Awake in the World Podcast
Michael Stone
Awake in the World Podcast is a library of talks 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. 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. Michael Stone (1974-2017) was a Buddhist teacher, author, and mental health advocate. His legacy is stewarded by Carina Stone. Podcast funded by Patreon (patreon.com/michaelstone).
Episodes
Mentioned books
Apr 10, 2022 • 1h 10min
Working with Wanting
In this talk to clinicians Michael focuses on mindfulness of feeling (the second foundation) and in particular, the feeling of wanting or craving. Recorded on March 28, 2008.
Apr 3, 2022 • 53min
Best of Awake in the World: The Creative Task of Performing One’s Life
This week we're revisiting a favourite Awake in the World podcast episode. Michael provides a reflection on the retreat with Stephen and Martine Batchelor. He speaks to making a practice of our lives where all our roles, our actions are interconnected. Michael examines the end of the first chapter of the Yoga Sutra. Recorded March 30, 2010.
Mar 27, 2022 • 16min
The Secular Buddha: Part Seven
Martine Batchelor explains and explores ceremonial offerings in Korean Zen practice. Martine Batchelor, a former Buddhist nun, studied Zen Buddhism under the guidance of Kusan Sunim and is the author of several books. Recorded on March 28, 2010 at Centre of Gravity in Toronto, Ontario.
Mar 20, 2022 • 41min
The Secular Buddha: Part Six
Stephen Batchelor reflects upon secular Buddhism and revisits the Four Noble Truths, primary Buddhist ideals, assumptions, and dogmas. Recorded on March 28, 2010.
Mar 13, 2022 • 9min
The Secular Buddha: Part FIve
Martine Batchelor leads a meditation practice based on a Korean technique, using the question “What is this?” as an object to come back to. Recorded on March 28, 2010.
Mar 6, 2022 • 50min
The Secular Buddha: Part Four
In this talk Stephen Batchelor muses about the Buddha’s “breakthrough” and his embrace of first person analysis (based on attention, introspection and reason) to reveal a fundamentally contingent world. Recorded on March 27, 2010.
Feb 27, 2022 • 27min
The Secular Buddha: Part Three
Guest teacher Martine Batchelor explains how the point of contact between sense and sense object is the moment when the choice between grasping and not grasping takes place. Not grasping allows for creative engagement—an attitude of stability and openness, so that we can meet problems in new and different ways. Recorded on March 26, 2010.
Feb 20, 2022 • 58min
The Secular Buddha: Part Two
In this podcast guest teacher Stephen Batchelor asks “What did the Buddha awaken to?” Drawing largely on the Buddha’s First Sermon (Turning the Wheel of Dharma) he elucidates the Four Truths, the actions required by them and the cyclical, processual nature of these teachings. Recorded on March 26, 2010.
Feb 13, 2022 • 57min
The Secular Buddha: Part One
Guest teacher Stephen Batchelor explains his interest in Secular Buddhism, which returns the word “secular'' to its etymological root, “saeculum,” meaning “this age” or “at this time in this world.” He describes some of the historical and societal circumstances surrounding Gautama Buddha’s teaching and argues for a return to what the Buddha taught in the Pali Canon to “recover what lies on the ground floor.” Recorded on March 26, 2010.
Feb 6, 2022 • 1h 3min
A Performed Meditation
This Awake in the World Podcast features guest speaker Christopher House, who was the artistic director of the Toronto Dance Theater for twenty-five years (he retired in 2020). He describes his studies with the American experiential choreographer Deborah Hay (author of My Body, the Buddhist) and her unique, subversive, present-centered approach to choreography and performance. Recorded on March 23, 2010.
