77 min
Talk
What if Buddhists Ran the World? (with Stephen Batchelor and Bing Song)
A panel discussion imagining a secular Buddhist approach applied to public life.
About the teacher
Stephen Batchelor
Stephen Batchelor trained first as a monk in the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism and later in Korean Zen, before leaving monastic life and developing what he calls Secular Dharma: a reading of Buddhist practice that treats it as a practical, this-worldly discipline rather than a religion requiring belief in rebirth or karma, argued most directly in his book After Buddhism.
He co-founded Bodhi College and hosts its Conversation Series from January to May 2026, alongside ongoing Secular Dharma courses and the After Buddhism online course.
“I found it very difficult to 'speak' with these Buddhas and bodhisattvas as though they were quasi-persons with agency.”Stephen Batchelor
Talks & videos
Watch.
Short introductions and longer conversations, to hear this teacher in their own words.
66 min
Talk
The Most Powerful Question I've Heard | The Ezra Klein Show
Batchelor discusses Secular Dharma and Buddhist practice stripped of metaphysical claims.
Path
The wider context.
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Meditation & compassion
Buddhism
From vipassana and Zen to Tibetan Buddhism: mindfulness, wisdom and compassion.
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