Secular Buddhism presents a detailed description of lived experience gained by disciplined empirical observation from the first person subjective perspective that is consistent and accessible, with emphasis on invariant structures and transferable across multiple traditions. It's key characteristics are as follows:
It's Humanist, emphasizing the value and potential in human beings collectively an
d individually. Pragmatic, this worldly problem solving with real world applications. Skeptical, encourages questions and critical thinking, calling for a continuous and courageous investigation into the nature of phenomena. Autodidactic, a process of self learning with you and your subjective experience as your teacher. Individualist, no dependence upon external authorities. Buddha emphasized self-responsibility and urged his students to engage the teachings critically. Non-Theist, it not a belief system in the manner of the great faiths. Rather its a system of self directed volitional habituation in; ethical development, mental cultivation and philosophical wisdom. We're all shaped, formed, conditioned by the causal forces and experiences of our lives. What we think we become, it shapes and transforms us in the same way a skilled potters hands alter and shape the form of the clay. With this in mind we seek to take hold of the rudder and chart a new course for ourselves by implementing the prescription the Buddha's presented to us
Four Truths:
1 – There is Suffering
2 – Caused by Deluded Craving
3 - But, it can be Overcome
4 – By cultivating the Eightfold Path
The Eightfold Path
1 – Right View: To learn to see that everything's ruled by cause and effect, that it's impermanent, not really us, and unsatisfactory in the end. To come to see the 4 truths in our own lives and how to use them as perspective points in our own experience.
2 – Right Intent: To act with goodwill, harmlessness, and non-clinging. Abandon intentions based on attachment to sense cravings and selfishness. Develop intentions based on friendly kindness, compassion and sympathetic joy.
3 – Right Speech: Avoid speech that is false, quarrelsome, hurtful, divisive, untimely, malicious, or idle. Engage in speech that is helpful and beneficial to all.
4 – Right Action: Refrain from doing harm to living beings, taking what's not given freely, sexual misconduct, and intoxication to heedlessness. Perform acts of friendly kindness, compassion, and sympathetic joy.
5 – Right Livelihood: Whenever possible, refrain from careers which require the violation of Right Speech and Action and engage in careers which allows or encourage Right Speech and Action.
6 – Right Effort: Cultivate the skillful mental states you already possess (mental states of friendly kindness, compassion and sympathetic joy) and seek to acquire more. Seek to eliminate unskillful mental states you currently possess (mental states of craving, aversion & delusion), and prevent the arising of any more.
7 – Right Mindfulness: KCKC – Keep Calmly Knowing Change. Develop mindful awareness of the changing and impermanent nature of material form, feelings, mental formations, phenomena. (5 Hindrances; craving, aversion, restlessness & worry, sloth & torpor, doubt)
8 – Right Concentration: developing concentration, immersive one pointedness of mind. Stillness, unity, union.
