The Middle Way Society was founded to promote the study and practice of The Middle Way. The Middle Way is the idea that we make better judgements by avoiding fixed beliefs and being open to practical experience. We challenge unhelpful distinctions between facts and values, reason and emotion, religion and secularism or arts and sciences. Though our name is inspired by some of the insights of the Buddha, we are independent of Buddhism or any other religion. We seek to promote and support integrative practice, overcoming conflict of all kinds.
Marina Cantacuzino, journalist and founder of the Forgiveness Project on forgiveness and the Middle Way. This talk was given on Zoom on 19th April 2020, as part of the Virtual Festival of the Middle Way. It is followed by questions from the audience.
Iain McGilchrist, author of ‘The Master and his Emissary’, and Stephen Batchelor, author of books on secular Buddhism, draw on their personal experiences of appreciating and practising the arts to discuss the ways in which they can contribute to our inspiration and development. Both they and some members of the audience share some moving examples of moments of inspiration from the arts. This video was recorded on Zoom at the Virtual Festival of the Middle Way, 18th-19th April 2020. The chair is Robert M. Ellis.
Carl Jung’s Red Book contains an extraordinary personal account of engagement with archetypal figures in a series of induced visions. Robert M. Ellis, who has a forthcoming book on the subject, explains how it can also be an inspiring resource for the Middle Way. This talk was given on Zoom on 19th April 2020, as part of the Virtual Festival of the Middle Way. It is followed by questions from the audience.
In this talk Stephen Batchelor highlights the two main existential threats facing humanity and the planet today, namely the Climate Emergency and the Corona Virus crisis. These are both explored within the wider contexts of Buddhism and the Middle Way
This talk was given at the Virtual Festival of the Middle Way, conducted on Zoom on 18th April 2020, with Barry Daniel as chair.
Meditation and mindfulness are spreading through society, prompting talk of a ‘Mindfulness Movement’. Drawing on Vishvapani’s experience of both Buddhism and Mindfulness, this talk suggests that – for all the movement’s limitations – these developments represent a significant new focus on the mind and mental states that has the potential to create a new kind of social change.
Vishvapani Blomfield is the Buddhist contributor to Thought for the Day and the author of ‘Gautama Buddha’. He works with the Welsh Government on bringing the mindfulness into the Welsh Health and Education systems.
This talk was given at the Virtual Festival of the Middle Way, conducted on Zoom on 18th April 2020, with Nina Davies as chair. The talk is followed by discussion.
