Buddha, Socrates, and Us (Yale University Press, 2025)

A renowned Buddhist teacher turns to two of the most influential figures in history for guidance on how to face the ethical challenges of our time
 
Although they never met, Socrates and the Buddha were almost exact contemporaries, and each addressed in a radically new and surprisingly similar way the core questions of how to lead a good, just, and dignified life amid turbulence and violence. Common to their teachings was an ethics of uncertainty: both men refused to make truth claims about the ultimate nature of reality, and both insisted on the primacy of critical self-evaluation as the basis of an ethical life.
 
In this illuminating book, best-selling author Stephen Batchelor explores the philosophical, social, and political worlds of the Buddha and Socrates, showing how their teachings continue to provide lessons in how to lead a flourishing and engaged life. Keenly aware of the fickle and conflicted nature of the human mind, Gotama and Socrates inspired their followers to act with humility and courage, risk and resolve, doubt and confidence. Drawing on their insights, and those of their followers, Batchelor uncovers a common ground between Buddhist dharma and Greek philosophy that can serve as a starting point for a “secular faith” that addresses the most pressing spiritual and planetary issues of our age.

The Art of Solitude (Yale University Press, 2020)

When world renowned Buddhist writer Stephen Batchelor turned sixty, he took a sabbatical from his teaching and turned his attention to solitude, a practice integral to the meditative traditions he has long studied and taught. He aimed to venture more deeply into solitude, discovering its full extent and depth.
 
This beautiful literary collage documents his multifaceted explorations. Spending time in remote places, appreciating and making art, practicing meditation and participating in retreats, drinking peyote and ayahuasca, and training himself to keep an open, questioning mind have all contributed to Batchelor’s ability to be simultaneously alone and at ease. Mixed in with his personal narrative are inspiring stories from solitude’s devoted practitioners, from the Buddha to Montaigne, from Vermeer to Agnes Martin.
 
In a hyperconnected world that is at the same time plagued by social isolation, this book shows how to enjoy the inescapable solitude that is at the heart of human life.

Secular Buddhism: Imagining the Dharma in an Uncertain World (Yale University Press, 2017)

An essential collection of Stephen Batchelor’s most probing and important work on secular Buddhism

As the practice of mindfulness permeates mainstream Western culture, more and more people are engaging in a traditional form of Buddhist meditation. However, many of these people have little interest in the religious aspects of Buddhism, and the practice occurs within secular contexts such as hospitals, schools, and the workplace. Is it possible to recover from the Buddhist teachings a vision of human flourishing that is secular rather than religious without compromising the integrity of the tradition? Is there an ethical framework that can underpin and contextualize these practices in a rapidly changing world?
 
In this collected volume of Stephen Batchelor’s writings on these themes, the author explores the complex implications of Buddhism’s secularization. Ranging widely—from reincarnation, religious belief, and agnosticism to the role of the arts in Buddhist practice—he offers a detailed picture of contemporary Buddhism and its attempt to find a voice in the modern world.