Secular Buddhism Without the Beef: A Contemporary Conversation on Awakening | Doug Smith
Channel: Clear Mountain Monastery
Date: 2024-01-09

In this interview, Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho have a friendly and informative conversation with Doug Smith of the popular YouTube Channel “Doug’s Dharma”.
00:00:00 Intro
00:00:21 Bio of Doug Smith
00:01:33 What is secular Buddhism?
00:06:01 How has your concept of secular Buddhism changed over the last couple of decades?
00:08:43 Bridging the gap: Traditional vs. secular Buddhism in the Modern World
00:15:31 Contrasting Belief, Conviction and Evidence: Exploring the role of Agnosticism vs Rejection in Buddhism
00:21:24 Dhamma Gems: Unexpected Insights from Deep Dives
00:25:07  Historical mirroring of feudal power evident in Vajrayana and Buddhist forms like the horizontal, decentralized structures of secular practice
00:30:16 Can a Secular Dhamma Order Flourish? Exploring Possibilities for Lay Monastics
00:35:48 Practical Dhamma for Everyday Relationships and Responsibilities
00:40:15 How Spiritual Bypassing might occur in a Secular Buddhist context
00:42:48 Wholesome vs Unwholesome or Unrealistic Leveling 
00:48:36 Key Differences between the Western Philosophical Tradition and what came from the East and Buddhist teachings
00:54:11 Plato’s Hidden Mysticism: Unveiling the Unsung Dhamma Echoes in Western Thought
01:00:18 Socrates' gadfly role highlights the importance of feedback in both ancient and modern practice circles and about Plato’s Academy.
01:06:44 Buddhism and AI: Talking to ChatGPT if there is no Teacher
01:08:45 Conclusion
01:09:18 Outro
Doug Smith's Biography:
Doug Smith is the creator and namesake of the popular YouTube channel Doug's Dharma (https://www.youtube.com/dougsseculardharma). He is a contributor to the Journal of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies and the Oxford Handbook of Buddhist Ethics. He holds a PhD in philosophy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has many years of practice in the Zen and Insight traditions. As well as being the Founder and Director of the Online Dharma Institute (https://onlinedharma.org/), he also held the position of Study Director at the Secular Buddhist Association (https://secularbuddhism.org/) and in addition to his YouTube channel, Doug hosts the lively podcast "Diggin' the Dharma" with Jon Aaron. To learn more about Doug, visit: https://www.dougsdharma.com/

Tune in with fellow practitioners every Wednesday evening from 6 - 6:45 pm or Saturday morning from 9:30 am - 11 am for a Dhamma Talk and Q&A with Ajahn Kovilo or Ajahn Nisabho. Saturday mornings begin with a thirty-minute meditation. Wednesday evening Q&A's are followed by a discussion on Zoom from 6:45 pm - 7:30 pm. See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_monastery for details. Welcome!