Jay Forrest On Secular Buddhism

This is an introduction to Daoism (Taoism). Daoism is a philosophy and religion of China that arose in the 5th century BCE. The Daode Jing and Zhuangzi are two of the best known works of classical Daoism. The Dao is the way of nature, its rhythm and flow. Daoism emphasizes a return to nature, naturalness, and the simple life.

This is an introduction to Buddhism, the Buddha, the Four Noble Truths, and the Eightfold Noble Path. The Four Noble Truths are the noble truth of suffering, the noble truth of the origin of suffering being thirst, the noble truth of the ending of suffering, and the noble truth of the way leading to the end of suffering, which is the Eightfold Noble Path (right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration). References Buddha, The. The Connected Discourses of the Buddha, translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2000. p. 1844

Religion is a belief and value system with a way of life and spiritual practices for awakening, transformation, and flourishing, aiming to find meaning and significance in relation to the sacred. Religion two flavors: Theistic and Nontheistic, and two spheres: Communal and Personal.

Can spirituality be defined naturalistically? I believe that it can and must be so defined. In Christianity, spirituality is about cultivating an awareness of one's connection with God. In Buddhism, and other naturalistic religions, spirituality is about cultivating a deeper and wider awareness of one's connection with reality.

If you care about the truth, skepticism is the tool to discover it. "A skeptic," writes Paul Kurtz, "is one who is willing to question any claim to truth, asking for clarity in definition, consistency in logic, and adequacy of evidence." Skepticism is great as a tool, but destructive as a worldview. Nobody can live skepticism.

This the the last episode of the podcast, I am moving to a new domain - JayForrest.org - Please write that down. I will be ending this podcast and launching a new one. Please not that all links and old podcast episodes will eventually go away. In order to follow me, you will need to visit - JayForrest.org - on September 1st.

McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality, is a new book by Ronald E. Purser, who is a Professor of Management at San Francisco State University. What the book doesn’t tell you, is that Mr. Purser (2019) is an “ordained Zen Dharma Teacher in the Korean Zen Taego order of Buddhism.” The book is basically a neo-maxist criticism of the mindfulness movement in general, and Jon Kabat-Zinn in particular. As I point out in this episode, the mindfulness movement has its issues. But this book uses Jon Kabat-Zinn as the whipping boy for unfair, uncharitable interpretations, and ad hominem attacks. I argue that mindfulness isn’t a religion, it’s a tool. Don’t expect mindfulness to do what only religion can do. References Purser, Ronald. 2019. McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality. London: Repeater Books. Purser, Ronald. 2019. “Ronald Purser, Ph.D.” San Francisco State University. Accessed July 18, 2019. https://cob.sfsu.edu/directory/ronald-purser

It was only after I created Bodhidaoism that I thought, “Wow, I created a religion.” Then I thought, “Wow what arrogance. I mean, who do I think I am to be the founder of a religion.” The next thought was, “Wow, what ignorance.” I know better than anyone how unqualified I am. But no one else is doing this. No one else is setting out to create a personal religion based on scientific naturalism. I had no choice, there were no other options. And furthermore, it is inevitable. Everyone creates their own religion, though usually it is just a version of the one they grew up with.

Epistemology is a branch of theology that is concerned with the study of knowledge, or coming up with a theory of knowledge. The long standing definition of knowledge has been that it is justified true belief. Then came along what has been called the Gettier problem. This brought the definition into question. Another difficulty is that there is no certainty that any belief about the external world is true. That would mean that we can never be sure whether something is knowledge or not. My solution is to define knowledge as justified reliable belief.

We are living in a time where there are so many different views of reality that it is hard to tell what’s true. In fact, many people have given up. Life is meaningless to them. What’s the point. But there is a way out of the meaning crisis. We have to begin by deciding on a methodology and then apply it ruthlessly. Reality may not turn out how we life. But if we want tp find meaning in the real world then we have to face reality as it is.

I am turning 55 today. In this episode I do some reflecting on my spiritual journey and my path from Christianity to Buddhism. June 21st is also the celebration of Buddhism in Bodhidaoism’s Wheel of the Year. I talk a little about the problems of Christianity and Buddhism. I also reflect on what Buddhism means to me and why I consider Bodhidaoism kind of like a Buddhism 3.0.

What is scientific naturalism? Scientific naturalism is the view that, based on the evidence, the natural world is all there is, and that science is the best means of knowledge about this world. Scientific naturalism is the foundation on which Bodhidaoism is built. If you don’t agree with scientific naturalism, then Bodhidaoism is not the spiritual path for you. Bodhidaoism is the only systematic personal religion that is based on scientific naturalism which incorporates the best insights of various religions and philosophies.

Nature has a rhythm, and we should be in tune with it, by following the movement of the Sun. The Wheel of the Year has its roots in Paganism, celebrating the Winter and Summer Solstice and the Spring and Fall Equinox, and halfway points between these. These eight points match perfectly with the Eight Wisdom Traditions of Bodhidaoism. In the Bodhidaoist Wheel of the Year we celebrate one Wisdom Tradition on each of these eight solar points. Bodhidaoist Wheel of the Year Dec 25 - Christianity Feb 2 - Jainism Mar 21 - Daoism May 1 - Epicureanism Jun 21 - Buddhism Aug 1 - Stoicism Sep 21 - Confucianism Oct 31 - Paganism Simple Ceremony (Need: a Candle and Grape Juice) “I (we) take a moment to remember the teachings of _(Wisdom Tradition)_and the light it gives to me (us)." [Light the candle, pause for reflection] “I (we) drink in honor of _(Wisdom Tradition)_, May I (we) use its teachings wisely in my (our) path of awakening." [Drink the Juice] OPTIONAL: [Sit down for a meal] “I (we) give thanks to all beings for bringing this food to my (our) table, and vow to respond in turn to those in need with wisdom and compassion. May I (we) eat mindfully.” [After the meal, blow out candle]

Psychospiritual growth is development “of, involving, or relating to the interrelation of the mind and spirituality” (OED). It involves two types of growth, personal growth and spiritual growth. Personal growth has three basic stages of dependence, independence, and interdependence. Interdependence has two substages, social and cosmic. Spiritual growth has to do with the growth of consciousness and it has three stages of subconscious, self-conscious, and superconscious. Superconscious is that awareness “transcending” what we would call “normal consciousness” (OED).

An introduction to transpersonal psychology and its amazing scope, as well as its pros and cons. Transpersonal psychology can be defined as “the psychological study of transpersonal experience and their correlates. These correlates include the nature, varieties, causes, and effects of transpersonal experiences and development, as well as the psychologies, philosophies, disciplines, arts, cultures, life-styles, reactions, and religions that are inspired by them, or that seek to induce, express, apply, or understand them.”1 Notes 1. Roger Walsh and Frances Vaughan, Paths Beyond Ego: The Transpersonal Vision (New York: Penguin, 1993), p. 3-4.