What the heck . . . ? ‽ !

A secular approach to the dharma has been emerging gradually in the west in recent years. Looking to retrieve the original inspiration of Siddhattha Gotama, the man we now know as the Buddha, it suggests that we bypass the monastic add-ons that have obscured the original teachings since the Buddha’s death and re-root the practice in the context of modern western ways of life and thought.

The intention for this website is to encourage face-to-face and online conversation around the kinds of practices that might constitute a contemporary approach to the Buddha’s teachings and a flow of ideas around them, and to create secular Buddhist community in whatever forms this may take.

Focusing largely on the practice of meditation and the four great tasks that Gotama set out (usually referred to as ‘The Four Noble Truths’), a secular dharma offers a framework for a more mindful and compassionate life.

Awakening in the context in which we find ourselves – 21st century Aotearoa New Zealand – this framework is in essence a pragmatic programme for human flourishing which dispenses with metaphysical beliefs and religious truth-claims.

You are encouraged to take part in this conversation.

For overseas visitors who’d like to know where exactly Aotearoa New Zealand is, this is where you can find us: