The problem with certainty is that it is static; it can do little but endlessly reassert itself. Uncertainty, by contrast, is full of unknowns, possibilities, and risks. Stephen Batchelor More Quotes by Stephen Batchelor More Quotes From Stephen Batchelor The art of dharma practice requires commitment, technical accomplishment, and imagination. As with all arts, we will fail to realize its full potential if any of these three are lacking. The raw material of dharma practice is ourself and our world, which are to be understood and transformed according to the vision and values of the dharma itself. This is not a process of self- or world- transcendence, but one of self- and world- creation. Stephen Batchelor our-world commitment art [Mindfulness] is not concerned with anything transcendent or divine. It serves as an antidote to theism, a cure for sentimental piety, a scalpel for excising the tumor of metaphysical belief. (130) Stephen Batchelor sentimental belief mindfulness In taking the everyday details of life for granted, we fail to appreciate the extraordinary fact that we are conscious at all. Stephen Batchelor details-of-life appreciate everyday Without a rigorous, self-critical discourse, one risks lapsing into pious platitudes and unexamined generalizations. Stephen Batchelor discourse risk self In varying degrees, the authority of the dharma was replaced by the authority of the guru, who came, in some traditions, to assume the role of the Buddha himself. Stephen Batchelor degrees assuming roles We took a bus to the nearby monastery of one of the last great Tang dynasty Chan masters, Yun-men. Yun-men was known for his pithy 'one word' Zen. When asked 'What is the highest teaching of the Buddha?' he replied: 'An appropriate statement.' On another occasion, he answered: 'Cake.' I admired his directness. Stephen Batchelor cake teaching men
