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Lotus Sutra 15: There is No Such Thing as an Atom
Everyone continually breaks down infinitely. How fast can a young woman get enlightened, especially if she is underwater? Michael unpacks some parables to explore the story of an 8-year-old who wakes up and touches every place in the Universe.
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 about
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
Preview of The Inner Tradition of Yoga, Revised Edition
In this new edition, I’ve edited any areas where I’ve idealized a liberation that’s free from the suffering of being human. There is no way beyond this human life. Yoga is a practice that helps us be more present with
Life Doesn’t Give Up
Our oldest child, who now calls himself Dolphin, told me recently that everyone dies and everything changes but it’s ok because girls keep having babies. Life doesn’t give up, he added, brain splittingly. In moments like these, his depth swallows
About the Community Library
Michael was a great archivist and the Community Library was—and continues to be—a labour of love. Everything in the Community Library is available for free. Anyone, anywhere can have instant access to material that will help them deepen their practice and contribute to a culture of compassion and collaboration.
Libraries are places where we gather alone together. They are known to be places of refuge for seekers, as well as those who are marginalized. This library is no different. It helps us nourish our beautiful, international community without walls. Now, it will also help keep Michael’s legacy alive.