Stephen Batchelor

Stephen Batchelor was a buddhist monk in the Tibetan and Zen traditions for ten years. Known for his agnostic and secular approach to the buddhadharma, he has written several books, including the bestselling Buddhism Without Beliefs.

His latest book, Confession of a Buddhist Atheist, came out in March 2010.

Stephen lives in France with his wife Martine Batchelor and teaches seminars and leads meditation retreats worldwide.

In December 2004, he spoke in Wellington at the National Library Auditorium on the topic of his book, Living with the Devil: A Meditation on Good and Evil, and followed that by teaching at a residential retreat together with Martine.

More recently, a series of recorded talks by Stephen formed the basis of a study course in Wellington, along with his virtual presence on the first and final evenings, with a second course taking place during October and November 2007.

He is currently writing a novel on the Buddha’s life based on canonical and commentarial materials in the Pali language.

Upcoming Events

Stephen will be back in New Zealand in November 2010 to teach two retreats with Martine, a study retreat in Taupo and a standard meditation retreat in Methven.

Their programme can be found at http://www.abet.net.nz/batchelor-2010/

Stephen & Martine’s travel costs

Your generosity is sought! Contributing towards Stephen and Martine’s travel costs will reduce the cost of their retreats, making their teachings more accessible to more New Zealanders.

You can make donations through Aotearoa Buddhist Education Trust. To find out how, visit http://www.abet.net.nz/batchelor-2010/.

Resources

Some of his more recent talks are available online at
http://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/169

In April 2009, Stephen gave a talk in London entitled "The Lay Buddhist" which is available for download from
http://www.londoninsightmeditation.org.uk/resources/audio-downloads/

Some talks he gave in New Mexico in October 2009 are available for download from
http://www.abqsangha.org/recordings.html

There are also ten downloadable MP3 talks by Stephen available online at http://www.audiodharma.org/talks/StephenBatchelor.html

About

There are a number of communities and individuals who practise insight meditation, as well as people who teach it, in Aotearoa New Zealand.

This website lets you know who they are and where they can be found, as well as where you can find sitting groups, learn to meditate, and sign up for retreats.

Contact the community or person nearest to you to find out more.

A Thought for Today

The Buddha described his teaching as "going against the stream." The unflinching light of mindful awareness reveals the extent to which we are tossed along in the stream of past conditioning and habit.

The moment we decide to stop and look at what is going on (like a swimmer suddenly changing course to swim upstream instead of downstream), we find ourselves battered by powerful currents we had never even suspected – precisely because until that moment we were largely living at their command.

— Stephen Batchelor