[Buddha-l] Batchelor

[JKirkpatrick]

Joy:
I can't see how SB can get by without mythical, metaphysical...
teleological notions? What is motivating him, what does he want
to achieve? What is his perspective? 

JK:
As Batchelor says in the book, his goal is to live a full and
peaceful human life, as he sees it.
He favors science, so the mythical and the mystagogic don't
appeal to him because they cannot be validated empirically.

He still thinks of himself as some kind of a Buddhist (so not
dumping the self-identification "label"), which is shown also by
the company he keeps--like video retreats on Tricycle and around
the world appearances. His dedication and courage are impressive.
On the Tricycle page there's a link to him debating reincarnation
with Thurman, who trots out the usual 'proofs' and arguments,
which Batchelor either quietly demolishes or simply doesn't reply
to.
 
If anyone ever called him a heretic, it must have been some lama.
However, so far nobody has posted a source for that claim, so
maybe it never happened. He'd not be bothered anyway.

Joanna