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.
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Zen: A Long Hard Path
August 13, 20151 min read
Episode Description: In this talk, Henry explores the dedication required for long term Zen practice. He quotes Rilke’s words, “Everything in nature tries to become itself against all opposition,” and considers Gustav Mahler’s “Song of the Earth,” which centers around a set of Tang dynasty poems. Henry places Zen in the historical context of the Tang period in China, when many of the koans we study originated. The Tang period was culturally rich but also catastrophic,...
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How does an Awakened Person Perceive the World? Part 1 of 4
August 10, 20154 min read
The corn was orient and immortal wheat, which never should be reaped, nor was ever sown. -Thomas Traherne David Loy explores the nature of reality, and ourselves, when we experience the world as it really is. How does an enlightened person perceive the world? Obviously, that’s an important question for non-dualists including Advaitins and Buddhists. ‘Waking up’ – attaining moksha or nirvana, experiencing satori, realizing your true nature, etc. – is the ultimate goal for both,...
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Case 7 Book of Equanimity. Master Yakusan Ascends the Rostrum, Part 2 of 2
August 6, 20151 min read
Episode Description: This talk continues with Case 7, “Yakusan Ascends the Rostrum,” exploring Yakusan’s own process of transformation. It begins by reflecting on how revolutionary Zen practice is -- an overturning of how we think things are. Yakusan offers a great example of how to proceed in this revolution: “Sit down and be silent.” Henry discusses how Zen lacks an object to venerate, unlike theistic religions with their deities. For Yakusan, the object of veneration is...
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Zen and the Art of… Art
August 3, 20157 min read
Zen art suggests a new way of seeing, a new way of being, that cuts to the core of what it means to be fully human and fully alive. -- John Daido Loori Sesshu Toyo (1420-1506) -this is an example of a Zen landscape done during the Muromachi period. Sesshu trained as a professional painter in China and returned to Japan as a professional painter. Ever since Robert Persig’s 1974 iconic novel Zen and the Art...
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When Heaven Meets Heart
August 1, 20151 min read
“When heaven meets heart a flower blooms unborn and undying it lives with a care till it turns the heard towards the ground and bows in gratitude” Photo and poem by Rosa Bellino, used with her permission
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Case 7 Book of Equanimity. Master Yakusan Ascends the Rostrum, Part 1 of 2
July 30, 20151 min read
Episode Description: In this teisho, Henry helps us on our journey of letting go of ourselves by introducing us to great Master Yakusan’s “speciality.” Henry explores the true path of Zen and probes the question: What is this existence? Yakusan’s noble silence in the koan offers an infinite, supreme and endless answer to this question. Post Image Credit: Anzio by Moyan Brenn, CC BY 2.0. Featured Image Credit: Zen Stone Garden, by t_s_l, CCO Public Domain...
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Case 6 Book of Equanimity. Master Baso’s Black and White
July 23, 20151 min read
Episode Description: Henry examines this fascinating koan in which a monk asks Master Baso, “What is the meaning of Bodhidharma’s coming from the West?” or, more specifically, what did Bodhidharma really hope we would discover when he brought the Zen meditation school from India to China? The talk briefly examines the “4 Propositions” and “100 Negations” of Buddhist philosophy, which are mentioned in the koan, and gives us some background on the characters in the case,...
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