Teachings

  • Message from Valerie: An Invitation to Serve

    Valerie ForstmanJanuary 25, 20232 min read

    Mountain Cloud sangha members are currently coming together once each month to prepare and serve a delicious meal at the Interfaith Shelter, known as Pete’s Place, here in Santa Fe. For members interested in further engagement with vulnerable segments of our community, we have an opportunity to serve with fellow practitioners in Upaya’s Street Ministry project.  Upaya’s Street Ministry focuses on supporting member’s of Santa Fe’s community who are experiencing homelessness. Volunteers in the Street Ministry not only...

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  • Wednesday Wisdom Words

    Scott ThorntonOctober 10, 20221 min read

    Wisdom Wisdom is Compassion, andCompassion is Wisdom.But it takes practice. Practice is Enlightenment, andEnlightenment is Practice.But it takes time. Time is Being, andBeing is Time.To realize this is good medicine. Medicine is Disease, andDisease is Medicine.All forms are Medicine. Form is Emptiness, andEmptiness is Form.This OneGoneness is nirvana. Nirvana is Samsara, andSamsara is Nirvana.Back to practice. Practicing Being takes us to Non-Being.There’s nothing to find, andThat’s what we’re here to find. There’s not an original thought there, butIt is your Original Nature,...

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  • Message from Henry: Self Care

    Henry ShukmanOctober 5, 20223 min read

    Is it self-absorbed and self-centered to be seeking inner peace? Just consider how many interactions you have with others during your typical week.  It doesn't actually matter how many people it may be, many or few - each time you have any kind of interaction, whether on a call, or by messaging, or in person, imagine how it would be if you were feeling open, curious, caring, loving, peaceful and interested in how the others...

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  • Dharmatalk: Valerie Forstman on The Two-Fold Truth: Genjokoan

    MC PodcastOctober 4, 20221 min read

    "Showing their backs then their fronts - falling maple leafs."  ~ Ryokan "Resolving the matter of Life and death is of prime importance." To explore this phrase which is recited at the close of Zen Sesshins, Valerie turns to Dogen's Genjokoan and digs into two truths, conventional and absolute, which are actually one truth. Dogen believes that in Zazen, we are practicing realizing, “ripening the sweet milk of the long rivers.” The entire Genjokoan essay...

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  • Reduced Payments 30 Days of Zen, Nov 2023

    MCZCOctober 1, 20221 min read

    Enter the amount agreed upon with our team. Contact Sarah with questions.

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  • Message from Valerie: That Love is All There is

    Valerie ForstmanSeptember 28, 20222 min read

    “Every single thing holds all things.” This is a line from the awakening poem of Kongshi Daoren, an early 12th c. Chinese laywoman whose name is recorded – and in some centers recited – among the ancestors, one of Zen’s female masters. Born Zhidong, Kongshi is the Buddhist name given when she was permitted as a laywoman - a Daoren or follower of the way - to study with the Zen teachers of her time. Kongshi was...

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  • Dharmatalk: Henry Shukman on Presence

    MC PodcastSeptember 27, 20221 min read

    "Your consciousness does not exist separately from what it contains" Henry explores presence from several different angles, including Internal Family Systems (IFS). The word presence includes some of what mindfulness means, and more. All you have to do is taste it. Presence is really about coming back to yourself, to your own experience. I am here. It requires no blistering kensho experience, but presence softens the way we cling to ourselves. And, here's a link to our...

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  • Embracing Our Intrinsic Belonging

    MCZCSeptember 23, 20221 min read

    Dear Mountain Cloud Friends, With grateful hearts, we offer deep appreciation to our members and friends, our growing sangha, near and far – Mountain Cloud is flourishing! To our local community, your presence, patience, and practice make Mountain Cloud a place of peace and belonging. As we reopen our doors we invite our local sangha back home. We need you and want you to return to the zendo and our land, if you haven’t done so already. Through...

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  • Sangha Meeting – September 17, 2022

    MCZCSeptember 21, 20228 min read

    Tree graphic made by Mark Petrick who presents the new vision for Mountain Cloud in this video MCZC Mission and Overview Mountain Cloud Zen Center (MCZC) seeks to foster teachings of Zen Buddhism, as adapted to Western cultural forms and traditions. Buddhism is constantly adapting to the culture in which it is practiced. There have been many iterations of Buddhism and this will continue to be. As Buddhism grows in the West, we will rise to meet the...

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  • Dharmatalk: Within Practice We Meet Ourselves

    MC PodcastSeptember 19, 20221 min read

    Guest Speaker Karin Kempe of the Zen Center of Denver joins our Thursday Night Sit to offer a talk on Dogen's statement, "Practice is Enlightenment, Enlightenment is Practice." While this sounds great, it doesn't always feel easy. We face resistance that comes up over and over again. Karin offers perspective on the Genjokoan and reminds us that the way is already here. It is not contingent on some method of practice, but within us. And, here's...

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  • Message from Henry: Wanting Things

    Henry ShukmanSeptember 14, 20222 min read

    Let's say I suddenly remember that I need another cap for my head. I can order it for $12 instantly. It will arrive the next morning. The gap between the recognition of the wanting, and the decision to fulfill it, and the execution to supply it, is minimal. How great – quick and convenient beyond belief. The next day the package is at my door and the cap is on my head. Could there be a downside...

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  • Simplicity Zen Podcast Features Valerie Forstman

    MCZCSeptember 13, 20221 min read

    Simplicity Zen is a Zen and mindfulness themed blog and podcast started by Gambo Berry Crawford. Enjoy Berry's interview with Valerie Forstman. https://simplicityzen.com/simplicity-zen-podcast-episode-39-an-interview-with-valerie-forstman/ Image by Takeshi Shimizu

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  • Dharmatalk: Infinitely Open, Endlessly Bright with Valerie Forstman

    MC PodcastSeptember 13, 20221 min read

    Valerie takes up case 29 of the Denkoroku, the record of the ‘transmission of light’ from Bodhidharma to Eka or Huike, as a way to explore the boundless clarity that is none other than this immediate world. One clarity, void of any separation. Hearing a turning word, Eka awakens to the reality Bodhidharma called “vast and void,” and illumines the way. And, here's a link to our YouTube video of this talk. Also, check out our Upcoming...

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  • Within Practice We Meet Ourselves, Karin Kempe (Video)

    MCZCSeptember 12, 20221 min read

    Guest Speaker Karin Kempe of the Zen Center of Denver joins our Thursday Night Sit to offer a talk on Dogen's statement, Practice is Enlightenment, Enlightenment is Practice. While this sounds great, it doesn't always feel easy. We face resistance that comes up over and over again. Karin offers perspective on the Genjokoan and reminds us that the way is already here. It is not contingent on some method of practice, but within us. https://youtu.be/vH3gfOWi5EI Karin Ryuku...

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  • Infinitely Open, Endlessly Bright (Video)

    MCZCSeptember 12, 20221 min read

    Valerie Forstman takes up case 29 of the Denkoroku, the record of the ‘transmission of light’ from Bodhidharma to Eka or Huike, as a way to explore the boundless clarity that is none other than this immediate world. One clarity, void of any separation. Hearing a turning word, Eka awakens to the reality Bodhidharma called “vast and void,” and illumines the way. https://youtu.be/OT2CJP0FekE Image by Mark Petrick

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