Contentment Here and Now: A Secular Buddhist Spirituality

Dennis Oliver presents the Buddha's program for spiritual awakening in less than 60,000 plain English words. He is convinced that we all can experience spiritual vitality and growth by applying the dharma in ways appropriate to our situations. The author describes dharma as the Buddha's teachings and, ultimately, the realities they point us to. While introducing the Buddha's core teaching, He challenges his readers to explore the Buddha's insights for self-improvement and ultimately self-transcendence, with many helpful questions to help us come to our conclusions. His approach is a practical and flexible introduction to what he terms "The Buddha's Twelve Step Programme for Awakening".

Dr. Oliver explores the foundational Buddhist teachings with a call to personal transformation and growth, with contentment experienced as a byproduct of the journey of awakening, not just the prize at its end. The author shares his own story and others' (ancient and modern) to show the practicality of applying the dharma. The book includes dozens of relevant ancient and contemporary illustrations - both verbal and visual- including some original diagrams. Each chapter ends with provocative questions to consider and a unique picture by movie-maker Ian Noble - all to stimulate personal reflection.

Contentment Here and Now presents a coherent and credible invitation to transformational living, with a radical but achievable path. It includes overcoming common hindrances and finding a way beyond behaviours and understanding that bar the way to progress ('fetters' or straitjackets). While questioning certain aspects of religion, he asserts the advantages of some Buddhist religious practices, such as Going for Refuge rituals and communal affirmations. The book affirms an approach described as secular, pragmatic, spiritual, and cosmopolitan. The author quotes the earliest Buddhist scriptures, often paraphrased, including an entire discourse known as The Deer Park Sermon. He also shares his own story and that of others (ancient and modern), presenting the advantages of some aspects of religion and the importance of transcendent experience.

Dennis Oliver has experience within a variety of Buddhist traditions, but also several decades of Christian ministry in congregations and seminaries. He is currently living as a secular monk ("the world is my monastery"), ordained as Seng Ting by the Order of Pragmatic Buddhism. As such, he has been the co-founder and principal dharma teacher of the Centre for Pragmatic Buddhism in Scotland and a Chaplain at HMP (His Majesty's Prison) Kilmarnock and Dungaval Immigration Removal Centre.