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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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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Dharmatalk: Diamond Sutra and Living Beings with Maria Habito
March 17, 20231 min read
"Abiding no-where mind comes forth." Maria Habito returns to Mountain Cloud's zoom zendo and talks about the Diamond Sutra. When we enter deep silence, the diamond cuts through every notion we carry. It can show us intimate awareness of no self, no other, no sentient beings and no time. In this talk, Maria focuses on Living Beings, which refers to those who are not yet enlightened. However many species of living beings there are, Bodhisattvas...
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Longing to Belong, Shana Smith (Video)
March 13, 20232 min read
Shana relays a personal story—about walking her dogs while trying to listen to a dharma talk on her phone—as an example of how what we are seeking and longing for – is already right HERE. She explores the koan “Seijo’s Soul Is Separated” Gateless Gate Case 35) as a pointer to seeing into the reality our non-dualistic true self, which helps us compassionately understand that we, by our very nature, belong to the world. Shana...
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Life-and-death – the one and the many, Valerie Forstman (Video)
March 13, 20231 min read
On the eve of the one-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, Valerie begins and ends with gratitude for the life and practice of a longtime practitioner, a woman of Ukrainian descent who died several months into the war. We hear the teaching of Karen Boreham on practice-awakening, unconditional love, beauty, bravery, empty-handed acceptance, and death. In between, Valerie takes up Case 149 from Dogen’s “Treasury of the True Dharma Eye.” The koan presents this...
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Rohatsu 2022: Day 6, Vibes, Awakening and What then? with Henry Shukman
March 7, 20231 min read
For this final Rohatsu talk, Henry looks at three questions. What are we doing here, just sitting with each other? What is awakening? and What then? We are living "it" every moment. And,
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Last Word, Part 2 with Henry Shukman
March 6, 20231 min read
Henry begins this talk by addressing a question that may nag at our practice: How at a time like this, with the world upended by the war in eastern Europe can we concern ourselves with koans? Continuing from his previous talk on March 3rd 2023, Henry returns to Case 13 of the Gateless Gate, providing additional commentary on the “Last Word.” Photo by Mark Paul Petrick
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