I’ve noticed a pattern there of the moderators closing ranks around a type of neo-Abrahamic Buddhist conservatism, allowing only people who share their views to moderate the forum and going so far as to systematically delete open debate or evidence that challenges the strange fundamentalist orthodoxy they’re looking to build on top of the dharma.

Some tenets of this new modernist conservatism being enforced on the subreddit appear to include:

1. One may not be a true Buddhist unless they adopt only the most rigid, literalist, dogmatic understanding of all and every supernaturalist claim found within any Buddhist tradition, and this is the only legitimate way to engage Buddhism

2. All Buddhist traditions and all legitimate interpretations of these traditions share the above requirement, and a basic list of immutable, catholic doctrine which can be used to determine who true Buddhists are

3. Anyone who disputes that all Buddhist traditions require a lengthy list of literalist supernatural beliefs, and thus that all Buddhists must subscribe to them, must be one of two equally evil things:

3.1 If they are a Westerner, they are a colonizer, or even worse, a ‘secular Buddhist’, which amounts to the same thing, as all of these adjectives are inherently disqualifying in their eyes.

3.2 if they’re Asian, they are a ‘Buddhist modernist’, their other favorite thought terminating cliche. The list of prominent, deeply trained traditional masters whose understanding of the dharma is dismissed with this label is lengthy, and now includes the Dalai Lama, Thich Nacht Hanh, and essentially all Japanese Zen masters, to name a few.

4. A deep embarrassment of and even hostility towards the many prominent aspects of various Buddhist traditions which dispute or undermine these positions. A short list of Buddhist subjects they hate to hear brought up or seek hastily to explain away or defang include:

4.1 The Kalama Sutta

4.2 The simile of the raft

4.3 ‘If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him’ / roughly the entire 1200 year history of Chan / Zen remarks in this vein

4.4 The Buddha’s constant injunctions not to cling to his teachings (eg MN 36)

4.5 The idea that the Buddha was merely a human being, as anyone disputing that he was a supernatural wizard is a heretic (see 3.1-3.2).

It would be one thing if these people stuck to defending these inaccurate and harmful premises in the light of day, against the weight of evidence and logic. But rather than defend this list of absurdities in the court of public opinion, they’ve brigaded the largest Buddhist subreddit and delete anyone’s post who challenges these views, seemingly afraid of allowing these conversations to happen naturally, terrified and insistent that skepticism and freethinking are much too powerful foes for the Buddhist traditions to deal with in a direct discussion. In this, of course, they betray a thousand year long history of debate and skepticism within Buddhism, but their objective seems to be to move as efficiently as possible to remake Buddhism into a unitary Catholic dogmatism essentially equivalent to the Abrahamic religions, the blood on whose hands is nearly beyond reckoning.

The main problem is that this is wrong, false, and harmful, and squats over one of the larger landing pages for new Buddhists on the Internet. The only real solution I can think of is raising awareness around it, as the entire clique seems to be very worried about debating their views out in the open.

Is secular Buddhism in accord with historical Buddhism?

https://tibetdharma.com/secular-buddhism/

Sometimes I recently read about and am interested to hear people's thoughts on is the concept of a future incarnation of Buddha- specifically, of someone who has achieved enlightenment, and not actually of the historical person Siddhartha.

As Buddhism (in all branches and version) teaches that any person, or even any living creature, can attain enlightenment, what do you think it would take for this Maitreya version of Buddha, this New Enlightened One to manifest?

Hello all. I'm an Ex-jehovah's witness and I'm a new agnostic atheist. I've explored a few spiritual practices and beliefs and I have an extensive knowledge on world mythology and religion. I actually did not know secular Buddhism existed. I didn't actually know there was a secular Buddhist faction. Are there content creators, books, or sites that explain this world view a little more in detail? What kind of practices are there for secular Buddhists? Are there communities that meet together? Any info would be incredibly helpful. Thank you im advance!

Would you have been dead by now, such as myself? Would you be utterly empty and depressed?

Thanks for answering!

I am writing a fiction story in which one character is buddhist and was doing some historic research into the state of things back then etc.

Anyways - the reason Buddha asked to be cremated was to ensure there would be no relics to deify him with. He apparently taught that when "all traces and relics" of a buddha disappeared, only then could the next buddha be born. And so he asked to be cremated and his ashes scattered to the wind.

Just an interesting thing

I'm a novice to Buddhism and currently experiencing an existential crisis. The concepts of non-self and impermanence have really changed my perspective, making me feel even more empty and nihilistic, as I crave finding my innermost self and the ultimate meaning of life.

Are there any books that deal with Buddhist concepts from an existential perspective? I prefer secular Buddhism and modern/western writings.

Buddha is said to have instructed his followers to travel. The purpose given was not to proselytize, but rather to grow and learn.

What are some places you would like to see/visit, and why?

What benefits do you believe travel holds for us as people, and a buddhists?

Share a bit about how this fits into your own practice.

For me, I consider Right View to be about adjusting my Perspective. I often find myself slipping into negative headspace by having an inaccurate or un-helpful perspective on things.

I might, for example, arrive to a stoplight and begin to be grumpy because the light is red. But, I then have to remind myself that even by calling it a "stoplight" in my head, I am having a wrong perspective. The light does not always stop people, it is green far more often than red, and that no matter what else happens, the light will turn green again, and let me through. Once I correct that perspective, I can widen my view away from myself, and consider all the other people who are traveling through this intersection, who can only do so because I have been paused here temporarily.

And so on.

Buddha taught that often our Perspective about things that happen has more power over us than the events themselves, and I find this to be a stronger truth the more I practice correcting my perspective.

I am posting this message in a bunch of different Reddit posts asking if anyone can complete a survey that I made about destiny and free will. This is for an AP class that I am currently taking and I need as much people as possible to complete it. It won't even take long it takes around 2-3 minutes. (Unless you want to get into detail on certain questions which | will HIGHLY appreciate) Also yes, I am well aware that my survey is highly lacking in many aspects but it's too late to change anything now. https://s.surveyplanet.com/3q2kfxfu P.S / would really appreciate it if anyone could share this with others ASAP!!

Share what these mean to you and how you integrate them into your practice.

Does Buddhism teach that there's no free will?

Do you do mantras throughout the day? Do they help you drown out mental chatter?

This is the first time I have encountered Frank Yang. I don't know much about him, but he seems to be some kind of Buddhist teacher. I found his discussion of dependent origination very persuasive and yes, enlightening. When I follow his argument, my experience of the world seems to dissolve into a kind of fluid state.

Frank Yang: Dependent Origination

Do secular Buddhists have home shrines or altars? My question arises as I am new to the practice of any real Buddhist teachings and while I am religious dogma averse, there are rituals I have seen in Buddhist practices that are both attractive and meaningful to the practice. I am at odds whether to have a simple shrine or not.

And does it truly matter what prayers/chants one performs as long as the intent of compassion and kindness are present?

Or is my dukha showing?

I've been learning more about Buddhism since getting into Recovery Dharma, and was surprised that the book Refuge Recovery (which is also a Buddhist recovery movement like RD) mentions "karmic" consequences for killing insects. In a non-magical way, I understand "karma" as to be the consequences of our actions instead of something to do with reincarnation/rebirth so the objection to killing insects seems pretty ridiculous to me. Is there any secular non-superstitious rationale to not kill insects? Because I get a great satisfaction from killing these damn roaches in my apartment, and I'll stop killing them when there are no more of them left.

Are mindfulness meditation, vipassana and zazen essentially the same? If not, can someone please explain the differences?

Is there any scientific or concrete evidence that following the Buddhist teachings (Mahayana, Theravada, etc) ends suffering?

Sorry for the weird or dumb question. I want to know tho. And english isn't my first language.

This video explores how one might extend feelings of loving-kindness to a range of beings and includes a guided meditation. Any feedback is much appreciated! Thank you for watching!

Link to the video: https://youtu.be/qGr3nUea0ag

For an introduction to metta/loving-kindness, consider starting the playlist from the beginning using this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09LpMEZvsm4&list=PLfL-QuGbMu7QeqPiySajg_7jFhQq2SBRU

For a guided meditation on directing love inward toward oneself click this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0rWsiLY5HU&list=PLfL-QuGbMu7QeqPiySajg_7jFhQq2SBRU&index=2

While it is tempting to think of karma as "payback" or as a reactive force that rewards and penalizes behaviors, this is not in keeping with Buddha's teachings.

Instead, we are meant to understand karma as the ripple effect that our decisions have on others, and on the world as a whole.

With this in mind, consider the choices you are making, and share some of the impact you have had.

The short path I assume is "Non grasping of the 6 senses and non judgemental of the dualities like good and bad, male or female etc".

So this is what I understand from someone who mentioned a Buddhist teacher Buddhadasa. :-

When we feel something from the 6 senses we should feel them and not judge them.

For those who cannot do this should follow the longer part of morality-concentration-wisdom.

Before reading a modern book about this method I want to verify if Buddha actually mentioned this in the suttas. I used to take advices from internet earlier but that didn't help much and more confused so reading Buddha's own words make me understand better.

Or is this just the 4th tetrad of Anapanasati?

If you are interested in the intersection of psychiatry and Buddhism, you might be interested in this interview with Dr. Chencho Dorji, a Bhutanese psychiatrist who is revolutionizing the field of mental health services in Bhutan. He is nothing short of a one-man revolution, introducing scientific ideas and medical treatments for patients with mental disorders, yet also working with Buddhist monks and Bhon Shaman to provide mental health services. He achieved this by locating mental health services in the communities where patients live, by training doctors and community health care works to identify and provide basic mental health services. It's a very long interview, but a fascinating story.

Dr. Dorji, Psychiatrist in Bhutan

Hi all! I put up a 24/7 livestream of my meditation group (Long Beach Meditation)'s dharma talks. You can drop in (and out) at any time, and let the insights come to you. May it serve you well 🙏

🔗 Watch the livestream here

I wanted to spread the word about my meditation group (Long Beach Meditation)'s awesome dharma talks. With teachers from Tibetan, Zen, and Insight backgrounds, there's a wide range of wisdom to explore. Happy listening, and may you be happy!
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKXLxqRlC8MWS05ALDe7Cv-d9kRlK\_rXJ&si=OySe5ocfhkDqpPsy

I'm finally embracing secular Buddhism, but I don't know if I have to abandon my former practices like chanting, prostrating, making offerings, praying to deities, etc.

I have a daily Nianfo/Nembutsu practice. Do I have to abandon that too?

Thanks.

Amishi Jha grew up in a Hindu family where meditation was practiced. She became a neuroscientist who studies the neuroscience and practice of secular mindfulness. https://podcast.mindandlife.org/amishi-jha/