Stephen’s new book, "Confession of a Buddhist Atheist", tells the story of his thirty-seven-year quest to understand the meaning of Buddhism. It recounts his life as a monk in India and Korea and concludes with his search to discover the historical Buddha. Stephen talks about the writing of the book and reads selected passages.
When we don't trust who we are, we are unable to be at home in our world. This talk explores how we come to be at war with ourselves and the pathway to realizing our basic goodness.
Mindfulness of the body is absolutely fundamental for our practice and was for the Buddha, both a starting point and an end point. We explore (1) why mindfulness of the body is crucial both in the Buddha's teaching and especially in our highly mental culture; (2) how we practice mindfulness of breathing and mindfulness of postures and activities; and (3) how mindfulness of the body works to transform us.
Why our dear doomed attempts to be well need revising, and how nourishing our spirits while Staying, Loving, Opening and Wondering are the strategies that actually bring wellbeing by clearing the dust away.
It is important to learn the meditation technique, but to adhere too strictly to the form of the practice can mask self-doubt. Risking doing it wrong begins the "art" of practice, and insight develops within the art of quiet observation free from the pressure of failure.
