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, Outriggers of Practice

    MCZCSeptember 3, 20192 min read

    ...at some stage of our practice, it seems to be necessary to go all in. Last week's message was about committing to a single path of practice. This week I'd like to add a rider to that. For some of us it can be most helpful to have "outriggers" to the "hull" of our primary practice at times. For example, personally I have had some training along the way in other traditions, and have at times worked...

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  • In the Shadows of Transference, by David Loy

    MCZCSeptember 1, 20198 min read

    Fundamentally, the Buddhist path is not about good versus evil and salvation from sin, but ignorance versus awakening and developing the wisdom that sees through delusions that lead to dukkha. Sogyal Rinpoche and Sakyong Mipham . . . alas, yet another wave of scandals around issues of sexual abuse by Buddhist teachers. In this case, public outcry has been partly inspired by the #MeToo movement, but is anyone still surprised by the recurring pattern? Western Buddhists will...

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  • Dharmatalk: Case 86, Book of Equanimity: Rinzai’s Great Enlightenment

    MCZCAugust 29, 20191 min read

    "Sometimes I take away both the person and the world." ~ Rinzai Description: In Case 86, Rinzai, an important figure in the history of Zen, asks his teacher Ôbaku, “What is the great meaning of the Buddha-Dharma?” Ôbaku answers his question very directly. Inherent to this path of practice is the potential to fundamentally change our life. In the early years of his training, the great master Rinzai was having a very hard time and it is...

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  • Message from Henry: A Single Path

    MCZCAugust 27, 20191 min read

    Sometimes people feel they need to go to many different teachers. Master Sheng Yen says it’s as if they think they’ll get something from each teacher, say one dollar from each one, so if they go to ten they’ll have ten dollars. He goes on to say that a more helpful analogy is that of crossing a river. Can that really be done with more than one vessel? Why would we need ten boats to...

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  • Christianity, Buddhism and Silence, with Ruben Habito – Part 2

    MCZCAugust 24, 20192 min read

    Spend one hour a week doing nothing; doing nothing in a very intentional and purposeful way. In short, not attempting to do anything, but just allowing… to be. — Ruben L. F. Habito In this thoughtful 2-part conversation with Encountering Silence, Sanbo Zen teacher Ruben Habito speaks about the relationship with silence and the fullness of a joyful life, as well as how his engagement with both Christianity and Buddhism has shaped his own relationship with silence....

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  • Dharmatalk: Case 85, Book of Equanimity: The National Teacher’s Gravestone (Part 3 of 3)

    MCZCAugust 22, 20191 min read

    "... In between, there’s gold filling the whole land ..." ~ Tangen Description: This is the fifth talk of the Fall 2018 sesshin. Tangen’s beautiful verse to Case 85 is explored and appreciated. Using additional, wonderful excerpts from War and Peace, we are invited to taste what Tangen is expressing. Post & Featured image: Buddha Gold byHoney Kochphon Onshawee, Pixabay License.

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  • Message from Henry: A Message to Visitors

    MCZCAugust 20, 20191 min read

    You have arrived. Dear Visitor - welcome to Mountain Cloud. This is a place of peace. People come here to find a deeper peace in their life, a love, a purpose, meaning, freedom, helpfulness - a sense that there is more to this life than we commonly know. In the path of practice followed here, no belief or dogma or creed is needed, though none is excluded. We follow a simple way of stillness and quiet, which...

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  • Christianity, Buddhism and Silence, with Ruben Habito – Part 1

    MCZCAugust 17, 20192 min read

    Silence for me is not so much a set of external conditions, but more of an inner state of mind. — Ruben L. F. Habito In this thoughtful 2-part conversation with Encountering Silence, Sanbo Zen teacher Ruben Habito speaks about the relationship with silence and the fullness of a joyful life, as well as how his engagement with both Christianity and Buddhism has shaped his own relationship with silence. Click here to listen to part 1 of the...

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  • Dharmatalk: Case 85, Book of Equanimity: The National Teacher’s Gravestone (Part 2 of 3)

    MCZCAugust 15, 20191 min read

    "... The whole point of this practice is to find Now, really find Now ..." Description: This is the fourth talk of the Fall 2018 sesshin. It is a continuation of the exploration of Case 85. The national teacher’s only concern is that the emperor find non-worldly happiness—“the infinite blessing of unconditional well-being.” Once again, Tolstoy’s War and Peace is beautifully employed to frame the perspective of worldly unhappiness and worldly happiness expressed by the characters...

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  • Message from Henry: Just This

    MCZCAugust 13, 20191 min read

    No before or after. No over there, no over here. Just this. Time and space - vanished, gone. Only this. You could say: only peace, but that already spoils it. It has flavors: Silent. Still. Quiet. Infinitely soft. Utterly solid. Infinitely powerful, energetic, dynamic. Infinitely flowing, a churning waterfall of beauty and softness. Infinitely supportive, no matter how much support may be required, here it is, perfectly supporting. Unconditional, unconditioned. Yet it has one condition of entry. You have to give up yourself. You enter through the gate of no-separation, of...

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  • The Heart of a Rose

    MCZCAugust 10, 20191 min read

      The Heart Of a rose So soft So easy to break Let it break it open Open to Life Open to sorrow Open to joy And yet Your open Heart Is never  touched Never soiled By the ups and downs of Life Yes Let your Heart be Broken open Now Before It breaks in thousands peaces Each piece lost In a world Unable to Love Be broken Be open Be Loving Now My dear Heart My dear Love. [Rosa Bellino -  5 July 2019]...

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  • Dharmatalk: Case 85, Book of Equanimity: The National Teacher’s Gravestone (Part 1 of 3)

    MCZCAugust 8, 20191 min read

    "... In the crystal palace there is no one who knows ..." Description: This is the third talk of the Fall 2018 sesshin. It begins with more practice pointers, including the advice to be aware of any expectation or disappointment with regard to a mind that is wishing to attain something. The talk develops into a look at Case 85 from three perspectives: worldly unhappiness, worldly happiness and non-worldly happiness. Note: There is a period of silence...

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  • Message from Henry: Seismic Dharma

    MCZCAugust 6, 20191 min read

    I had a dream recently in which Mountain Cloud was a great truck on which many of us were traveling - almost like a ship - riding through seismically active mountains. Volcanoes and fumaroles would steam and rupture and shake the earth - and on we went, riding through it all. In the words of Mumon and Dogen: the Dharma shakes the earth. And the Dharma-vehicle is untouched.   Message from Henry is from our August 5, 2019...

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  • Dharmatalk: Tolstoy and the Dharma

    MCZCAugust 1, 20191 min read

    "I knew that feeling of love which is the very essence of the soul for which no object is needed." ~ Prince Andrei, War and Peace Description: This is the second talk of the Fall 2018 sesshin. After some additional, helpful sesshin tools for wearing down the self, this talk unfolds into a discussion of the piercing and beautiful wisdom for Zen practitioners contained in the pages of Tolstoy’s “map of the human soul” War and...

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