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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Time flies but it doesn’t fly away, Valerie Forstman (Video)
April 26, 20231 min read
Unless we know exactly where we are, we can’t answer where we are going ~ Ryoun Roshi Everything is constantly changing but not going anywhere. Valerie asks, What is time? What is this moment, is there anything outside of this now? What does this say about us about who we truly are, and about this practice? Case 53 from the Blue Cliff Record, Hyajkujo and the Wild Duck points directly to this matter. When a...
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Spring Retreat Talk 1, Joshu’s Dog: Crossing Over, Fully Arrived with Valerie Forstman
April 25, 20231 min read
Crossing over to the other shore is the heart of our practice and the heart of Buddha’s teaching. Eventually we realize that we were always on the shore, here and now, in the moment at hand. In this first talk of our Spring sesshin, Valerie looks at the famous koan: Does a dog have Buddha Nature? the traditional first teisho in a Zen sesshin. Valerie mentions a choral chant version of the Heart Sutra from...
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Living Heart of Zen: Spring Retreat, Talk 4: Gathering the Heart Mind
April 22, 20231 min read
Dwelling no-where, mind comes forth. From the Diamond Sutra This final talk or our Living the Heart of Zen retreat, Valerie opens to the emptiness and the fullness of oneness. Heart mind directs us to the fundamental point of who and what we are. In Chinese there is one term for this, Heart Mind. No hyphen necessary, simply one. Contemporary Sanbo Zen teacher Migaku Sato wrote a poem with this line: In nothing at all-ness,...
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Living Heart of Zen, Spring Retreat Talk 3, the Boat is on the River
April 19, 20231 min read
Valerie explores the clarity and simplicity of Master Hogen who came to be known as the dharma eye of deep clarity. Focusing on Case 51 from Book of Equanimity, Valerie illuminates mind and consciousness through Hogan’s clarity. If you want to study buddha-dharma, everything you see is buddha dharma, a door, a window and the exquisite beauty of the boat is on the river. For Hogan there is no difference between phenomena (worldly dharma) and...
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Living Heart of Zen, Spring Retreat Talk 2: Crossing Over
April 16, 20231 min read
Something puts our feet on this path, starting from the ordinary dualistic world. Gradually, as we practice and practice, in some unguarded moment, everything falls away, and it’s just this. Heaven and Earth: without any space for a conjunction. Then we practice, practice, practice…. and return to the ordinary world, but it’s upside down. This great return is a bridge, a crossing over. Continuing with Joshu from the previous day’s talk on Mu, Valerie looks...
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Discount Registration
April 15, 20231 min read
Thank you for registering for our Online Retreat Preparation Workshop. This is where you register for the summer retreat using the 25% discount.
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Living Heart of Zen, Spring Retreat Talk 1: Joshu’s Dog
April 13, 20231 min read
Crossing over to the other shore is the heart of our practice and the heart of Buddha’s teaching. Eventually we realize that we were always on the shore, here and now, in the moment at hand. In this first talk of our Spring sesshin, Valerie looks at the famous koan: Does a dog have Buddha Nature? the traditional subject of the first teisho in a Zen sesshin. Valerie mentions a choral chant version of the...
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The Gap, Natalie Goldberg (Video)
April 8, 20231 min read
When Buddhas are truly Buddhas they do not necessarily realize they are Buddhas. However they are actualized Buddhas who go on actualizing Buddhas, ~ Dogen Natalie explores the gap - the space between who we really are and who we think we are. Listen to this dharma-talk and absorb - we don’t have time to hurry. Natalie illustrates the gap from ancient Zen stories and from her own life. A few quotes from Zen Master...
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Hakuin’s Song of Zazen, Scott Thornton (video)
April 8, 20231 min read
Scott Thornton’s dharma-talk explores Hakuin and Hakuin’s famous Song of Zazen. This inspiring and joyful chant opens with All Beings are Buddha - Freedom is here with us, right now. Freedom from separateness. If we see clearly, our self is no self. Compared to ancient Zen masters, Hakuin is fairly contemporary (1680-1769) He was from a pious family and from a young age wanted to become a monk to avoid rebirth into hell. At 15...
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