Four Ennobling Truths for Contemporary Westerners: Buddhist Talk with Matt Fritts and Andrew Alwood

Andrew and Matt present an alternative, agnostic, and pragmatic perspective on the foundational Four Noble Truths, influenced by Stephen Batchelor's ideas in Buddhism Without Beliefs, in which he reconstructs Buddhism for a contemporary Western audience and adapts old ideas to changing circumstances.
The Four Ennobling Truths are phrased as actions that can orient our lives: (1) Understand anguish, (2) Let go of reactivity, (3) Experience and realize freedom from reactivity, and (4) Cultivate the path toward a culture of awakening. This modern reframing of the Truths as actions can empower us to expand our approach to meditation practice beyond a formulaic set of procedural instructions, toward a more personalized, generative, and creative process.
Andrew Alwood is a lecturer in moral philosophy at University of Richmond, and Matt Fritts is a Well-Being Specialist at UVA and member of IMCC's Guiding Teachers Council. Both Andrew and Matt are DJs on WTJU and members of IMCC's Expanding Light Sangha.
Insight Meditation Community of Charlottesville (IMCC) is dedicated to the practice of mindfulness awareness, also known as Insight or Vipassana Meditation. IMCC provides a full program of weekly meditation, ongoing classes, daylong programs, and retreats.