Meditation and the post‐secular condition

Abstract

This paper looks at the links between meditation practice and the post‐secular turn in the wider domain of culture. The latter is a multi‐faceted phenomenon, and the article focuses on one of its facets—namely the assertion of immanence over transcendence. This calls for a reinterpretation of the habitual opposition between secularism and religion. Meditation is often embedded in either a religious or secular framework, with contemporary forms increasingly of the latter kind. A third way is suggested, in favour of a meditation practice that acknowledges the post‐secular turn. This is particularly called for at a time when secularist forms of meditation such as mindfulness have been decontextualised to the extent of undermining the ethical context of meditation. The approach championed here builds on the phenomenological experience of meditation and on some aspects of the teachings of Dōgen Zenji in thirteenth‐century Japan.

A “random group of misfits” or being “part of something bigger”? Exploring experiences of attending a non-religious congregation

“…The origins of meditation are religious, the practice of “just sitting” has origins within Taoist, Hindu and Buddhist religious practices (Bazzano, 2019 ). However, the practice of mindfulness has been, in some cases separated from religious and adopted by some sectors of the secular world, including Sunday Assembly.…”

Meditation, critical psychology, and emancipation

“…MBSR has gained great popularity, and has also received numerous critiques from both social critical and Buddhist perspectives. According to social criticism (Bazzano, 2014(Bazzano, , 2017(Bazzano, , 2019a(Bazzano, , 2019bPurser, 2019), if we regard meditation merely as an individual stress-reduction method, it can bolster self-centredness. Therefore, it can become an ideology and practice which reinforces oppressive and alienated social relations, and supports reactive forces of control, efficiency, and uncritical adaptation, instead of active forces of emancipation.…”

“…According to critics from the Buddhist perspective, MBSR takes out meditation from its original context, where it is emphasised that it is a communal practice, and the connection with the community of practitioners, the teacher, and all living beings forms an essential part of it (Bazzano, 2014(Bazzano, , 2019bDalai Lama & Alt, 2017;Trungpa, 2013aTrungpa, , 2013bTrungpa, , 2013c. Buddhist teachings emphasise the phenomena of interdependence; that nothing exists on its own, in separation, but only in relation to other existents (Bazzano, 2009(Bazzano, , 2017.…”