Podcast
Latest Podcast Episode
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or SoundCloud // Support the podcast on Patreon
The joke used to be that every time Michael opened his mouth what he said was archived here. We couldn’t be more grateful for that now because it is one of the best ways Michael’s teachings will live on.
The Awake in the World Podcast is the heart of the Community Library. Talks are on a wide-range of topics, including: bringing mindfulness and meditation practice into daily life; personal and community issues regarding mental health; and social change.
This podcast has been created so that anyone can have instant access to Michael’s teachings. It has been made possible due to generous donations from members of the community. In the six years that the podcast has been available, over half a million people have pressed play as a way to be more—like the name says—awake in the world.
Each podcast is between 30-60 minutes long. As always, you’re encouraged to follow along weekly as part of your practice. The podcasts were recorded at live events so you might hear coughing, airplanes, cars, sirens, laughter, and peoples’ questions—all part of the intimate experience.
Best of Awake in the World: Fear, Dread & Anxiety – The Buddha in the Forest
This week we’re revisiting a favourite Awake in the World podcast episode. On retreat, Michael speaks about the Buddha’s instructions for practicing alone in the wilderness, how past actions haunt the body, how to turn towards anxiety, and a moving
Working with Wanting
In this talk to clinicians Michael focuses on mindfulness of feeling (the second foundation) and in particular, the feeling of wanting or craving.
Best of Awake in the World: The Creative Task of Performing One’s Life
This week we’re revisiting a favourite Awake in the World podcast episode. Michael provides a reflection on the retreat with Stephen and Martine Batchelor. He speaks to making a practice of our lives where all our roles, our actions are
The Secular Buddha: Part Seven
Martine Batchelor explains and explores ceremonial offerings in Korean Zen practice. Martine Batchelor, a former Buddhist nun, studied Zen Buddhism under the guidance of Kusan Sunim and is the author of several books.
The Secular Buddha: Part Six
Stephen Batchelor reflects upon secular Buddhism and revisits the Four Noble Truths, primary Buddhist ideals, assumptions, and dogmas.
The Secular Buddha: Part Five
Martine Batchelor leads a meditation practice based on a Korean technique, using the question “What is this?” as an object to come back to.
The Secular Buddha: Part Four
In this talk Stephen Batchelor muses about the Buddha’s “breakthrough” and his embrace of first person analysis (based on attention, introspection and reason) to reveal a fundamentally contingent world.
The Secular Buddha: Part Three
Guest teacher Martine Batchelor explains how the point of contact between sense and sense object is the moment when the choice between grasping and not grasping takes place. Not grasping allows for creative engagement—an attitude of stability and openness, so
The Secular Buddha: Part Two
In this podcast guest teacher Stephen Batchelor asks “What did the Buddha awaken to?” Drawing largely on the Buddha’s First Sermon (Turning the Wheel of Dharma) he elucidates the Four Truths, the actions required by them and the cyclical, processual
The Secular Buddha: Part One
Guest teacher Stephen Batchelor explains his interest in Secular Buddhism, which returns the word “secular” to its etymological root, “saeculum,” meaning “this age” or “at this time in this world.” He describes some of the historical and societal circumstances surrounding
A Performed Meditation
This Awake in the World Podcast features guest speaker Christopher House, who was the artistic director of the Toronto Dance Theater for twenty-five years (he retired in 2020). He describes his studies with the American experiential choreographer Deborah Hay (author
Embodying the Buddha’s Teachings
In this podcast episode, Michael introduces the bodhisattva path and the paramitas. The bodhisattva ideal is you at your best – rather than simply a code of ethics, it is the cultivation and realization of your particular form of creativity,
Support the Library
The Community Library will continue as long as we have supporters. The more support we have, the more we can ensure that the teachings Michael left behind can be available for free to anyone in the world.