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Singing the Dharma?
by Andrew Olendzki Ambapali was a courtesan living in the city of Vesali, and is portrayed in the Pali literature as a woman of considerable wealth and influence. She had been left to die as a baby in a mango (amba) grove, no doubt the illegitimate offspring of influential people, but was discovered and rescued […]
Why *Early* Buddhism?
Letizia Baglioni What follows is part of an ongoing attempt at articulating what is it about the early teachings that makes them unique and relevant, and why it is worthwhile taking the time to undo (or at least relax) some of the meanings and methods we may have inherited from Buddhist schools and teachers, and […]
Beyond scientific materialism and religious belief
Akincano M. Weber Secular Buddhism, a concept still somewhat vague yet emotive, is being exalted or vilified across net and media – and so are its users occasionally. We need to be clear: secular Buddhism is neither Stephen Batchelor’s invention nor the final triumph of scientistic rationalism over religion. History is full of examples of […]
The Secularisation of Buddhism
Reflections on language, culture and social identity
John Peacock The Buddha repeatedly points out in the course of his teaching career that all languages are cultural constructs and that the relationship between the signs that constitute a language, and what is signified by those signs is purely conventional. He also recognized the role that language plays in conditioning what we might refer […]
Reading lists
Below you will find a series of bibliographies (pdf) with recommended reading, grouped according to topics: Essentials – for students of Mindfulness and Buddhist Psychology 12 titles: Buddhist Background – Buddhist Psychology – Four Establishments of mindfulness Early Buddhism and Early Buddhist Teachings Early Buddhism: Translations of Canonical & Paracanonical Pali Texts Other Early Indian […]