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Buddha Before Buddhism 6: Conditioned Arising
Notes on a talk by Michael Stone at Centre of Gravity, July 3, 2013 There are many approaches to meditation. We’re using is called one-pointed attention. You take an object: candle, breath, mantra or sound, and it gives you an
Buddha Before Buddhism 8: Last Words
Notes on a talk by Michael Stone at Centre of Gravity June 23, 2013 Present In the Zen tradition, there is a saying: “Reaching the mystery is nothing but breaking through and grabbing an ordinary person’s life.” The mystical experience
Buddha Before Buddhism 7: Karma
Notes on a talk by Michael Stone at Centre of Gravity, June 16, 2013 Beggar When the Buddha spoke to his people, his group, he used a word that is often translated as “monks.” But the word is “bhikku” which
Reactor
In April 2012, Michael arrives on a pilgrimage to Japan in the wake of the tsunami and Fukushima meltdown to learn how the Japanese are responding to the crisis. Michael speaks with local residents, artists, activists, and researchers about life
The Dark Side of Meditation
Neuroscientist Willoughby Britton and Michael discuss the dark side of meditation.
Buddha Before Buddhism 5: Raft
Notes on a talk by Michael Stone at Centre of Gravity, June 11, 2013 Listening I’m just back from a five-day conference of dharma teachers born after 1960. We come from such different traditions, different identity kits. Our elders built
Buddha Before Buddhism 4: Leaving Home
Centre of Gravity talk, May 28, 2013 Heavy Last week someone made a comment that was cleverly disguised as a question. Can you remember? The question was: why don’t we call the Buddha, Gotama? This is his last name, his
Buddha Before Buddhism 2: Who do you trust?
Notes on a talk by Michael Stone at Centre of Gravity, May 14, 2013 Ourselves The times the Buddha lived in is now called by scholars the Axial Age. One of its primary features is that a new kind of
Buddha Before Buddhism 3: Ancient City
Notes on a talk by Michael Stone at Centre of Gravity, Toronto, May 13, 2013 Strain Religion is an attempt to respond to the strain at the centre of every heart. Every child has a religious feeling. Can you remember?
Buddha Before Buddhism 1: How I Stopped Loving the Ruling Class
Notes on a talk by Michael Stone at Centre of Gravity, Toronto, May 6, 2013 Three Pictures In the next few weeks, I’d like to explore the Buddha’s teachings before they turned into Buddhism. Let’s begin with three pictures. In
Bodhisattva 9: Anger
Transcribed talk by Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara Originally published by The Village Zendo When we begin sitting, we are often immediately relieved that we’ve finally sat down and started to practice. We settle into the quiet and we bliss out
Bodhisattva 8: Anger
Notes on a talk by Michael Stone at Centre of Gravity, February 25, 2013 Celeste Celeste wrote an email that I’d like to excerpt. It goes like this: “I had a question I was hoping you could shed some light
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.