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Best of Awake in the World: Save a Ghost!
This week we’re revisiting a favourite Awake in the World podcast episode from a New Year’s retreat. Michael speaks about modern Buddhism as a “culture of awakening,” and then talks on the Zen koan “Save a Ghost.” We are broken.
Obstacles as Traction
In this talk, Michael explains that the way we choose to view the obstacles we encounter in practice can either take us off the path, or allow us to use them as signposts that help us move forward. He argues
Life Is Outsideless
Drawing on several ancient texts, Michael describes practice as a deep investigation into the nature of how things are and how we are—which requires letting go of our tendencies to create categories, cling to preferences, and grasp for the unattainable.
The Lotus Sutra: Where’s the Love?
In this second talk on the Lotus Sutra Michael provides some background about the role the text plays following the emergence of the Mahayana and Tendai traditions, shifting the emphasis from personal liberation to compassion and interdependence. He considers the
Feeling is the Best Technique
This thirty-minute guided meditation focuses on the physical body, and describes how physical choices like setting up the gaze can help to monitor and settle the mind.
Anger and the “Contentious” Heart
In this Awake in the World podcast Michael talks about anger, the R.A.I.N. practice, and how to be more skillful in working with afflictive emotions.
Who is Breathing?
In this thirty minute guided meditation Michael offers an introduction to investigation, using the question “who is breathing.”
Every Breath Is Brand New
A forty-minute guided meditation on the First Foundation of Mindfulness, Mindfulness of Breathing.
The Five Aggregates
In this Awake in the World podcast guest teacher Norman Feldman unpacks part of the Buddha’s First Discourse, with a focus on the ending of dukkha and the five aggregates.
Last Night’s Rain
In this talk Michael considers the first two of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness in terms of the three characteristics (impermanence, interdependence and not-self). He describes how these foundations are techniques we can use to discover and dismantle self-constructed suffering.
Confronting & Managing Our Fears, Part 2
In this Awake in the World podcast Michael provides some background about the “Fear and Terror Sutta” (Bhaya-bherava Sutta) and discusses the importance of mindfulness in coping with fear, dread and anxiety.
This talk, shared in two parts, is an
Confronting & Managing Our Fears, Part 1
In this Awake in the World podcast Michael provides some background about the “Fear and Terror Sutta” (Bhaya-bherava Sutta) and discusses the importance of mindfulness in coping with fear, dread and anxiety.
This talk, shared in two parts, is an
About the Community Library
Michael was a great archivist and the Community Library was—and continues to be—a labour of love. Everything in the Community Library is available for free. Anyone, anywhere can have instant access to material that will help them deepen their practice and contribute to a culture of compassion and collaboration.
Libraries are places where we gather alone together. They are known to be places of refuge for seekers, as well as those who are marginalized. This library is no different. It helps us nourish our beautiful, international community without walls. Now, it will also help keep Michael’s legacy alive.