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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  • Message from Henry: Does Zen Actually Work?

    MCZCDecember 24, 20191 min read

    It's a path, not a conclusion. Does Zen actually work? I sometimes wonder. After all, I still get elated when power brokers or incrowders from the world of books send me a friendly greeting, or throw a contract my way, or when a poem comes out in a renowned magazine. And crestfallen when left off a short list: I've given my whole life to this, and look how they treat me... A phantom haunting the weeds,...

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  • Coffee & Culture: Jennifer Villela interviews Henry Shukman

    MCZCDecember 20, 20191 min read

    Listen to this podcast interview (originally broadcast on December 7) on SantaFe.com. Host Jennifer Villela interviews Henry on the Coffee & Culture radio show on KTRC Radio in Santa Fe. Jennifer interviews Henry about his life as a writer, traveler, seeker and Zen practitioner to Zen Master in his new memoir One Blade of Grass.  Listen to Henry talk about how Zen practice changed his life. Click here to listen.

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  • Dharmatalk: Case 93, Book of Equanimity: Roso Does Not Understand

    MCZCDecember 19, 20191 min read

    "... You have to know the jewel to know the treasury ..." Description: This talk begins with a two beautiful poems and unfolds into Case 93, where Roso quotes a line from the Shôdôka to Nansen: “People do not recognize the Mani jewel. I picked it up myself in the Tathagata treasury.” We learn that, most likely, it was not Roso after all, but Shiso, a student of Nansen, who addressed Nansen. What is the treasury?...

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  • Message from Henry: Taste of Awakening

    MCZCDecember 17, 20191 min read

    Every koan is about awakening.... That's why we have to have tasted "awakening" to work with them. The theory is that by studying how generations of old masters acted, in the koans, we gradually deepen our own awakening, until something happens that allows us to join them in their ongoing awakening. What this something is, is sometimes called "great death," which leads to a "rebirth." It's a different thing from kensho: kensho opens a door, offers a glimpse, but...

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  • May We Find Our Inner Light

    MCZCDecember 14, 20192 min read

    ...behind the temporary unavoidable moments of human darkness is the light of calmness and clarity... [caption id="attachment_16110" align="aligncenter" width="728"] Lights of Los Luceros, Saturday December 7[/caption] As light of all kinds illuminate the festivities around our communities, we contemplate its relation to mindfulness. Different cultures around the globe celebrate the power of light to conquer darkness. The festivities are too numerous to list them all, but include our very own Zozobra; Native American Sun and Fire Dancers;...

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  • Dharmatalk: Case 92, Book of Equanimity: Unmon’s “One Treasure”

    MCZCDecember 12, 20191 min read

    "... It’s never apart from you, right where you are ..." Description: Case 92 begins with a quotation from an early Chinese text, the Hôzôron: “Within heaven and earth, in the midst of the universe, there is one treasure hidden in a body.” This talk focuses on the three words: one, treasure, hidden. What is Unmon’s one treasure? Why is it a treasure? Is it hidden? Post & Featured image: Wine Leaf by klickblick, pixabay license....

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  • Message from Henry: Fielding and Finding

    MCZCDecember 10, 20191 min read

    Another way of framing what we’re doing in practice: it is two-fold... First, “fielding” suffering, and welcoming, reducing, transforming it. Second, contacting, finding, encountering intrinsic well-being and allowing it to flourish, grow and show itself more and more clearly, deeply and widely. Message from Henry is from our December 9, 2019 Newsletter Image: Bubble by Ulleo, Pixabay License

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  • Mindful Consuming

    MCZCDecember 7, 20192 min read

    Mindful, silent meals are a precious experience to be savored. The holidays for many are a time to celebrate food and family, and a chance to relax with our favorite pastimes. This presents an opportunity to call to mind the profound lessons we learn during our silent retreats, particularly during our silent meals. On the practical level, retreat participants frequently express gratitude and relief at the unprecedented experience of actually being able to eat slowly with awareness and not...

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  • Dharmatalk: Meditation & The Brain

    MCZCDecember 5, 20191 min read

    "The default mode of the brain is not quiet."  Description: Beginning with a quote from the book, Siddhartha’s Brain, this talk explores facets of meditation across various traditions, as well as a few of the basics of what is happening in our brain when we meditate. Meditation practice can open up a deeper part of our nature where there is only commonality among all beings. Post & Featured image: Brain Mind Obsession by John Hain, Pixabay License....

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  • Message from Henry: A Mindful Approach to Stress

    MCZCDecember 3, 20192 min read

    We learn to experience emotions in the body, and less in the stories we have about them... According to biology and neurology professor Robert Sapolsky (in his book Behave) one of the aspects of chronic stress is that it tends to be psychological. That’s to say, we are threatened not only by actual threats, but by fear of being stressed - of having the stress response activated. But this fear itself activates the stress response. Hence...

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  • Dharmatalk: Case 91, Book of Equanimity: Nansen & the Peonies (Part 2): 2018 Rohatsu Sesshin (Part 6 of 6)

    MCZCNovember 27, 20191 min read

    "Accept what comes from silence." ~ Wendell Berry Description: This is the final talk of the 2018 Rohatsu sesshin. It begins with a few comments on this series of talks and continues on with the discussion of Case 91. The student in this koan, Minister Rikukô, is excited to present a powerful quotation to Master Nansen. Nansen’s beautiful, powerful response is further explored. Post & Featured image: rocks and hills in water by Richie Graham/scopio, purchased from scopio, for use...

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  • Message from Henry: Ordinary Ease

    MCZCNovember 26, 20191 min read

    Ease will come. Awakening may not be something to really celebrate. It’s just losing some obstruction that was obscuring and distorting the view of reality. It’s merely a return to the ordinary. It’s just that this kind of ordinary is not so commonly recognized these days.  *** Sitting: at last, given time, with patience and an attitude of openness to what is, and a longer term view, quiet will fall. Ease will come. Message from Henry is from our November...

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  • Mindful Encouragement

    MCZCNovember 23, 20191 min read

    ...peace comes in the pause, the quiet between breaths... Sometimes life gets messy. In seeking relief from suffering through the practice of mindfulness we may find ourselves wading through a morass of literature, inspirational websites, commercial enterprises, guided meditations and scholarly articles. It’s not supposed to make things harder. Discernment may seem like our best guide. When that fails us, it is okay to seek guidance from others we trust. Ultimately, we are assured that peace comes...

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  • Henry Shukman: Radio-Cafe Interview

    MCZCNovember 21, 20191 min read

      Listen to Henry's Interview on the Radio-Cafe with Mary Charlotte Domandi. Henry and Mary Charlotte have an engaging conversation about Henry's new book, One Blade of Grass.   Image: Dewdrop in the morning sun by kie-ker, Pixabay.com

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