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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Listening to the Voices of the Great Wide Earth, Part 1 of 3
June 29, 20157 min read
“I came to realize clearly that the mind is not other than mountains, rivers, the great wide earth, sun, moon, stars”. -Dogen This is a passage from thirteenth century Zen Master Dōgen that triggered the awakening experience of my teacher, Koun Yamada. “I came to realize clearly that mind is no other than mountains, rivers, the great wide earth and everything in it” “Mind” here refers to no other than the True Self, my true...
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Tree of Wisdom
June 27, 20152 min read
Oak and maple, palm and pine—trees are our closest neighbors and most patient teachers... on the common roots of people and trees. There is a cabin in the remote mountains of northern New Mexico that stands on the side of a steep, wooded ravine. It is hidden deep among the huge ponderosa pines that thrive in the high air. Near the cabin, one lone dead pine soars a hundred feet into the sky. It has...
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Case 1 Book of Equanimity, The World Honored One Ascends the Rostrum
June 25, 20151 min read
Episode Description: This teisho begins Henry’s journey through the Book of Equanimity. Case 1 shows the importance of just sitting, being still and quiet. Henry discusses Shakyamuni Buddha’s first teachings. He explores the teaching on dukkha (intrinsic dissatisfaction) and asks: Is there something in the core of ourselves that is intrinsically dissatisfied and dissatisfying? Henry then turns to Shakyamuni’s second teaching, on anatta—not self -- and provides some background introduction to the Book of Equanimity which...
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Shin-Jin-Mei (Verses on the Faith-Mind) by Sosan, Part 3 of 3
June 18, 20151 min read
Episode Description: Henry continues to explicate Sosan’s Shin-Jin Mei and incorporates the Three Treasures—Buddha, Dharma and Sangha--into the meaning of the poem. The Shin-Jin-Mei is an example of Dharma, a teaching or guidance, which helps us find our core, the heart/mind of ourselves (Buddha) and our universe (Sangha). Henry also discusses another meaning of Dharma, as "natural law," intangible but vividly experienceable, always with us, and in us, right now. The other 2 parts of this...
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Life is worth living … full flow! {VIDEO}
June 11, 20151 min read
"...life, ... for all it's bruises and false starts, it's blind alleys and reversals, it's failures, ... is worth living ... full flow ..." This YouTube video, below, is being posted in lieu of this week's podcast episode. Regular weekly (every Thursday) publishing of podcast episodes will recommence with the next episode on Jun 18th. Bill Broyles, who is not a meditator but a friend of Henry’s and supporter of Mountain Cloud, grew up in a refinery town...
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