Confession of a Buddhist Atheist, Stephen Batchelor
Confession of a Buddhist Atheist, Stephen Batchelor
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Confession of a Buddhist Atheist

Author: Stephen Batchelor

Narrator: Stephen Batchelor

Unabridged: 11 hr 46 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 11/08/2022


Synopsis

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 listening for anyone interested in Buddhism.

About Stephen Batchelor

Stephen Batchelor is a former monk in the Tibetan and Zen traditions and the author of books including Alone with Others, The Faith to Doubt, The Awakening of the West, Buddhism Without Beliefs, and Living with the Devil. He lives with his wife, Martine, in southwestern France, and lectures and conducts meditation retreats throughout the world.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Travis on April 04, 2010

First, I should say a brief word about the title: Buddhism is an atheistic religion, so being a Buddhist atheist is not anything at all unusual. Now, granted, many sects of Buddhism believe in various deities and spirits; however, one of the key teachings of Siddhattha Gotama (Batchelor uses the Pal......more

Goodreads review by Rebecca on October 07, 2013

Atheism is NOT About You Really, it’s not. It is not an affront to your existence. It is about science. It is about questioning and searching for answers. It is about thinking for oneself. For the God-themed issue of Zen Dixie, I read three books on atheism. No, these books did not provide me with any......more

Goodreads review by robin on March 05, 2025

Secular Buddhism One of the attractions that Buddhism has offered to Westerners is the opportunity to pursue a nontheistic spiritual life outside the contours of traditional Judaism or Christianity. Thus, the title of Stephen Batchelor's recent book, "Confessions of a Buddhist Atheist" (2010) is prov......more

Goodreads review by Nandakishore on January 10, 2016

This we may term the fundamental posture of the Buddhist mind. The serious commitment of the Occidental mind to the concerns and value of the living person is fundamentally dismissed, as it is in Jainism, and in the Sankhya too. However, the usual Oriental concern for the monad also is dismissed. Th......more

Goodreads review by Caitlin on February 17, 2011

Not since Chogyam Trungpa's "Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism" has an analysis of Buddhism had such a profound effect on me. Part spiritual autobiography, part scholarly text. Batchelor's monastic journey led to studies and work with many important teachers (the Dalai Lama, for one). But his qu......more