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Bring Me Something That Isn’t Medicine
Michael Stone opens a silent retreat talking about seeing everything as medicine and how meditation teaches us how to practice intimacy, even with old wounds.
Beginner’s Mind 6: Throw Up and Bow
Bow How do we bow? Our hands are in anjali mudra. Anjali is a Sanskrit word meaning prayer. We bring both palms together so we can feel both sides of the body. The palms are a fist distance from the
Beginner’s Mind 5: How to Sit is How to Act
Just Die Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind is a collection of talks given by Shunryu Suzuki in the 1960s. Let’s boil it down like an overzealous cook. If the book were a slogan it might read: Express yourself right to the
Beginner’s Mind 4: Grateful for the Weeds
Below the belt is uddiyana bandha. Above the belt is pizza. When you sit you’ll start to see that the intimate details of your life is what your practice is all about. Never mind about nirvana – it was all
Beginner’s Mind 3: Appreciation
Isn’t that a wonderful and simple thing? Brown rice practice. Simple. Nothing added. Are we here to gain enlightenment? Are we here to be free? Or are we here to appreciate our lives? Or, is there a difference?
Beginner’s Mind 2: Spare Time (Hahahaha)
Zen can be quite a performance sometimes. Especially when the teacher is letting one fireball after another out of their mouth. But Shunryu Suzuki (author of Beginners Mind, Zen Mind) speaks in a more modest way. When he’s done there’s
Beginner’s Mind 1: Taking Care of Each Other
Prologue to Zen Mind, Beginners Mind by Shunryu Suzuki In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few. People say that practicing Zen is difficult, but there is a misunderstanding as to why. It
My Practice, My Snake
The Buddha famously compared his teachings to a snake. A snake? My dharma, he said, is like an elephant, like a raft, like a city. Like a snake. He is speaking in the language of his time. It’s fourth century
The Secret of Pleasure
1st Prelude Sometimes my unconscious puts the breaks on and says: let’s stop here. For the last month, it’s been 14th century France. Every dream is set in a small village, and the really cool thing is that I finally
Burning House: Betrayal as Innovation by Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara
The Lotus Sutra is the most treasured text of East Asian Buddhism – in China, Japan and Korea it is central. It is an ur-text, regarded much as the bible is here, the literary roots of so much writing that
Include Everything by Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara
Today I want to speak to you about the koan, “Seizei, A Poor Monk.” Seizei, a monk, once said to Master Sozan, “I am poor and destitute. I beg you, oh Master, please help me and make me rich.” Sozan
Creative Engagement by Martine Batchelor
I would like to look at grasping and non-grasping and what I would call creative engagement. Yesterday we were talking about nama factors, omnipresent factors, we won’t go into the details because it’s a little technical, but what is very
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.