Vidyamala shares some thoughts about next Saturday’s free public talk
Well firstly — what is Buddhism? And what do I mean by ‘secular’?
As a Buddhist and also the founder of Breathworks where we teach mindfuness strategies for living with pain and illness, I’m interested in how Buddhism can survive in the modern world and also how the modern world can use the tools of Buddhism to help people with the issues and problems they face.
For example, depression is set to become the leading cause of ill health by 2030. Obviously, all is not well with humanity!
But is what the Buddha taught 2,500 years ago relevant to us in 21st century?
If we take a broad approach by offering a secular expression of the Buddha’s teachings through mindfulness, it is like casting a wide golden net so that different kinds of people can begin a journey of awareness and kindness. This may kindle an appetite for deeper teachings.
But we also need practitioners who are single-mindedly practising traditional Buddhist teachings, so that it doesn’t become just another psychological technique or merely humanist.
And finally …
Will Buddhism survive in a secular world? And if the answer is yes, then what conditions are needed for it to flourish? And what will be the threats as well as the opportunities?
All welcome
All welcome at this 2 pm talk , part of the Buddhism and the Big Questions series
Video clips
Vidyamala talks about some of these issues on our Facebook page — look for Buddhism and the Big Questions at Manchester Buddhist Centre
