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Mindfulness & Social Action
A transcribed talk given by Michael designed into a beautiful booklet. Michael described this talk as a manifesto for how to talk about spirituality in a post-metaphysical age, used a PowerPoint presentation (the slides are included in the e-book) and said it linked together some of his clearest ideas of the time.
This is a large collection of Michael’s talks that have been transcribed by community members (including a few French and Spanish translations), as well as interviews and articles both with and by Michael. There is also a beautiful, downloadable e-book designed and produced by students.
Out of all of the texts these three are the most popular:
Books that Michael wrote, edited, or contributed to are on the Books page.
Grasping (Money)
Notes on a talk by Michael Stone at Centre of Gravity, Toronto on March 4, 2014 Stages Here at Gravity our practice doesn’t proceed in laid out stages exactly – mostly we’re sitting and feeling our breathing. Over time you
Who am I? What should I do?
Notes on a talk by Michael Stone at Centre of Gravity on February 4, 2014 Tonight we’re going to mull over this koan: “What is the core of Buddhism?” a student asks. Qinguan (the teacher) replies, “What is the price
Why Can’t the Tail Pass Through?
Notes on a talk by Michael Stone at Centre of Gravity, January 14, 2014 Koans Koans are often teaching devices that take the form of a dialogue between two people. They were dished orally, and eventually collections would form, often
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
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
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