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Best of Awake in the World: Blending Traditions: Yoga & Buddhism
A community talk at Tassajara Monastery with Michael Stone & Zen teacher Paul Haller. They each share some of their biography and field Q&A about practice. Paul shares from his 40 years of Zen practice.
Best of Awake in the World: 20 min. Guided Meditation: Feeling the Sensations of the Body
Nothing needs to be refused. Let the breath travel the body without picking up speed. The clouds of thought haul across the sky. Let them come and go. Let the breath move the way blood moves: let it find its
Best of Awake in the World: Mindfulness & Social Action: Towards a Secular Spirituality
In this thoughtful and powerful talk, Michael unpacks the transformative act of sharing the untold stories—the ones that challenge the status quo. He weaves together pressing global issues like climate change, economic disparity, and the erosion of human connection, offering
Best of Awake in the World: Betrayal, Awakening, and Living in a Burning House
Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara talks about the Lotus Sutra and the parable of the burning house. Even in the world of the dharma we can get caught up with playthings and forget that we’re living in a burning house. It
Best of Awake in the World: Introduction to Meditation: Sometimes Awake, Sometimes Asleep
Michael teaches a one-day introduction to meditation workshop on how you can turn anything into a practice, even a bike lock. Sometimes awake, sometimes asleep; sometimes sun, sometimes moon.
Best of Awake in the World: Aim & Allow: How Mindfulness of Breathing Helps Us Manage Expectations
In this Best of episode, Michael explains how the meditation we need is the “initial application of attention,” then “sustained application” so that we cultivate a spacious field in which thoughts and sensations can come and go. Sometimes blessings are
Best of Awake in the World: Mindfulness, Memory, and Fantasy
Looking at early Pali texts, Michael tries to recover the original and fuller meaning of mindfulness from its current usage in the west. “Mindfulness establishes the presence of the object and thereby makes it available to scrutiny and discernment.”
Best of Awake in the World: Raw Fear is a Dot in Space
In this Best of episode, Michael reflects on how more people seem to be afraid of uncertainty than they are of physical pain. If we do something about our own pain, we can connect with the pain of others. 50%
Best of Awake in the World: Love, Death, And Oak Trees In The Garden
While on silent retreat, Michael Stone reflects on the Zen koan “Oak Tree in the Garden,” exploring meditation as a politics of love. He also shares a moving account of the Buddha’s final moments.
Best of Awake in the World : Making Friends with Your Mind
In this insightful episode, Michael delves into how the mind works, the benefits—and limitations—of meditation, and why it’s not always the right fit for everyone. He explores karma, the psychology of delayed gratification, and touches on topics like borderline personality.
Best of Awake in the World: How We Rescue Each Other
Michael begins with talking about finding simplicity in meditation practice; stepping back from the details of thinking to notice the subjective experience of awareness; and then he launches into a discussion about grieving and loss and how we can never
Best of Awake in the World: Strain in the Heart
Do you have a mind that can meet what’s unpleasant? In this deeply reflective talk from October 30, 2012, Michael Stone explores the inner tension that draws us to the path of practice. He weaves together insights from Carl Jung,
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.