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In this extended episode I suggest a few avenues of exploration concerning the arts as agencies of dialogue and how the arts can offer a model for how inter-religious dialogue might be developed and maintained. I offer some examples of the ways in which artworks and approaches to artmaking and appreciation can be considered as modes of conversation and as vehicles for sharing religious insights and experiences. I also introduce Edmund Burke’s ideas about the ‘sublime’ and suggest how feelings of awe and wonder can be shared experiences within arts and religious contexts. I hope you will find the episode to be interesting and, perhaps, useful.

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In this extended episode, I talk about the ideas and insights of two thinkers, David Hume who lived in the eighteenth century, and Isaiah Berlin, who died in 1997. They both offer us interesting thoughts about human nature, what we mean by ‘the self’ and how to enshrine multiple personal freedoms and rights within a vibrant society. Both writers argue for tolerance and benign scepticism. I also suggest some connections between their ideas and those of Gotama Buddha.

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In this episode I explore some of the issues surrounding educational methods and processes in contemporary Buddhism and suggest changes in perspective and practice that can lead to a more empowering experience for students (and teachers). It seems to me that in the development of secular approaches to Buddhist practice there is much to be learnt from the creative, transformative and egalitarian modes of learning employed within the education of artists. My comments about art education are based on my own experience as an artist and educator working in art schools and universities in the UK. This talk relates particularly to points I made in Episode 33 on creativity and mindful meditation.