"I find it strange that many Buddhists seem to think that this world, and what happens in the course of this short life is somehow not as significant or as important as the many lifetimes that will follow after this one and lead us eventually to hopefully Buddhahood or nirvana. Because we really just don’t know that. The only thing we know for sure is that there is life on this planet and it suffers.

…

If I dedicate my life wholeheartedly and fully to alleviating the suffering of this world with no thought whatsoever of any afterlife, or any reward, then when I do die, and if there is another life, I can think of no better way of having prepared for it. And if there is not another life, then I have done whatever I’ve been humanly possible to do, here and now. And that’s the kind of position I would have now. So it’s both agnostic and atheistic. I don’t think the terms are contradictory."

—

Stephen Batchelor

(via sharanam)