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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Last Word, Part 1 with Henry Shukman
March 6, 20231 min read
Henry begins this dharma talk by connecting the heartbreaking upheaval in Ukraine with the three poisons of Buddhism: greed, aversion and ignorance. We watch, stunned and horrified, as these forces reshape our world. Although conflicts like that in the Ukraine may come as a sudden shock, we are all susceptible to these poisons, therefore our world is as well. In this talk from March 3, 2022, Henry Shukman explores "Tokusan Carries his Bowls," Case 13 from...
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Application for Summer 2023 Sesshin – Onsite Attendance
March 1, 20233 min read
Please fill out this application if you wish to attend our June 26-July2 summer sesshin in person. This applies to those who plan for indoor lodging onsite, camping on our land, or commuting from home or a local lodging venue. Due to space considerations, not all applicants will be accepted. Private students of our teachers and MCZC members have priority. That said, you may still apply if this doesn't apply to you. A six day...
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Rohatsu 2022: Day 5, Cannot Get Wet, Cannot Get Dry with Valerie Forstman
February 28, 20231 min read
In this talk from day 5 of the Rohatsu sesshin, Valerie picks up on the previous day’s talk by Henry where he presents the title and first line of the Heart Sutra. Turning to the figure of Kannon, Kanzeon, or Avalokiteshvara, bodhisattva of great compassion, Valerie asks, “What is compassion?” In response, she lifts up the phrase, “Just compassion,” then turns to a koan that addresses the heart of the matter: who we truly are....
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Buddha’s Parinirvana – The Great Unbinding,Teshin Matt Sweger (Video)
February 23, 20231 min read
Celebrated on February 15, Teshin commemorates the passing on of the Buddha - parinirvana - and looks at the ways we understand death, the central question to be resolved in our lives. Teishin explores how we, as Zen practitioners, approach our own unbinding - how do we untangle the knot of self? What is it to be unbound? Teshin Matt Sweger is the resident teacher at the North Carolina Zen Center. He began his Zen...
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Everyday a Good Day, Valerie Forstman
February 18, 20231 min read
Speaking in the wake of multiple mass shootings, Valerie turns to Unmon (Yunmen) and his living koan, “Every Day is a Good Day.” The talk begins and ends in music - the “grant us peace” from a chorus performing while masked to the thunderous silence of a typhoon’s downpour on a small teahouse in Japan, an awakening moment. In between, the talk explores the fulcrum experience that plunges us into the heart of this broken...
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The Heart of Dogen’s Fukanzazengi
February 13, 20231 min read
Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced. ~ Soren Kierkegaard Valerie unpacks the first paragraph of Dogen’s Fukanzazengi, Universally Recommended Instructions on Doing Zazen. This opening paragraph makes four statements, each followed by a challenging question. The Fukanzazengi is the first essay Dogen wrote, at age 27, after returning to Japan from China where he had deep awakening experiences guided by Chinese master Rujing. Valerie looks at this...
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The Capacity to Awaken, Valerie Forstman
February 12, 20231 min read
In this talk from the first Zazenkai of 2023 at Mountain Cloud, Valerie turns to Mahapajapati, mother to Siddhartha Gautama after his birth mother dies and the first female dharma ancestor of the Buddha. After a long absence, Mahapajapati sees the Buddha and recognizes his deep transformation. Her heart is pierced. She asks – for herself and on behalf of the many women gathered in practice - for the chance to be ordained and enter...
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The Advantage of New Years, Valerie Forstman
February 11, 20231 min read
In this first talk of 2023 at Mountain Cloud, Valerie opens with a dedication of the year to hearing the cries of the world, responding in wisdom and compassion, and realizing the Way of awakening that calls to us moment-to-moment. She then turns to a new year’s Dharma Hall Discourse by Dogen, “The Advantage of New Years.” Dogen celebrates the newness of the year, the day, and the morning by raising the question, “Is there...
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