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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.
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
Not Being Possessive and the Gift of Fearlessness
Michael gives a talk during the in-person ethics course about the precept of aparigraha and using our imagination. Recorded at Centre of Gravity, Toronto, on March 17, 2011.
Lotus Sutra, Part 3 – Skill and Wisdom
It’s not enough that our intentions are clear, our actions need to make a difference. Being a Bodhisattva means serving all beings including one’s self, yet this can only occur when we see all beings as Buddhas.
Lotus Sutra, Part 2
Michael introduces the first section of the Lotus Sutra where the Buddha casts a light from the centre of his eyebrows and wakes up 18,000 worlds. Is this a reminder that the light of the awakening goes everywhere, leaving nothing
Lotus Sutra, Part 1
Michael teaches the basics of Mahayana Buddhism, defines what a Bodhisattva is, and explains the context of the Lotus Sutra. This talk has a good description of the history of Mahayana Buddhism as it applies to waking up ourselves and
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