The Passing of Michael Levin

Reading these tributes to Michael, I nod my head in agreement and feel the presence of a sangha that his life created. What a unique human being he was. I first met him in 2012 when I joined that Waltham Buddhist Meditation Group. Michael was one of the teachers. He had a way of teaching that commanded my attention. Perhaps it was his passion for the dharma and the precision and clarity with which he presented it. It could also be he reminded me of a few Hebrew teachers I had as a child: passionate about their subject and intolerant of childish behavior. But that was good, too, because I sat up and listened. There were times I struggled with the teachings. When in discussion Michael might say “No, that’s not what that means. That’s not it!” I pressed on trying to understand. I attended a whole weekend retreat on the Skandhas all because of Michael! What a wonderful gift those classes were – all of them. I am forever grateful to the teachers of the Waltham Buddhist Meditation Group (WBMG) and especially to Michael and Emily for having the vision to establish a sangha here, for it was through the WMBG teachers and sangha that I found my path.
With gratitude and blessings to you, Michael, wherever the journey takes you.

Dear Michael,

You should know if you don't already, your celebration of life ceremony was very beautiful. It was a true delight to hear the stories of the peoples lives you touched and impacted in a positive way.

Wherever you are now, I hope you are at peace and transitioning with ease. I am grateful to have met you in this life and wish all the best in the next.

Love, Alex

When I was very young, about 3 Years old, Michael introduced me to one of my imaginary friends, Ulysses the kangaroo. He was invisible to everyone but me. It was a great gift.

I remember Michael way back at Aunt Sophie and Uncle Harry's house when I was a child. We had many good times with Michael and Isabel.

Michael wishing u BLESSED WINGWARD Forward!
Cousin Martha ✝️

Michael taught some of the first Buddhist classes I took at the Boston Center, which contributed significantly to my dharma path. Many years later he and Emily would host me at their home in Waltham for an all afternoon group practice session and graciously invite me to stay overnight as I came from a distance. I remember the delicious breakfasts that Michael loved to cook. A man of many talents and a true Bodhisattva. He will be missed.

Michael helped set in motion my own Dharmic path along the Waltham Buddhist group that met at the Unitarian Parish. His precise words stay with me every day in my life and I was fortunate to have expressed that to him. "The greatest magic is to be ordinary" as he would say. As well, "Touch & Go. Contemplate, Rest." I keep one of his many cards near my desk, as a reminder of an authentic life well lived. Thank you for all you have done, Michael. May confusion dawn as wisdom for all sentient beings and may all be free of suffering. We will miss you. Love, Nick

I met Michael through the Nashua Buddhist Meditation Group and felt how deeply he understood the dharma, and caught a glimpse of how many practices he had learned. Over the years I caught other glimpses of how deeply he understood the fundamentals of music, of computer workings, and a myriad of other subjects - it seemed he grasped the underlying workings of so much. He had great curiosity which drew him forward. He was a gentle soul. I am grateful he is free from the tangled nature of his mind the last few years.

Michael was one of my first Dharma teachers and I felt spiritually connected to Chogyam Rinpoche through Michael’s love for his teacher. I will forever hold a deep appreciation for this shared connection, and Michael’s own deep wisdom connection with the dharma. May you find peace and most fortunate rebirth Michael, and may our paths cross again. 🙏

I'm forever grateful to Michael for helping to introduce me to the dharma and meditation practice. I'm thankful to have met him and was impacted tremendously by his teachings and wisdom.

Michael was very kind to me - and thoughtful. He truly wanted to help. When he spoke to me it was as if I were the only person in the room. A gentleman always.

Michael made the world better simply by including others.

I met Michael through my sister Emily who he subsequently married. Michael was a sweet soul who related on a different level than others due to his undiagnosed Asperger’s. This undoubtedly created much childhood bullying back in the days when bullying was an accepted behavior. Where others would be crushed, Michael’s kind and unpretentious personality allowed him to ignore the distractions, attend MIT, become co-founder of Gensym, and have numerous interests such as classical music, Japanese art, and Buddhism.
When looking back at Michael’s diverse and compelling life, one can say without a doubt, his kindness and integrity have had a positive impact on the world. Thank you Michael for all your contributions and all the best as you move on to your next journey.

I met Michael at 1975 Seminary. He was a student of John McCarthy, who was the first major figure in AI (and coined the term "artificial intelligence"). Michael wrote the first manual for "Lisp", the AI-ish language developed by McCarthy, and in the introduction, included the story of Milarepa's debate with the logicians! In the mid-eighties Tomek Pietrzykowski invited Michael to teach at Acadia University, in Nova Scotia, where he was instrumental in developing the "Prograph" pictorial programming language.

A post in memory of Michael, highlighting a connection through computer science and music, as well as Dharma.

I first met Michael, during the 1980's, along with other sangha members involved in the computer science field in Boulder. While planning graduate studies in computer science, I learned that several sangha members, including Michael, were to teach at a university in Nova Scotia. Although, I enrolled at the University of Colorado, I did enjoy meeting Michael several times, over the years, at different A.I. conferences.

At one conference, Michael was at a booth representing the company he was with before Gensym and we had good discussions. The following year, I was glad to see him again, but this time at the Gensym booth, excited to talk about the company that he was with and had recently co-founded It was great to hear about Gensym products and technologies being used. (l just searched online and found this article about Gensym in the NY Times, from that time period - https://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/10/business/technology-keeping-track-of-a-hermetic-universe.html )

In the late-1980s and planning a move to the Boston area, I reached out to Michael, being very interested in Gensym and its real-time rule-based system technology. He generously set up a meeting with me. I still remember going to lunch, close to the Cambridge office, as part of the interview process with members of the development team. The group was very welcoming, as well as very capable and bright. The interview went well and I was very glad to join the development team, led by Michael. I stayed with Gensym for over 7 ½ years, a memorable time of my career, being with such an innovative and dynamic company, and talented people.

I most remember the brilliance and humbleness of Michael. For example, how he described in a matter-of-fact way how he designed the G2 rules-engine, after he determined what it needed to be capable of and then just did it, like it was no big deal 🙂

A vivid memory from that time involved Michael and the development team meeting with company partners visiting from Japan. During our social gathering and conversation, some of us expressed our interest in Japanese contemplative arts, including Gagaku and Bugaku, ancient Japanese court music and dance. In mentioning this, the Japanese visitors were, of course, surprised. Then, Michael commented, in his inscrutable way, how listening to Gagakau music was like hiking up a Japanese mountain trail and sitting by a cool stream. As you could imagine, this added to the surprise and wonder for the guests, with perhaps a loss for words :- ) Though, when I then also mentioned an interest in jazz music, and having recently seen Miles Davis perform, the visitor became very animated and expressed their excitement at that! 🙂

I am very appreciative for my time at Gensym, working with Michael and all the team. Interesting to see how that experience has been a foundation for other future work, including at Resmed - a company that specializes in CPAP and ventilator products - that I am currently with. Once again working on a rule-based system that monitors large sets of device data - similar to the purpose of Gensym's G2 - applying learnings from that time and with Michael.

As a side note, with his background in A.I. and software, I think Michael would have a smile seeing the prompt on this page, for submitting a tribute, to confirm ("Are you Human? ...")

Best to you Michael as you go forward from this life, for all your contributions and lives you have touched.

I believe it was Mike Levin, whom I met. It was just another of those brief encounters in the sangha, which had a powerful effect upon my path. I was only recently introduced to the dharma. Even so, I was taking a deep dive. I was a member of Skylake, gladly welcoming a quiet man who was “new.” I thought that no one else was around, but I would soon to learn we are often surrounded by mysterious entities. This, I learned later from Arawana, was Michael. It was the only time I encountered him. There was an exhibit of the beautiful thangka paintings of Gurmi Lama, adorning the walls of the dining room.
Just as in a museum, people come and go, and their respective attraction to the representations of the art, serve to bring those people together. So, Michael and I found ourselves ,standing silently side-by-side before the figure of Vajrayogini. Out of the corners of our eyes, we made a connection, as if she was our ambassador. We turned toward each other. He spoke to me. They were the only words we shared:
“Some day you will meet her.”
I felt heat, rising up in my body, and then tears poured from my eyes. It was a blessing, an act of great kindness.

Michael was deeply committed to the bodhisattva path and sharing the dharma. He was also a genius mind whose cerebrum cooked at a high temperature nonstop. I appreciated working with him and Emily in developing the Waltham meditation group. He was a genuine vajra brother and fellow classical music aficionado. His phowa, performed by Drikung Lama Sonam was really moving. Thanks for your contribution to this life, Michael!