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.

  • Message from Henry: Hammer Blows

    MCZCFebruary 25, 20202 min read

    An excerpt from part way through Henry's path of training as recounted in One Blade of Grass... ...In spite of all the practice I'd done, the study under them (teachers)... the faith I'd given Zen, throwing in my lot with it, I couldn't deny I still had mood swings. I still got "caught," as the Zen people put it. I looked at my teachers and saw their peace, and knew in some ways it derived...

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  • Mindfulness: You are Not Alone, Jack Kornfield

    MCZCFebruary 23, 20201 min read

    In a recent article titled You Are Not Alone, Jack Kornfield reminds us that we are intricately connected to all things through the air we breathe, the food we eat and the experiences we share. Many mystics, physicists, philosophers and even mathematicians have reached similar conclusions. We are infinitely more than our mind or our body. Kornfield says, “And now, as you read these words, feel yourself as part of the stream of humanity walking...

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  • Falling Snow

    MCZCFebruary 23, 20201 min read

    All last night and    This morning still,     Snow falling in the deepest mountains;     Ah, to see the autumn leaves    Scattering in my home.    ~ Dogen 

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  • Dharmatalk:Already One: 2019 Spring Sesshin (Part 4 of 4)

    MCZCFebruary 20, 20201 min read

    "…and the deepest level of communication is not communication, it’s communion."  ~ Thomas Merton Description: This is the final talk of the Spring 2019 sesshin. It is a “key points” summary of the previous talks, beginning with a discussion of various zones of human healing and wisdom. Bodhidharma described two gates to the Zen path—entry by principle and entry by practice. This is the springboard to discuss many aspects of practice and the experience of awakening,...

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  • Message from Henry: Nothing to Heal

    MCZCFebruary 18, 20201 min read

    There is nothing to heal. The great promise of Zen is that who we really are has been intact, whole and complete since before the beginning of time. And far from being some lofty unreachable claim, this is a palpable, immediate, intimate reality that is actually available in every moment.  This may fly in the face of some understandings, some received knowledge, of institutions with hierarchies and procedures, of "progress" as it’s sometimes understood. And...

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  • Daily Activities

    MCZCFebruary 16, 20201 min read

    Transmitting to the east the way the ancestors brought from the west, My daily activities illuminated by the moon and shadowed by the clouds, Because I revere the ancient way of the patriarchs, The secular dust of worldly customs does not reach Where I remain secluded in my grass-thatched hut, On a snowy evening deep in the mountain recesses. ~ Dogen Zenji  

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  • Dharmatalk: Case 95, Book of Equanimity: Rinzai Draws a Line (Part 2): 2019 Spring Sesshin (Part 3 of 4)

    MCZCFebruary 13, 20201 min read

    Where have you come from?  ~ Rinzai. Description: This is the third talk of the Spring 2019 sesshin. It begins with further reflections on the process of settling into a multi-day retreat and explores the topic of doubt. This unfolds into the story of Rinzai and how he fully expressed the Dharma without any trace of self-driven purpose, as demonstrated by his seemingly perplexing behavior. In Case 95, Rinzai and the temple steward are having...

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  • Message from Henry: Practice Tip

    MCZCFebruary 11, 20202 min read

    Let it be there. Feel it. Breathe into it... don’t try to make it go away. If a lot of thoughts are coming up, pay attention to the body. See if there is some restlessness or discomfort in the torso. Are you wishing the sit could be over, was calmer, quieter, better? If so, check out the torso closely and carefully, looking for a place of unease – perhaps tightness, tingling, agitation, heaviness, whether in...

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  • Learning Peace of Mind: By T.S Last / Journal North Editor / about RGMI Partner Schools.

    MCZCFebruary 10, 20209 min read

    Published / February 9, 2020. Used with the permission of The Journal North. [caption id="attachment_18008" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Starting second from left, Emery Munn, Mateo Martinez, Brooke Roll, Asahel Chavez and other second graders in Zelda Sanchez's and Bart Ramey's classes sit listening for the sound of a metal bowl to fade. This is one of the mindfulness exercizes students at Atalaya Elementary were doing Tuesday, January 28, 2020. (Eddie Moore/Albuquerque Journal)[/caption] Students in Zelda Sanchez...

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  • Winter Retreat

    MCZCFebruary 8, 20201 min read

    The white mountain of Echizen   My winter retreat:  A blanket of clouds   Covering the frosted peaks   And snowy slopes.  ~ Dogen Zenji 

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  • Mindful Living: Open Mind and Heart Space

    MCZCFebruary 7, 20201 min read

    Mindfulness teaching instructs us to observe our thoughts and feelings without judgment. Why? Mind and body are the accumulation of all we have done and experienced in our lifetime. We have an incredible capacity for the storage of memory. This memory becomes our road map for how we see the world. But the map is not the territory! The mind can be a tricky place. If we allow ourselves to cling to the “truths” or...

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  • Dharmatalk: Case 95, Book of Equanimity: Rinzai Draws a Line (Part 1): 2019 Spring Sesshin (Part 2 of 4)

    MCZCFebruary 6, 20201 min read

    "... You are the innate beauty of the whole cosmos, the whole of creation ..." Description: This is the second talk of the Spring 2019 sesshin. To begin, methods to address difficulties that may arise when sitting for long periods are discussed. Case 95 is introduced through the lens of the Three Treasures: Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. A koan sets a precedent— in spite of what we may think, are all capable of the level...

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  • Message from Henry: One Bright Pearl

    MCZCFebruary 4, 20201 min read

    Zen: the only way to keep it is to give it away. Throughout my training I'd thought I just wanted to find again the "one bright pearl" I'd glimpsed on the beach at nineteen, the Golden Fleece the youth failed to bring home, and the inner torment he felt about that being the very measure of his failure. I would never have guessed back then that bringing home the fleece was the lifelong endeavor at...

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  • The Moon Will Come

    MCZCFebruary 2, 20201 min read

    Creating a pond, do not wait for the moon. When the pond is built, the moon will come.   ~ Eihei Dogen

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