Teachings

You can find all of our weekly Dharma talks for free right here on this page, as well as on our YouTube channel and podcast. Live talks take place every Thursday from 5:30–7:00pm MT, both in-person and on Zoom (sit.mountaincloud.org — password: mountain22). Members receive access to some special archival materials.

  • Valerie Forstman: Where Does the Moon Dwell?

    MCZCFebruary 24, 20241 min read

    In this Zazenkai talk, Valerie shares the moon's reflection through Dogen's teaching and the awakening verses of Chiyono (Mugai Nyodai) and Nyozen of Tokeiji. Chiyono, the first woman in Japan to receive dharma transmission, awakened when the bottom of her bucket dropped out. A century later, Nyozen awakened by meditating on Chiyono's awakening verse.

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  • Carolyn Seburn: The Barbarian Has No Beard

    MCZCFebruary 22, 20241 min read

    In this teisho, Carolyn takes us through case 4 of the Mumonkan or Gateless Gate. The case is simply stated: Wakuan said, “Why has the western barbarian no beard?” The western barbarian is believed to be Bodhidharma who famously had a wild and generous beard. The pattern of this koan is referred to as “calling black white” as Yamada Koun said. Listen to this beautiful teisho and explore with Carolyn how to feed the spark...

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  • Valerie Forstman: Layman Pang’s Snowflakes

    MCZCFebruary 15, 20241 min read

    Valerie begins by reminding us of the wide reach of our practice. While there are innumerable expressions, there is but one fact. According to Dogen, we may have only an inkling, but our continuous practice touches and affects everything. Keeping with the theme of snowflakes (recall Haryo’s silver bowl filling with snow) we are presented with case 42 of the Blue Cliff Record or Hekigonroku, “Layman Pang’s Beautiful Snowflakes.” A couple of slaps, sharp surprise,...

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  • Teisho: Valerie Forstman: The Zero Point

    MCZCFebruary 8, 20241 min read

    In this teisho, Valerie continues with the theme “beginners mind.” Drawing on Dogen’s fascicle “Continuous Practice” from the Shobogenzo, we are reminded of the all-inclusive and undivided circle of the way - the zero point of this very moment. This is “beginner’s mind” or “sho shin.” Valerie also completes the circle of Haryo’s “three turning words.” This one is known as Haryo’s “feather blown sword” or “sharpest sword.” A monk asks Haryo, “What is the...

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  • Teisho: Valerie Forstman: Falling into the Well

    MCZCFebruary 1, 20241 min read

    Valerie takes up another of Haryo’s turning words in this teisho. A monk asks Haryo, “What is the Way?” Haryo answers, “A clearly enlightened monk falls into a well.” This falling is with eyes wide open, clearly seeing while stepping willingly into the unknown. Weaving a rich offering which includes the “Verse of Purification” from the Flower Ornament Sutra and quotes spanning the history of Zen from Dogen to Katagiria Roshi, Valerie leads us along...

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  • Teisho: Valerie Forstman: You Are That Shining

    MCZCJanuary 25, 20241 min read

    This teisho by Valerie is offered on the night of the first full moon of the new year while a gentle snow settles on the piñon pines outside the zendo. Questions like: “What is this? Who am I? What is the full moon?” settle on us like snowflakes on the pine trees. Our koan to consider is Case #13 from the Blue Cliff Record, or Hekigonroku, “Haryo’s Silver Bowl.” A monk questions, “What is the...

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  • Teisho: Sean Murphy: The “Five Conditions”

    MCZCJanuary 18, 20241 min read

    This Dharma talk is presented by Zen master and author Sean Murphy. Drawing on his long career as a Zen teacher, he presents a reframing of the important Buddhist concept of the five skandhas. The English translation of the five skandhas is often presented philosophically or as Buddhist psychology which may be difficult to understand and apply. Sean offers a simpler system called the “five conditions” which he originally learned from Zen teacher Bernie Glassman....

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  • Teisho: Ruben Habito: What is Zen?

    MCZCJanuary 11, 20241 min read

    In this rich and compelling teisho, Ruben starts with the question, “What is Zen Practice?” He broadens this, somewhat playfully, to “What’s it all about?” The koan he uses is Case #38 “A Cow Passes Through a Window” from the Mumonkan or The Gateless Gate, The cow or ox stands for our Original Nature, and the koan gives us a way of understanding our precarious human condition and how Zen practice leads us on a...

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  • Valerie Forstman: Opening Hands in the New Year

    MCZCJanuary 4, 20241 min read

    In this heartfelt teisho, Valerie uses Case 25 of the Hekiganroku, or Blue Cliff Record, known as “The Hermit of Lotus Flower Peak Holds Up His Staff.” This koan was one of Yamada Koun’s favorites. She also uses “The Song of the Grass-Roof Hut” by Shitou. Quoting passages and important phrases from both, she invites us to bring our hearts into the New Year and open ourselves to the empty infinite, the vast inconceivable source.

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  • Exploring a Koan by Touch, Carolyn Seburn

    MCZCSeptember 28, 20231 min read

    Carolyn speaks of an important case that appears in three koan collections, Gutei’s One Finger. It is the story of a Chinese monk and his attendant, who attained sudden enlightenment after seeing Gutei hold up his finger. This case is a tactile trigger to kensho. “[Yet] you already have everything this one finger can teach you.” Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Unsplash

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  • The Ecological Crisis

    MCZCSeptember 27, 20231 min read

    David Loy discusses how the ecological crisis is much bigger than the climate emergency. In the Ecodharma movement, there is a lot of emphasis now on connecting the ecological crisis with BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) issues. Disadvantaged people, often diverse, indigenous people of color, are already suffering the brunt of the ecological crisis. He also discusses the vast inequalities of wealth in the US and the connection between the ecological crisis and...

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  • Henry Shukman, Day 1: Past the Land’s End

    MCZCSeptember 24, 20231 min read

    Talk 1 Fall 2023 Sesshin In the opening talk of the 2023 autumn retreat at Mountain Cloud, Henry likens a sesshin to a journey of practice where growing means finding what we do not already know or anticipate. The voyage starts here, always here. “We are here to become more and more aware of here.” Henry talks about welcoming and being patient with the currents and tides in meditation and discusses the settling and releasing...

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  • Message from Valerie: Return

    Valerie ForstmanSeptember 20, 20232 min read

    I follow the stream to its very source, then sit and watch where the clouds rise.  ~ Wang Wei, 699-761, record from a retreat at Mt. Chungnan The Autumn sesshin at Mountain Cloud just ended. Throughout, the words ‘homecoming’ and ‘return’ kept surfacing – inviting us to follow the stream of experience to its source.  What is that? Where is it? Can it be anywhere but here?  One of our guides was a verse from...

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  • Which Way to Mount Taizan? Valerie Forstman (Video)

    MCZCSeptember 12, 20231 min read

    Each step, each sound, every word is Mount Taizan, the highest peak – this landscape that we can’t, actually, fall out of. Entirety. Shoyoroku Case 10, “An Old Woman near Taizan,” gestures toward such a complete and dynamic landscape. So do a passage from Dogen, an exchange between Bodhidharma and Huike: “Which way shall we go?” “Go straight on.” “If you go straight on you cannot move a step” – at which, Huike’s body-mind just...

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