
After Buddhism
Rethinking the Dharma for a Secular Age
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Narrated by:
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Stephen Batchelor
About this listen
Some 25 centuries after the Buddha started teaching, his message continues to inspire people across the globe, including those living in predominantly secular societies. What does it mean to adapt religious practices to secular contexts? Stephen Batchelor, an internationally known author and teacher, is committed to a secularized version of the Buddha's teachings. The time has come, he feels, to articulate a coherent, ethical, contemplative, and philosophical vision of Buddhism for our age.
After Buddhism, the culmination of four decades of study and practice in the Tibetan, Zen, and Theravada traditions, is his attempt to set the record straight about who the Buddha was and what he was trying to teach. Combining critical readings of the earliest canonical texts with narrative accounts of five members of the Buddha's inner circle, Batchelor depicts the Buddha as a pragmatic ethicist rather than a dogmatic metaphysician. He envisions Buddhism as a constantly evolving culture of awakening whose perpetual survival is due to its capacity to reinvent itself and interact creatively with each society it encounters. This original and provocative book presents a new framework for understanding the remarkable spread of Buddhism in today's globalized world. It also reminds us of what was so startling about the Buddha's vision of human flourishing.
©2015 Stephen Batchelor (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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People who viewed this also viewed...
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-
I got the audio book, I listened to it on my 900mi
- By fred on 07-29-23
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The understanding of the nature of reality is the insight upon which the Buddha was able to achieve his own enlightenment. This vision of the sublime is the source of all that is enigmatic and paradoxical about Buddhism. In Verses from the Center, Stephen Batchelor explores the history of this concept and provides listeners with translations of the most important poems ever written on the subject, the poems of 2nd century philosopher Nagarjuna.
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Sublime
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Overall
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Performance
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As the practice of mindfulness permeates mainstream western culture, more and more people are engaging in a traditional form of Buddhist meditation. However, many of these people have little interest in the religious aspects of Buddhism, and the practice occurs within secular contexts such as hospitals, schools, and the workplace. Is it possible to recover from the Buddhist teachings a vision of human flourishing that is secular rather than religious without compromising the integrity of the tradition?
-
-
Good, but repetition of old material
- By Ludwig on 02-25-18
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The Art of Solitude
- By: Stephen Batchelor
- Narrated by: Stephen Batchelor
- Length: 5 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When world renowned Buddhist writer Stephen Batchelor turned 60, he took a sabbatical from his teaching and turned his attention to solitude, a practice integral to the meditative traditions he has long studied and taught. He aimed to venture more deeply into solitude, discovering its full extent and depth. This beautiful literary collage documents his multifaceted explorations. In a hyperconnected world that is at the same time plagued by social isolation, this book shows how to enjoy the inescapable solitude that is at the heart of human life.
-
-
Great idea, mediocre execution.
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- Narrated by: Stephen Batchelor
- Length: 11 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
In his classic Buddhism Without Beliefs, Stephen Batchelor offered a profound, secular approach to the teachings of the Buddha that struck an emotional chord with Western audiences. Now, with the same brilliance and boldness of thought, he paints a groundbreaking portrait of the historical Buddha—told from the author's unique perspective as a former Buddhist monk and modern seeker.
-
-
I got the audio book, I listened to it on my 900mi
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-
Verses from the Center
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- Narrated by: Stephen Batchelor
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- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The understanding of the nature of reality is the insight upon which the Buddha was able to achieve his own enlightenment. This vision of the sublime is the source of all that is enigmatic and paradoxical about Buddhism. In Verses from the Center, Stephen Batchelor explores the history of this concept and provides listeners with translations of the most important poems ever written on the subject, the poems of 2nd century philosopher Nagarjuna.
-
-
Sublime
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-
Living with the Devil
- A Meditation on Good and Evil
- By: Stephen Batchelor
- Narrated by: Stephen Batchelor
- Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the national best seller Living with the Devil, Batchelor traces the trajectory from the words of the Buddha and Christ, through the writings of Shantideva, Milton, and Pascal, to the poetry of Baudelaire, the fiction of Kafka, and the findings of modern physics and evolutionary biology to examine who we really are and to rest in the uncertainty that we may never know. Like his previous best seller, Living with the Devil is an introduction to Buddhism that encourages listeners to nourish their "buddha nature" and make peace with the devils that haunt human life.
-
-
Good ..but really dense
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By: His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and others
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Food for the Heart
- The Collected Teachings of Ajahn Chah
- By: Ajahn Chah
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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This collection brings together for the first time Ajahn Chah's most powerful teachings, including those on meditation, liberation from suffering, calming the mind, enlightenment and the "living dhamma". Most of these talks have previously only been available in limited, private editions and the publication of Food for the Heart, therefore, represents a momentous occasion: the hugely increased accessibility of his words and wisdom.
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You Don't Need to be a Buddhist to Understand Him
- By Mesut on 09-17-16
By: Ajahn Chah
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Buddhism Is Not What You Think
- Finding Freedom Beyond Beliefs
- By: Steve Hagen
- Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
- Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Best-selling author and renowned Zen teacher Steve Hagen penetrates the most essential and enduring questions at the heart of the Buddha's teachings: How can we see the world in each moment, rather than merely as what we think, hope, or fear it is? How can we base our actions on reality, rather than on the longing and loathing of our hearts and minds? How can we live lives that are wise, compassionate, and in tune with reality? And how can we separate the wisdom of Buddhism from the cultural trappings and misconceptions that have come to be associated with it?
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great message, annoying narrator
- By Pamela Radtke on 11-28-19
By: Steve Hagen
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Thoughts Without a Thinker
- Psychotherapy from a Buddhist Perspective
- By: Mark Epstein M.D., His Holiness the Dalai Lama - foreword
- Narrated by: Mark Epstein M.D.
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Upon its first publication, this path breaking book launched an explosion of interest in how Eastern spirituality can enhance Western psychology. Since then, the worlds of Buddhism and psychotherapy have been forged into a revolutionary new understanding of what constitutes a healthy emotional life. In his insightful introduction, Mark Epstein reflects on this revolution and considers how it is likely to evolve in the future.
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Content limited by presentation
- By Kindle Customer on 02-28-15
By: Mark Epstein M.D., and others
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Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond
- A Meditator's Handbook
- By: Ajahn Brahm
- Narrated by: Peter Wickham
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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In Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond, self-described meditation junkie Ajahn Brahm shares his knowledge and experience of the jhanas - a core part of the Buddha's original meditation teaching. Never before has this material been approached in such an empowering way, by a teacher of such authority and popularity. Full of surprises, delightfully goofy humor, and entertaining stories that inspire, instruct, and illuminate, Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond will encourage those new to meditation, and give a shot in the arm to more experienced practitioners as well.
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one in a thousand
- By Yetanotherguy on 11-03-16
By: Ajahn Brahm
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No Self, No Problem
- Awakening to Our True Nature
- By: Anam Thubten, Sharon Roe - editor
- Narrated by: Fred Stella
- Length: 4 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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AnamThubten, in remarkably easy-to-understand language, provides teachings for doing exactly that, based on the wisdom of the Buddhist traditions. He illuminates the path of going beyond the misconceptions of the ego to experience the reality of our true nature, which is already enlightened. He communicates with clarity, humor, and refreshing honesty, lighting the way to a life full of love, compassion, and true satisfaction.
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This book gets a little "preachy"
- By Ammon Anderson on 06-25-15
By: Anam Thubten, and others
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Jhāna Consciousness
- Buddhist Meditation in the Age of Neuroscience
- By: Paul Dennison
- Narrated by: James Anderson Foster
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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An interdisciplinary deep dive into Buddhist jhāna meditation and how it can transform our understanding of self and consciousness.
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Just great
- By Amazon Customer on 12-29-22
By: Paul Dennison
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Being Nobody Going Nowhere
- Meditations on the Buddhist Path
- By: Ayya Khema
- Narrated by: Claire Slemmer, Fajer Al-Kaisi
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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In this lucid classic, beloved teacher Ayya Khema introduces the listener to the essence of the Buddhist path. She addresses the how and why of meditation, providing a clear framework for understanding the nature of karma and rebirth and the entirety of the eightfold path. With specific, practical advice, Ayya Khema illuminates the practices of compassion and sympathetic joy, and offers forthright guidance in working with the hindrances that we all encounter in meditation.
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The only book you will ever need.
- By Andrew on 01-10-17
By: Ayya Khema
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Secular Buddhism
- By: Noah Rasheta
- Narrated by: Noah Rasheta
- Length: 1 hr and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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In this simple yet important book, Noah Rasheta takes profound Buddhist concepts and makes them easy to understand for anyone trying to become a better whatever-they-already-are.
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Dont buy this book!
- By J. Moore on 01-11-20
By: Noah Rasheta
must listen for all traditions
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Spirituality sans the dogma
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great history lesson and insightful
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informative... but, slow and complicated...
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He also explains very well what Buddhist practice is from a rational and secular perspective. As a practitioner I found a lot of the book helpful to my own spirituality. Listening to it added good fuel to how I approach it.
At the same time I believe that some of the book was based on not much more than speculation. Bachelor is obviously trying to build a foundation for his world view, which is liberal, secular and purely rational, devoid of any mystery or the Divine. He constructs multiple arguments for why the passages in the ancient texts that do not fit that worldview are to be neglected or interpreted differently than they appear. In that sense the book functions as apologetics.
Fascinating dive into Buddhism and it's history
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Great synopsis
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This book answered those questions. Questions about the early disciples and information about the evolution of the practice. Stephen batchelor covers all of it.
Such a deep and thorough explanation
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You won't think of Buddhism the same afterward
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A practical approach to history's prime pragmatist
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A contextual view of the Buddha.
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