Collected Wheel Publications Volume XXI

Alone With Others

Stephen Batchelor

The author of Buddhism Without Beliefs bridges the gap between Western and Eastern philosophy with this humanist approach to Buddhism. This uniquely contemporary guide to understanding the timeless message of Buddhism, and in particular its relevance in actual human relations, was inspired by Shantideva's Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way Of Life, which the author translated into English, the oral instructions of living Buddhist masters, Heidegger's classic Being and Time, and the writings of the Christian theologians Paul Tillich and John MacQuarrie. "The text is written with unusual clarity of style, making difficult matters readily accessible . . . It fills a serious gap in the dialogue between East and West, and does so in the most sensitive, most intelligent, and most careful way . . . Batchelor's strategy—to use the Western disciplines in order to make Buddhism accessible to the Westerner—is, I think, highly successful. The book makes a fine introduction." —David Michael Levin, Department of Philosophy, Northwestern University "Magnificent-inspiring! . . . This excellent book has come to me personally as an illuminating text, despite my close on sixty years' concern with Buddhism . . . [Batchelor's] approach is likely to appeal to many categories of readers who have hitherto never considered Buddhism as having great relevance to themselves." —John Blofeld, from the Foreword

Buddha, Socrates, and Us

Stephen Batchelor

A renowned Buddhist teacher turns to two of the most influential figures in history for guidance on how to face the ethical challenges of our time The Buddha’s revolutionary teachings transformed Asia, and his contemporary Socrates laid the foundations of Western philosophy. Although they never met, Socrates and the Buddha each addressed in a radically new and surprisingly similar way the core questions of how to lead a good, just, and dignified life amid turbulence and violence. Common to their teachings was an ethics of uncertainty: both refused to make truth claims about the ultimate nature of reality, insisting on the primacy of critical self‑evaluation as the basis of an ethical life. In this illuminating book, best-selling author Stephen Batchelor explores the philosophical, social, and political worlds of the Buddha and Socrates, showing how their teachings continue to provide lessons in how to lead a flourishing and engaged life. Keenly aware of the fickle and conflicted nature of the human mind, Gotama and Socrates inspired their followers to act with humility and courage, risk and resolve, doubt and confidence. Drawing on their insights, and those of their followers, Batchelor uncovers a middle way between Buddhist dharma and Greek philosophy that can serve as a starting point for a “secular faith” that addresses the most pressing spiritual and planetary issues of our age.

Buddhism without Beliefs

Stephen Batchelor

A national bestseller and acclaimed guide to Buddhism for beginners and practitioners alike In this simple but important volume, Stephen Batchelor reminds us that the Buddha was not a mystic who claimed privileged, esoteric knowledge of the universe, but a man who challenged us to understand the nature of anguish, let go of its origins, and bring into being a way of life that is available to us all. The concepts and practices of Buddhism, says Batchelor, are not something to believe in but something to do—and as he explains clearly and compellingly, it is a practice that we can engage in, regardless of our background or beliefs, as we live every day on the path to spiritual enlightenment.

Confession of a Buddhist Atheist

Stephen Batchelor

Does Buddhism require faith? Can an atheist or agnostic follow the Buddha’s teachings without believing in reincarnation or organized religion? This is one man’s confession. 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 readers. 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. Drawing from the original Pali Canon, the seminal collection of Buddhist discourses compiled after the Buddha’s death by his followers, Batchelor shows us the Buddha as a flesh-and-blood man who looked at life in a radically new way. Batchelor also reveals the everyday challenges and doubts of his own devotional journey—from meeting the Dalai Lama in India, to training as a Zen monk in Korea, to finding his path as a lay teacher of Buddhism living in France. Both controversial and deeply personal, Stephen Batchelor’s refreshingly doctrine-free, life-informed account is essential reading for anyone interested in Buddhism.

Living with the Devil

Stephen Batchelor

Stephen Batchelor's seminal work on humanity's struggle between good and evil In the national bestseller 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 bestseller, Buddhism without Beliefs, Living with the Devil is also an introduction to Buddhism that encourages readers to nourish their "buddha nature" and make peace with the devils that haunt human life. He tells a poetic and provocative tale about living with life's contradictions that will challenge you to live your life as an existence imbued with purpose, freedom, and compassion—rather than habitual self-interest and fear.