Teachings
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Dharmatalk: The Sharpest Sword
November 2, 20211 min read
"... Mu cuts through our false sense of separation..." Description: A monk asked Haryo, “What is the sharpest sword?” He replied, “Each branch of corral reflects the moon.” Taking up the lens of this koan, Valerie invites us to see through the habitual grid of separateness and be illumined by the reality Haryo conveys: one single moon, reflected in many drops of dew. The sword that is so sharp it can cut even a hair blown...
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Brain Savvy Spaciousness and Contentment, Rick Hanson (Video)
November 1, 20211 min read
Dr. Rick Hanson was our guest speaker on October 14. He offered a guided meditation and dharma talk, Brain Savvy Spaciousness and Contentment. Enjoy! [embed]https://youtu.be/AVEzmkvooaA[/embed]
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Dharmatalk: Mu
October 26, 20211 min read
"... we must drop all the schemes and agendas we may bring to our sitting ..." "... I want to devote myself to the capaciousness of my heart ..." Description: Many of us who practice Zen are familiar with the koan Mu. How could spending the inordinate amount of time that we do on the cushion, concentrating on this one syllable, ever be beneficial? In this talk given on the first day of Mountain Cloud’s Spring 2020...
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Heartwood, Dharma Talk by Henry Shukman (Video)
October 23, 20211 min read
Henry talks about the heartwood sutra, an early teaching from the pali cannon that uses a tree as its metaphor for the journey of practice. A tree has numerous layers of bark (each layer is a level of practice), the deepest layer or the core layer is the Heartwood which is total universal freedom. Next, he returns to the wash your bowls koan from the Gateless Gate and Mumon's commentary. Henry explores the unknowable zen journey...
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Dharmatalk: Spiritual Habits
October 19, 20211 min read
"... how we can make significant changes in our lives if we start out small ..." "... Little by little, a little becomes a lot ..." Description: Behavioral coach Eric Zimmer breaks down for us how we can make significant changes in our lives if we start out small and set realistic goals for ourselves. He clarifies some of the pitfalls many people fall into when trying to cut out negative behaviors and talks about strategies for...
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Inequalities: Dharma Talk with Shosan Victoria Austin
October 18, 20211 min read
Zen practice is the royal road to being able to respond rather than react. Watch this dharma talk focusing on the heart and mind of compassion with in the context of inequality and history by Shosan Victoria Austin, teacher at the San Francisco Zen Center and certified Iyengar teacher. Shosan also takes some questions at the end of the talk. [embed]https://youtu.be/K3z2ZIVHdcc[/embed]
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Unconditional Gratitude – Journey of the Heart Retreat, Talk 3 (Video)
October 16, 20211 min read
In this third talk of our fall ‘Journey of the Heart’ retreat, Valerie takes up case 4 in the Book of Equanimity, exploring the transformation that can come when we discover a world of unbridled sufficiency and offer ourselves to it in gratitude beyond measure. https://youtu.be/tu8nIV_-0B4
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Dharmatalk: No Choosing
October 12, 20211 min read
"... Focusing on the breath, we learn how to tame the delusive mind ..." Description: Master Joshu features in several important koans in the Zen canon. He is often heard giving poignant clarification to bemused monks about how “the great way dislikes picking and choosing.” In this talk, Rollie del Rosario from the Manila Zen Center in the Philippines discusses how through sitting we may gradually learn to avoid the traps of dualistic thinking that we...
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Falling into Fall – Journey of the Heart Retreat, Talk 2 (Video)
October 9, 20211 min read
Valerie turns to Unmon’s teaching in case 27 of the BCR, “Complete Exposure of the Golden Wind,” exploring the human longing for authenticity and Zen’s invitation to come home exactly as you are. https://youtu.be/TZ6P7HKicXE
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Dharmatalk: On Time
October 5, 20211 min read
"... Reflect now whether any being or any world is left out of this present moment ..." Description: Valerie Forstman leads us through an examination of what it means to use time, and to be used by time. Whether regretting lost time, feeling rushed because we don’t have enough time, or ruing that we may run out of time; of all the anxieties that we grapple with, time is often central to them. Our sitting practice...
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The Borderless World of Mu – Journey of the Heart Retreat Talk 1 (Video)
October 2, 20211 min read
Valerie's first talk at the Journey of the Heart retreat returns to Mu with the question... What is the ‘barrierless barrier’ Mumon and so many others have ‘broken through’ with this koan and who sets it up? https://youtu.be/Aa9gcZJ6vyI
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