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.

  • Was Descartes Right? by Yamada Ryuon

    MCZCOctober 23, 20154 min read

    The oak tree in the garden, but there is no I. Written by YAMADA Ryoun, the Abbot of the Sanbo Zen, from the "Opening Comments" of Kyôshô (Sanbô-Zen's official magazine) 342, 2011 (May/June). I think that there is no one who has not heard the name Descartes. Rene Descartes (1596-1650) was a great philosopher and mathematician born in France. He was a contemporary with the great Italian physicist, Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). In Discourse on the...

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  • Teisho: Case 56 Book of Equanimity Misshi and the White Rabbit

    MCZCOctober 22, 20151 min read

    Description: In this koan, Uncle Misshi and Tozan see a white rabbit then have a short exchange about swiftness, white clothing, respect, nobility and poverty.  Using this case as a starting point, Henry explores, in depth, the purpose of studying koans, showing us how each koan addresses the most profound aspect of our experience—what it is to exist. Henry infuses this exploration with experiences and insights gained from his recent visit to Greece, which concludes with...

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  • Message from Henry: “Demons”

    MCZCOctober 21, 20154 min read

    From the point of view of practice, the overarching objective of these “demons” is to block our aspiration, and our natural quest in our path of practice, and indeed the extent to which we do practice. Best of all, for them, is to do it in ways we don’t recognize. In one of his writings, quoting from the Shoshikan, Yamada Koun Roshi talks about various kinds of “demon,” both internal and external. A “demon” is...

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  • Flowers are Silent

    MCZCOctober 19, 20151 min read

    Flowers are silent, Silence is silent, The Mind is a silent flower, The silent flower of the World Opens.   -Ikkyu Zenji Photo and composition by Rosa Bellino.

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  • People do not Die, by Yamada Ryoun

    MCZCOctober 16, 20155 min read

    To put it very simply we can say that Shakyamuni’s discovery was that we are not born. Written by YAMADA Ryoun, the Abbot of the Sanbo Zen, from the "Opening Comments" of Kyôshô (Sanbô-Zen's official magazine) 341, 2010 (Mar./Apr.). The New Year of 2010 has begun. I am sure that all of you have greeted the New Year with many different thoughts. The atmosphere surrounding the economic, financial, and industrial sectors continues to be very...

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  • Message from Henry: Three Treasures Meditation

    MCZCOctober 15, 20154 min read

    Buddha is empty. Dharma is phenomena. Sangha is the fact that these two are one Each of the “three treasures” is its own complete gift, its own fulfillment of the Way. Each also presents its own challenges, bringing up different areas of resistance and unease in us. That’s why together they make for a helpful training. We can think of them in many ways. For example: Buddha is daily practice. Dharma is what happens in...

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  • Summer Sesshin Part 4 of 4: Everlasting Practice

    MCZCOctober 15, 20151 min read

    Episode Description: In this final talk of the 2015 summer sesshin Henry clarifies what has been explored during the week. He recites the opening couplets of the Shinjinmei, Verses of the Faith Mind, and discusses both Mumon’s and Dogen’s awakenings (who were alive at the same time and came somewhat close to meeting).  We hear a story about the Pang family of lay practitioners, who all became enlightened masters during the Chinese Tang period. The talk...

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  • Fundimental Meaning of Buddha-dharma

    MCZCOctober 12, 20151 min read

      Zen master Daowu visited the assembly of master Shitou. Daowu asked, “What is the fundamental meaning of Buddha-dharma?” Shitou said, “Not to attain, not to know”. Daowu said, “Is there some turning point in going beyond, or not?“ Shitou said, “The vast sky does not hinder the white clouds from flying”   Image by Rosa Bellino Text taken from Going Beyond Buddha, from thezensite.com  

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  • Is Zen a Religion? by Yamada Ryoun

    MCZCOctober 9, 20155 min read

    The true self that has been found is really one with all that is. The self and the whole universe are originally one being. Zen is not a religion. This is a position I have continuously maintained. To say that Zen is not a religion is to say that the Buddha-Way [butsudo] is not a religion. However, religious concepts invariably are entwined with words such as Zen or the Buddha-Way. Most people have no problem...

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  • Summer Sesshin Part 3 of 4: Case 17 Book of Equanimity: Hogen’s “Hairsbreadth”

    MCZCOctober 8, 20151 min read

    Episode Description: This third teisho of the summer sesshin explores Case 17 in the Book of Equanimity. Hogen’s: "If there only is a hairsbreadth of difference, it is the distance between heaven and earth."    Henry discusses notions of heaven, the tiny size of a “hair’s breadth” and the concept of separation.  Drawing on his wide knowledge of the Chinese Zen Masters, he tells stories of Nansen, Echu, Sosan,  Hogen and Jizo; and he quotes humorous yet insightful...

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  • Message from Henry: Center and Practice

    MCZCOctober 7, 20154 min read

    But what are we learning in meditation? ...what it is to be human. Or more simply: how to be... in the end we aren’t learning, or growing, we are simply doing practice. A CENTER The main function of a meditation center is to be a place of meditative training. In this sense, the center is a focus for a path toward awakening – toward “realization,” and the embodying of that realization in every moment of...

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  • Bubbles on the Sea

    MCZCOctober 5, 20151 min read

    When we see truly, there is nothing at all. There is no person; there is no Buddha. Innumerable things of the universe Are just bubbles on the sea. Wise sages are all like flashes of lightning. - Yoka Genkaku (665-713 CE), Shodoka   Photo and creation by Rosa Bellino

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  • Awareness Bound and Unbound, by David Loy, Part 3 of 3

    MCZCOctober 3, 20153 min read

    What does it really mean for awareness to be here-and-now, de-conditioned from attention traps both individual and collective? Click to read Part 1 and Part 2 of Awareness Bound and Unbound The Control of Attention Dictatorships control people with violence and the threat of it, to restrain what they do. Modern democracies control people with sophisticated propaganda, by manipulating what they think. We worry about weapons of mass destruction, but perhaps we should be as...

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  • Summer Sesshin Part 2 of 4: Koans, Awakening, and Belonging

    MCZCOctober 1, 20151 min read

    Episode Description: Henry addresses the process of being on sesshin.  He continues talking about the emergence of koans, the promise they hold, and the practice of “studying” them—which is really taking a koan deeply into our meditation and simply letting it be. Henry gives some background on Joshu, his apprenticeship with Nansen and his awakening, and he explores “enlightenment” as an experience of direct knowing about ourselves and the world, which changes how we see...

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