Stephen Batchelor - Buddha didnt defeat Mara

[clw_uk]

Hey


Was listening to a very interesting Dhamma talk by Stephen Batchelor today. In it he discusses how the Buddha didnt mean "there is no self", how awakening doesnt mean perfection or a getting rid of greed hatred and delusion and puts forward a case that the Buddha still exp. these things, in a sense Buddha never defeated Mara

He also discusses the Buddhas vision of society, the meaning of Sangha and the institution of Buddhism as not a set but changing thing. He also makes a good point about the danger of the "two truths" doctrine

He also breifly mentions engaged buddhism and rebirth doctrine


Its a really good talk with some interesting points i would recommend it


N.B. The bit about mara and nibbana not being perfection is at 22:00 and the bit about, the two truths being dangerous is at 49:00 onwards and engaged buddhism and rebirth at 55:44 but i would say the whole talk is worth a listen


would love to know what your thoughts are

http://www.dharmaseed.org/talks/wimpy/w ... y/2306.xml


Metta

[thornbush]

I have always taken this man with a pinch of salt ...no more...no less

[sraddha]

who is Stephen Batchelor? Are these guys practitioners or people who meditate for 2 minutes, and think "let me write a book on Buddhism..."

[clw_uk]

who is Stephen Batchelor? Are these guys practitioners or people who meditate for 2 minutes, and think "let me write a book on Buddhism..."

He was a tibetan and zen monk for some years, he is quite well known in buddhist circles

Stephen was born in Dundee, Scotland, on April 7, 1953. He grew up in a humanist environment with his mother Phyllis (b. 1913) and brother David (b. 1955) in Watford, north west of London. After completing his education at Watford Grammar School, he travelled overland to India in February, 1972, at the age of eighteen.

He settled in Dharamsala, the capital-in-exile of the Dalai Lama, and studied at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives with Ven. Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey. He was ordained as a novice Buddhist monk in 1974. He left India in 1975 in order to study Buddhist philosophy and doctrine under the guidance of Ven. Geshe Rabten, first at the Tibetan Monastic Institute in Rikon, Switzerland, then in Le Mont Pelerin, Switzerland, where Geshe Rabten founded Tharpa Choeling (now Rabten Choeling). The following year he received full ordination as a Buddhist monk. In 1979 he moved to Germany as a translator for Ven. Geshe Thubten Ngawang at the Tibetisches Institut, Hamburg. In April 1981 he travelled to Songgwangsa Monastery in South Korea to train in Zen Buddhism under the guidance of Ven. Kusan Sunim. He remained in Korea until the autumn of 1984, when he left for a pilgrimage to Japan, China and Tibet.



He disrobed in February 1985 and married Martine Fages in Hong Kong before returning to England and joining the Sharpham North Community in Totnes, Devon. During the fifteen years he lived at Sharpham, he became co-ordinator of the Sharpham Trust (1992) and co-founder of the Sharpham College for Buddhist Studies and Contemporary Enquiry (1996). Throughout this period he worked as a the Buddhist Chaplain of HMP Channings Wood. From 1990 he has been a Guiding Teacher at Gaia House meditation centre in Devon and since 1992 a contributing editor of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review .



In August 2000, he and Martine moved to Aquitaine, France, where they live in a small village near Bordeaux with their cat Alex. While at home he pursues his work as a scholar, writer and artist. For several months each year, he travels worldwide to lead meditation retreats and teach Buddhism (see Schedule). He is the translator and author of various books (see books) and articles on Buddhism (see Publications) including the bestselling Buddhism Without Beliefs (Riverhead 1997). His most recent publication is Living with the Devil: A Meditation on Good and Evil (Riverhead, 2004). He is currently writing a novel on the Buddha's life based on canonical and commentarial materials in Pali.

http://www.stephenbatchelor.org/stephenbio.html


metta