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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.
Lotus Sutra 13: We Need Bodhisattvas
We need people who can rub our back and say “it’s ok”, and everything they do is jeweled.
Lotus Sutra, Part 11: A Jewel in Your Coat
A man falls asleep at a party and someone sews a jewel into his coat. Some have done this for you, too. Can you realize your treasures?
Introduction to Meditation: Sometimes Awake, Sometimes Asleep
Sometimes awake, sometimes asleep; sometimes sun, sometimes moon. Michael teaches during a one-day introduction to meditation workshop on how you can turn anything into a practice, even a bike lock.
Lotus Sutra 9: What Ideas Do We Have Lying Around?
Michael talks about Milton Friedman, Emmanuel Levinas, and how when we don’t see another’s face, face to face, it’s easy to kill. This talk happens after Osama Bin Laden’s death and the Canadian election. It goes back and forth between
20-minute Guided Meditation
Michael leads a 20-minute guided meditation beginning with grounding the body, followed by opening to sound, and feeling the breath as an anchor to present experience.
Lotus Sutra, Part 7: Time in the Lotus Sutra
How many kalpas, ages, eons, did the Buddha sit still before he could wake up? Why did it take so long? It takes a while for the light to shine into the darkest places. What is our relationship to time?
The Three Levels of Ethics: Literal, Compassionate, Koan
Recorded on April 7, 2011, on one of the last days of the 6-month ethics course. Following chanting the Heart Sutra, five students present on the five ethical values of the course, and then Michael discusses three ways of thinking
Lotus Sutra, Part 6: The Parable of the Prodigal Son
A son leaves his father and 50 years later the father finds ways of healing the son’s low self-esteem. You don’t have to be good or walk on your knees for a hundred miles, just love what you love.
Lotus Sutra, Part 5: Upaya & The Parable of the Burning House
Michael begins by discussing death and Japan’s earthquake. Using the image of the burning house and a father trying to save his children, he teaches how we need to leave our burning houses on our own steam, nobody can do
Lotus Sutra, Part 4 (Q & A)
Question and answer period with Michael after his talk on the Lotus Sutra, Part 4. None of the teachings are true! Even the ones about your own life.
Lotus Sutra, Part 4
Michael talks about Fukushima, Libya, and how lucky we are to practice in a place that is safe. The talk outlines how Mahayana Buddhism developed after the death of the Buddha with an emphasis on serving others and putting off
In Praise of Copying by Marcus Boon
Contemporary debates about intellectual property and the practices of meditation and yoga are both built around a questioning of ideas of property, ownership, self and other. In this talk, Marcus Boon, writer, journalist and Professor of English at York University
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