Buddhist Society of Western Australia

Ajahn Brahmali discusses the place of Buddhism in the context of modern secular society. This talk looks at how as Buddhism comes to the West that it offers an opportunity to look at Buddhism in a historical context and to see what is the essence of Buddhism and what are the cultural accretions that form around that essence. He goes on to also talk about how there is a risk of Western culture diluting the essence of Buddhism. This is what Ajahn Brahmali identifies as "secular Buddhism" developing in the West, which has some useful practices and some that are potentially harmful to the essence of Buddhism.