Centre of Gravity

Lotus Sutra 20 ~ Forgiveness as the Heart of Practice

C of G Podcast — Sat, 12 May 2012 20:45:13 +0000

The Deepest Practice a Bodhisattva can ever do is to listen deeply. The deepest thing we can ever experience is having a change of heart. Last evening at Bellwoods location. July 12, 2011.

Centre of Gravity Audio Archive 2008 (Part I)

C of G — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:11:43 +0000

Lotus Sutra 19 ~ Part 2

C of G Podcast — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:53:47 +0000

Discussion about contemplating someone in your life who you have a hard time seeing as a Buddha. Buddha Nature is your imagination and the way you can re-see people who have wounded you. June 28, 2011. 20 min.

Lotus Sutra 19 ~ Part 1

C of G Podcast — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:51:13 +0000

There is nowhere you can stand that is not a place the Buddha hasn't practiced. The Buddha was enlightened right where you are standing. If you can see others as a Buddha you are a Buddha - even animals and trees. Story of Never Disparaging Buddha and Mark Ragosian who lived in Woodstock New York. June 28, 2011. 45 min.

Lotus Sutra 17

C of G Podcast — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 03:18:53 +0000

Grant Hutchinson and Carina Lof give a talk on Chapter 15 and 16 of the Lotus Sutra based on study group. Seeing what is actually in our lives not just what we want to see. If your kids won't take medicine how do you give it to them? June 21, 2011. 40 min.

Lotus Sutra 16 ~ The Empty Room

C of G Podcast — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 18:37:11 +0000

One day I can have such a killer exhale that I end as a puddle of bones on the floor and time passes instantly. A moving evening when Mike Holboom and Christine Koch give talks on Chapter 16 of the Lotus Sutra. June 14, 2011. 45 min.

Lotus Sutra 15 ~ There is No Such Thing as an Atom

C of G Podcast — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 01:03:19 +0000

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 yr old girl who wakes up and touches every place in the Universe. June 7, 2011, 45 min.

Burning House, Burning Marshmallows by Grant Hutchinson

C of G — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 18:01:57 +0000

Grant Hutchinson on Dogen's Mountains and Waters Sutra: the great mystery of our lives is spoken through language, the burning house, practice unpacks your knapsack, the monks are burning in Tibet, Jane Hirshfield's tree, Elaine's marshmallows. Recorded March 6, 2012.

Lotus Sutra 14 : Life is Like a Funeral

C of G Podcast — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 06:32:03 +0000

Five kinds of Fear. Michael talks about fear, community and how it grows, a poem by Leonard Cohen, generosity, and then he reads his own poem about his mother. May 31, 2011.

Lotus Sutra 13 : We Need Bodhisattvas

C of G Podcast — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 05:56:06 +0000

People who can rub our back and say "it's ok" and everything they do is jewelled. May 24, 2011. 45 min.

Audio Archive 2007

C of G — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 18:44:35 +0000

Archived audio recordings of Michael Stone's teachings from 2007. Includes talks on the Bhagavad-Gita, the Yoga-Sutras, guided meditation and asana instruction.

Lotus Sutra, Part 11 ~ A Jewel in Your Coat

C of G Podcast — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 23:07:16 +0000

A man falls asleep at a party and someone sews a jewel in his coat. Some have done this for you too. Can you realize your treasures? May 17, 2011. 45 mins

Introduction to Meditation ~ Sometimes Awake, Sometimes Asleep...

C of G Podcast — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 23:00:47 +0000

Sometimes Awake, Sometimes Asleep. Sometimes Sun, Sometimes Moon. Michael teaches during a one-day introduction to meditation workshop. How you can turn anything into a practice, even a bike lock. May 14, 2011 1hr.

Lotus Sutra 9 ~ What Ideas Do We Have Lying Around?

C of G Podcast — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 21:10:25 +0000

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 internal practices and community life. May 3, 2011. 50 min

Guided Meditation ~ 20 Minutes

C of G Podcast — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 20:55:34 +0000

Michael Stone leads a guided meditation beginning with grounding the body, opening to sound, and feeling the breath as an anchor to present experience. May 2, 2011, 21 mins

Audio Archive (2006)

C of G — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:02:27 +0000

Centre of Gravity is excited to be able to share with you archived editions of our audio teachings. In the below talks, Michael Stone discusses the shadow side of practice, how to work with obstacles, the Bhagavad-Gita, poetry, love and sadness. Recorded at Centre of Gravity, Toronto (2006).

Lotus Sutra, Part 7 : Time in the Lotus Sutra

C of G Podcast — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:28:51 +0000

How many kelps, ages, aeons, 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? April 12, 2011, 46 min

The Three Levels of Ethics : Literal, Compassionate, Koan

C of G Podcast — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:22:41 +0000

One of the last days of the 6 month Precepts course where we chant Heart Sutra followed by five students describing ethical values and a talk on Michael about 3 ways of thinking about ethics. And how to look at a flower and smile. April 7, 2011, 1 hour.

Lotus Sutra, Part 6: The Parable of the Prodigal Son

C of G — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:17:00 +0000

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. Centre of Gravity, Toronto. 1 hr. April 5, 2011.

Lotus Sutra, Part 5 : Upaya & The Parable of the Burning House.

C of G Podcast — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 06:52:05 +0000

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 it for us. The father in the parable, like the Buddha, uses skillful means to teach a path of freedom. And, is it ok to lie to uphold compassion? March 29, 2011. 1 hour.