From “Buddhist Secularity” to “Secular Buddhism”

Last updated on: March 2, 2017 at 9:38 am by Carl Gregg

From “Buddhist Secularity” to “Secular Buddhism” 2017-03-02T09:38:01-05:00 Carl Gregg

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

(The following is part two of a post from yesterday on “What Comes After Buddhism?” inspired by Stephen Batchelor’s latest book After Buddhism: Rethinking the Dharma for a Secular Age.)

In the theologically conservative congregation of childhood, I was taught that we should seek to restore the norms of the early church to today’s world. In that paradigm, the Bible was seen as the highest authority, and we were taught to reform the world to be in line with so-called “biblical norms.” In seminary, I learned a more balanced approach: that one should preach with the Bible in one hand and The New York Times in the other hand. Today, as a Unitarian Universalist, my bias is more in the opposite direction of my childhood congregation: that the wisdom of the world’s religions should be critically interpreted through reason, science, and experience. This perspective may seem basic to many people in the twenty-first century, but if an orthodox community has formed you, it can be incredibly liberating to affirm that reason, science, and experience are equal to (or more important than) religious hierarchy, community, and tradition.

Along those lines, Batchelor writes:

Just as the term “Tibetan Buddhism” describes the kind of dharma that evolved in Tibet, so, in its broadest sense, would “Secular Buddhism” describe the kind of dharma that is evolving in this secular age. And although many modern Asians are Buddhists who find themselves becoming secularized, I am a secular European finding out what it means to become a Buddhist. We might meet each other on the road, but we are heading in opposite directions. Just as their Buddhism is being challenged by secularity, so my secularity is being challenged by Buddhism. My concern, therefore, is as much about imagining a Buddhist secularity as about imagining a secular Buddhism. We have seen what can happen to Buddhism when it becomes secularized [what is sometimes called “McMindfulness”], but what would happen to a secular perspective inflected by the principles and values of the dharma.? (19-20)

As someone who escaped the dogmas of Christian orthodoxy (but who is still shaped by Jesus’s teaching and ethics in many positive ways that I am grateful for), I have found myself wary of Buddhist orthodoxy and dogma even as I have been increasingly drawn to Buddhist wisdom, ethics, and practice.

Having spent many years embroiled in research and debate regarding various theologies about what the claims around Jesus’ death and resurrection mean, I came to find that such theological debates were at most a side issue for the historical Jesus. Similarly, when I first started exploring the Buddhist tradition in college, I at first had a lot of concerns that in order to fully engage with Buddhism, I had to start believing in metaphysical doctrines such as reincarnation and karma. Over time, I have also come to find that those debates were also not central for Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha (294-296). Just as Jesus of Nazareth cared less about theological debates and more about justice, mercy, and building a beloved community, so too Siddhartha Gautama cared less about metaphysics and more about “embracing the suffering of the world, letting go of reactivity, and experiencing that still, clear center from which we respond to the world in ways no longer determined by self-interest alone” (305-306).

Allow me to be clear that my point is not to dissuade you from exploring the debates around atonement and resurrection or reincarnation and karma if they are compelling to you. Rather, I’m inviting you to consider that these metaphysical and theological debates are optional, not central, to the earliest layers of the Buddhist and Christian traditions, especially from the perspective of Siddhartha and Jesus, who—as we UUs sometimes say—cared more about “deeds than creeds.”

Relatedly, consider the following insight from Batchelor: the core teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, “no longer tied to the religious dogmas and institutions of Asian Buddhism….might help encourage the dawning of a culture of awakening, which may or may not call itself ‘Buddhist.’” I’ve been reflecting on this perspective a lot recently since the practice community that I have been a part of the last few years has recently shifted its name from “Buddhist Geeks” to “Meditate.io.” Buddhist Geeks lasted from 2006 to 2016, and included a popular podcast that was downloaded more than 10 million times. A central question for Buddhist Geeks was “How can we serve the convergence of Buddhism with rapidly evolving technology and an increasingly global culture?” I benefited a lot from being part of exploring that question. But similar to Stephen Batchelor’s perspective in After Buddhism, the creators of Buddhist Geeks chose to drop the name “Buddhist” for their new incarnation of meditate.io. While still influenced by and interested in the Buddhist tradition, the focus is less theoretical and more pragmatic: how to meditate and teach meditation in our twenty-first century world.

Now, there’s a lot more to say about all of that, and certainly there are many other significant ways—both contemporary and ancient—of exploring the Buddhist tradition in today’s world. But I wanted to share a little of how my own practice and perspective is evolving. A related part of what I’ve learned about myself is that it is easier for me to read a book about Buddhism or talk about Buddhism than it is to practice Buddhism. (That dynamic is something called seeking “salvation by bibliography.”) And although I have benefited immensely from studying the Buddhist tradition—and it has helped me avoid some of the pitfalls meditators can encounter—I am seeking a balance these days between secondhand study or talk about Buddhism and cultivating firsthand meditation experiences.

The free smartphone app I have found most helpful to supplement my meditation practice is Insight Timer. A related app called Buddhify is also helpful if you are interested in integrating meditation throughout your day.

The Rev. Dr. Carl Gregg is a certified spiritual director, a D.Min. graduate of San Francisco Theological Seminary, and the minister of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Frederick, Maryland. Follow him on Facebook (facebook.com/carlgregg) and Twitter (@carlgregg).

Learn more about Unitarian Universalism: http://www.uua.org/beliefs/principles

Uncategorized

Previous Post

March 1, 2017

What Comes After Buddhism?

Next Post

March 9, 2017 “The Market as God”: What Happens with a Theologian Starts Reading the Business Section?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Advent Anti-Racism Archaeology Atheism Baptism Best of the Year List Book Reviews Buddhism Catholicism Christian Education Church and State Church Planting Climate Change Conscientious Objection to War Creation Spirituality Death Penalty Didache Disability Rights Discernment Easter Ecology Emergent Church Movement Empire-Critical Ethics Evolution Feminist Theology Film Reviews Gandhi Gospel of Mark Gun Control Hinduism Immigration Reform Interfaith Islam JFK Judaism Jungian Spirituality Lectionary Commentary Lent Letters to the Editor LGBT Marriage MLK Multiculturalism Mysticism Nonviolent Activism Occupy Paganism (Earth-centered Religions) Parables Paul Pluralism Politics Process Theology Quantum Physics Requiescat In Pace Seminary and Divinity School Sermon Series Retrospective Sermons Spiritual Direction Spiritual Practices Stewardship (Fundraising) The Book of J The Wheel of the Year (Paganism) Theoblogger Challenge Triathlon Uncategorized Unitarian Universalism Worship Resources Youth Ministry

Select a Month July 2026 May 2026 March 2026 November 2025 October 2025 August 2025 February 2025 December 2024 October 2024 March 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 August 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 August 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 July 2019 June 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 August 2009 July 2009 May 2009

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

According to Jeremiah 31:31, what did God promise to make with His people?

Select your answer to see how you score.

A new temple A new kingdom A new law A new covenant