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.
A Civilizing Practice
Michael explores Patanjali’s teachings on samadhi (Pada 1, 41-51) and points out that if practice becomes too self-focused and too centered on achieving “special” mind states it can be easily co-opted by social forces like institutionalized greed, hatred and delusion.
Uncovering the Roots
In this deep dive into the first four lines of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra Michael talks about the nature of awareness and the goals of yoga.
Waiting for a Ride
Starting with a poem by Gary Snyder, Michael explores the Fourth Pada of the Yoga Sutra and argues that without the experience of a solid meditation practice it cannot be comprehended. Patanjali, he says, “is leaving you speechless.” But waiting
Best of Awake in the World: Forgiveness
This week we’re revisiting a favourite Awake in the World podcast episode from a New Year’s retreat. A tender and personal talk Michael gives during silent retreat about his father, forgiveness, and how we need to practice forgiveness all the
Best of Awake in the World: Love – Sometimes We Can Really Show Up
This week we’re revisiting a favourite Awake in the World podcast episode. An hour before New Year’s Michael gives a quiet talk on the Heart Sutra and Forgiveness. “When I hold someone’s hand as they are dying I chant the
Best of Awake in the World: Being Independent in our Practice
This week we’re revisiting a favourite Awake in the World podcast episode from a New Year’s retreat. Michael Stone talks on silent retreat about how meditation works over the long-haul, how to practice with a teacher that encourages independence, and
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.
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.