About SBT

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“To embrace the ideal of compassion is to embrace the ideal of community.”
~ Venerable Tarpa

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SBT - The Secular Buddhist Tradition

SBT, the Secular Buddhist Tradition, is an international spiritual community established by Venerable Tharpa. A community dedicated to Secular Buddhism and the timeless wisdom of the Buddha. A community committed to kindness, wisdom, and personal development. A community bound together through shared path and aim, that of awakening.
SBT presents the Buddha’s teachings as neither a religion nor an exotic belief system, sharing a practical presentation focused on the positive life-affirming message of the Buddha while emphasizing those aspects that we deem most illuminating, plausible, and fruitful. The aim of SBT is to inform and guide without sharing presumptions of what to believe.
SBT is founded upon the time-honored Buddhist principle of open and continuous investigation and remains in line with the basic framework of traditional Buddhism, namely the cultivation of the Four Noble Truths, virtuous ethics, wisdom, and altruism. However, it differs in its move away from religious authority, dogma, absolutism, and the more religious, mystical, and cultural content presented in traditional Buddhism. SBT is open to all forms of Buddhist thought and non-Buddhist disciplines as well, while maintaining an enduring appreciation for the countless masters who have contributed to the world of Buddhist thought.

What is Secular Buddhism

Secular Buddhism is currently becoming a popular and valued approach to Buddhist thought. It can be understood as a unique approach to the study and practice of the Buddha’s teachings aimed at clarifying and demystifying them by lifting them out of their presumed religious, mystical, and cultural context. Secular Buddhism is a more objective and rational approach to the Buddha’s teachings, seeking to reinterpret them through fresh eyes, skeptical not of the Buddha's words but of the thousands of years of interpretation and embellishment laden upon those teachings.
The Secular Buddhist view is strongly agnostic. A view that maintains a balance between the truth and benefits of the Buddha’s teachings, and the mystery and uncertainty of life. A perspective that understands the contingent and tentative nature of knowledge, that knowledge is fragile, ever-changing, and often deeply subjective, existing in a state of constant evolution, always striving towards greater levels of certainty and clarity.

"Just as a goldsmith would test his gold by burning, cutting, and rubbing it, so must you examine my words before accepting them, but not merely out of reverence for me.” ~ The Buddha

“It’s ok to study Buddhism secularly without studying it religiously; for creating mental discipline requires no faith commitment.” ~ The Dalai Lama

“Do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. All systems of thought are guiding means; they are not absolute truth.”
~ Thich Nhat Hanh

"I see Buddhism as a constantly evolving culture of awakening rather than a religious system." ~ Stephen Batchelor

Our Teacher

Venerable Tenzin Tarpa is the founder and director of SBT – The Secular Buddhist Tradition. A fully ordained Buddhist monk and student of The Dalai Lama, Venerable Tarpa is a teacher, author, and philosopher with nearly three decades in Buddhist studies, including a decade in Buddhist monasteries in India.
In 2010, Ven. Tarpa took formal monastic ordination with His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India. While seeking novice ordination, His Holiness offered him the rare opportunity to receive both novice ordination and full ordination the same day. Following ordination, Ven. Tarpa accepted an invitation to be the first Westerner to study at the renowned Gyudmed Tantric Monastic University in South India. Learn more…

SBT Staff

Tenzin Karma (Robyn Trinkle)
SBT Media Coordinator
SBT Volunteer Coordinator

Tenzin Ngawang (Mike Heffner)
SBT Skillful Recovery Coordinator
SBT Meditation Coordinator

Tenzin Passang
SBT Sangha Coordinator
Facilitating, promoting, and inspiring the SBT sangha.

Tenzin Rinchen (Carlos García)
SBT Lay Ordained Coordinator
Facilitating the studies of our Lay Ordained Community

Tenzin Samten (Ian Ellis)
SBT Skillful Living Support Coordinator
Facilitating the study and flourishing of the SBT Skillful Living Lifestyle

Tenzin Tashi (Darcy Lopez)
SBT Facebook Coordinator

Tenzin Wangmo (Jennifer Sulton)
SBT Bodhisattva Coordinator
Facilitating the studies for those who have taken bodhisattva vows,

SBT Certified Meditation Instructors

— Finland —
Mine Öğretir
Espoo, Finland
mine.ogretir@icloud.com

— Germany —
Stefan Seitz (Tenzin Sonam)
Munich, Germany
stefanseitz87@gmail.com

— India —
Ravi Pawar (Tenzin Jampa)
Delhi, India
balajiamusement@gmail.com

— Ireland —
Suzan Hazer
Dublin, Ireland
suzan.hazer@gmail.com

— Italy —
Alberto Balducci
Pistoia, Italy
albalducci@gmail.com

—Scotland —
Brian Pearson (Tenzin Sangpo)
Fort William, Scotland
peary71@gmail.com

Sharon Pearson (Tenzin Sangmo)
Fort William, Scotland
mrsshazip@gmail.com

— Spain —
Carlos García (Tenzin Rinchen)
Madrid, Spain
tenzin.rinchen.sbt@gmail.com

— South Africa —
Chantel Miles (Tenzin Wangchuk)
Gqeberha, South Africa
chantel.miles@hatsutocho.com

— South East Asia —
Tenzin Samten (Ian Ellis)
South East Asia
tenzin.samten2023@gmail.com

— Turkey —
Ziya Cosar (Tenzin Jamyang)
Istanbul, Turkey
ziyacosar@gmail.com

— UK —
Adam Lowe (Tenzin Gelek)
Manchester, England
adam@adam-lowe.com

Neil Sargent (Tenzin Jamyang)
Polesworth Warwickshire, England
nsargent683@googlemail.com

Rob Barnatt (Tenzin Sangye)
Derbyshire, England
robert.barnatt@hotmail.com

Tom Ray (Tenzin Jinpa)
Cannock, England
thomasray_uk@yahoo.co.uk

— United States —
Beth Simpson (Tenzin Tara)
Kirkland, Washington, USA
Beth-simpson@live.com

Darcy Lopez (Tenzin Tashi)
St. Paul, MN USA
TenzinTashiSBT@gmail.com

Jennifer Sulton (Tenzin Wangmo)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
TenzinWangmoSBT16@gmail.com

Robyn Trinkle (Tenzin Karma)
Jacksonville, North Carolina, USA
tenzinkarmasbt@gmail.com

Mike Heffner (Tenzin Ngawang)
Mishawaka, Indiana, USA
Ngawang@mheffner.com

Nigel Nicholson (Tenzin Tinley)
North Carolina, USA
NigelNicholson@outlook.com

Sharon Gilliam (Tenzin Palmo)
Wichita, Kansas, USA
breathinginmindfulness@gmail.com

Tenzin Chana Dorje (Karl Vonderheyde)
New Jersey, USA
sbt.von@gmail.com

Tenzin Pema (Karen Quinby)
Indiana, PA, USA
Tenzin.Pema.SBT@gmail.com

Yoli Gonzales (Tenzin Nyima)
Boise, Idaho, USA
iolanayoli@gmail.com

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