Awake in This Life

In this talk, Michael talks about the guidance offered by the famed Heart Sutra, and uses its closing words to illustrate the Path.

via Infinite Smile » ISmile243 – Relization, Hooray!.

In this talk, Michael talks about deconstructing spiritual work in ways that enliven, rather than deaden, the deepest aspects of our lives.

via Infinite Smile.

In this talk, Michael talks about a “question” posed to him recently: “Doesn’t Religion Suck?”His response to this question is at once nuanced and humorous, touching on the broader issues surrounding attachment in our daily lives.

via ISmile241 – Doesn’t Religion Suck?.

Had this enjoyable conversation with Vince Horn of the Buddhist Geeks a while back. Hope you like it.

This week we’re joined by Zen-inspired dharma teacher, Michael McAlister. Michael is the leader of the Infinite Smile sangha, just east of Berkeley, in what Michael calls, “the hard edge of suburbia.” After many years of Zen practiced with the San Francisco Zen Center, Michael set up to teach a form of dharma that wasn't bound by tradition.

via Podcast Episode: Buddhist Geeks: The Mountain of Spirit (Seriously Buddhist, Seriously Geeky.

In this talk, Michael asks the question: “What is it that you want from others?” In his explanation, he points out that if we find ourselves caught by the answers to this question, we discover that we are locked in suffering. The way out of this trap is to uncover our deepest sense of generosity and then express it fully in life.

via Infinite Smile » ISmile240 – Being Generous.

In this talk, Michael weaves his talk around the issues of greed and karma in our daily lives.

via ISmile238 – Simple But Not Easy.

In this talk, Michael weaves his talk around the issues of greed and karma in our daily lives.

via ISmile237 – On Greed and Karma | Infinite Smile.

In this talk, Michael continues his discussion of the temporary nature of all things. As we begin to practice with this fundamental truth, we find that we can begin to accept what is and move from negativity into freedom.

via ISmile236 – Turning Spiritual Lead Into Gold | Infinite Smile.

In this talk, pulled from a half-day intensive, Michael discusses the gift of curiosity and how it frees us from feeling a sense of lack.

via ISmile235 – How to Meet Total Fulfillment | Infinite Smile.

In this evening’s talk, Michael discusses the weighty topics of death and dying, and offers suggestions on how to let our inevitable end open us to Truth.

via ISmile234 – On Death and Dying | Infinite Smile.

In this evening’s talk, Michael talks about how we can free ourselves from anger if we can deeply recognize our fear.

via ISmile232 – The Roots of Anger | Infinite Smile.

In this evening’s talk, Michael discusses how our ego’s can skillfully impede the process of awakening by subtly preventing us from committing fully, and wholeheartedly, to a practice.

via ISmile231 – What’s Blocking Your Vow? | Infinite Smile.

In this evening’s talk, Michael discusses the importance of observing our experience instead of getting caught by it. Doing so drastically enhances our ability to respond to life from a place of deep freedom.

via Infinite Smile.

In this evening’s talk, Michael discusses how the peak experiences brought on by a meditation practice can sometimes stop our spiritual growth. Issues of vulnerability and anger, along with the various forms of an appropriate response might be are also discussed.

via Infinite Smile.

In this evening’s talk, Michael discusses what it means to strip mysticism out of our practice in order to uncover the Truth beyond name and form more easily.

via Infinite Smile.

In this evening’s talk, Michael discusses the perils of centering one’s practice on faith. While there is mystery in practice, it is critical that we nurture our ability to skilfully question our teachers, our preferred teaching, and our spiritual friends as we progress along the Path.

via ISmile227 – Faith No More | Infinite Smile.

In this evening’s talk, Michael discusses how we can recognize the we are continually called to practice. Stillness, like any exercise, sharpens itself and our being whenever we engage in it consciously. Repeatedly making space for meditation in our daily lives then allows for all things, all relationships, and all activity to inform our walk along the Path.

via ISmile226 – The Buddhist Call to Prayer | Infinite Smile.

In this evening’s talk, Michael discusses the maturation process of spiritual work. How is it, for example, that we can evolve into deeper expressions of embodied helpfulness; especially in the context of activism in general and the Iranian situation specifically.

via ISmile225 – Spiritual Adulthood | Infinite Smile.

In this evening’s talk, Michael discusses helpful ways of looking at what in Zen we call, “beginner’s mind.”

via ISmile224 – Being the Wow | Infinite Smile.

In this evening’s talk, Michael talks about how meditation is designed to help us fail. He also speaks to the fact that we are essentially walking around in life as ghosts. Knowing what’s underneath the ghostly sheet is the Path to Awakening.

via ISmile223 – Underneath the Sheet | Infinite Smile.