lends itself to a secular mindset, because there is no creation myth or creator god. But it does have powerful tools that can have real and powerful impact on one’s sense of wellbeing. It’s a way of using the mind to shape the mind, and a way of finding an understandable framework for that project. It’s a way of giving purpose to the goal of training the mind.
Enlightenment
Of course, various traditional schools of Buddhism have supernatural elements. Tibetan Buddhism, for example, is notably burdened with ritual and superstition. But it is possible to find a core of fundamentals common to all schools of Buddhism that are entirely consistent with modern psychology, and which provide a helpful way of seeing yourself and your reactions to the world, and, importantly, of getting yourself into better shape for dealing with what life throws at you.
So, I will not ever believe in literal reincarnation, and I don’t see Enlightenment as meaning anything metaphysical. And while I may not be ready quite yet to call my self “A Buddhist”, I am enjoying the exploration so far. I’m not looking for rational, because I don’t think the human mind is rational. But what I’ve found is a way which makes sense to me of navigating the mind that evolution saddled us with: in the words of Hanson & Mendius, (2009), “a lizard, fighting with a squirrel, fighting with a monkey”.
If anyone’s interest is piqued, I’d be happy for you to join me on the journey. If you just want to call me a hippy, fill your boots, but not on this thread, if you don’t mind.
Some resources:
Secular Buddhism:
Books -
Batchelor, Stephen. (1997) Buddhism Without Beliefs. Riverhead Books.
Batchelor, Stephen. (2010) Confession of a Buddhist Atheist. Random House.
Wright, Robert. (2017) Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment. Simon & Schuster.
(I aim to read more of Stephen Batchelor’s books: I like his writing).
Podcasts –
The Secular Buddhist Podcast: The Secular Buddhist Podcast Archives | Secular Buddhist Association
- From the Secular Buddhist Association, Mass. Hosted by Ted Meissner. I like the style of these podcasts and the host.
Secular Buddhism: Secular Buddhism: 1 - What Is Secular Buddhism? on Apple Podcasts
- Noah Rashetta. Not related to the SBA, and I’m not so keen on his style. But the first 5 podcasts are a good general grounding in Buddhist theory, and there are some good interviews. (Notably with Stephen Batchelor and Robert Wright).
Meditation:
Batchelor, Martine. (2001). Meditation for Life. Wisdom Publications.
Martine Batchelor’s videos on Tricycle: https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/meditation-month-mindfulness/
Apps –
Oak meditation
- Free, basic, cheerful. Does the job.
Insight Timer
- More content, but while there’s plenty of free stuff, the premium product is expensive. (Therefore, I haven’t ventured into the paid-for content).
Therapy and psychology:
Hanson, Rick, and Mendius, Richard, (2009). Buddha’s Brain, the practical neuroscience of happiness, love & wisdom. New Harbinger.
Gilbert, Paul. (2010), The Compassionate Mind. Constable.
- Probably more technically involved than you need, which is why you might want to consider…
Irons, Chris and Beaumont, Elaine. (2017). The Compassionate Mind Workbook. Robinson.
- Like it says: a workbook. Requires you to work through stuff, some of which is emotionally difficult. You may need someone you trust to support you at times.
Kolts, Russell and Chodron, Thubten. (2012). Living with an Open Heart. Robinson.
- Not such a commitment: you can dip in and out.
Buddhism:
Ponlop, Dzogchen. (2011). Rebel Buddha, a guide to a revolution of mind. Shambala.
Skinner, Julian Daizan. (2017). Practical Zen – meditation and beyond. Singing Dragon.
(Skinner has a meditation app, Zenways. It’s free, but I didn’t think much of it personally).
Traditional texts:
The Dhammapada, (2015) Penguin Classics, No. 80. Penguin.
Bodhi, Bhikkhu (ed), (2005), In the Buddha’s Words, discourses from the Pali Canon. Wisdom.
) has found it useful.
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