Stephen Batchelor is a former Buddhist monk who wrote a book that I frequently return to. Actually, it is the book on tape called Buddhism Without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening that I love. It is narrated by Stephen Batchelor, himself.
The book tries to present Buddhism in modern terms, with all the mysticism, mystery, and ancient beliefs extracted out. He points out that the Buddha was an ordinary person and not one of those mystics who claim extraordinary powers and abilities. The Buddha teaches us to embrace everything with clarity and not to believe what he says to be the absolute truth.
You don’t have to be a Buddhist to understand the role of challenges in our lives and how to change them into opportunities. You don’t have to be a Buddhist to look inside yourself and come to terms with the situations you are presented in life.
These words of wisdom from Stephen Batchelor could have come right out of Buddhism Without Beliefs.
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Every situation gives us the opportunity to embrace it with clarity, with understanding, to let go of our habitual reactivity, our dogmatic beliefs, our desires, our fears, to open up to a still, quiet, transparent space in which we somehow come to rest, even for a moment, and from that space, which is not conditioned by grasping, we can respond.—Stephen Batchelor |
A couple of days ago, we saw a quote from Pema Chodron, about giving up addictions. She said, “Starting to wake up is a lot like giving up an addiction.” Embracing everything with clarity helps us to “let go of our habitual reactivity” and give up our addictions.
What are your take aways from Stephen Batchelor’s quote about embracing everything with clarity?
I really enjoy this book and think it would be a valuable addition to anyone’s library. Understanding the Buddha’s teachings in a modern context can actually help you to embrace every situation with clarity.
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