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.

  • The Ultimate

    MCZCApril 21, 20191 min read

    All objects point to the Ultimate,  and a real work of art actively brings whoever  sees or hears it  to his real nature, which is beauty.  The difference between an ordinary object and a work of art is    that the object is passive in its pointing towards the Ultimate  whereas the work of art is active. Jean Kline  (Neither This Nor That I Am, 10; cf. 'A Conversation on Art' in Who Am I?) **** Photo...

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  • Dharmatalk: All Beings, One Intimacy

    MCZCApril 18, 20191 min read

    "... Everything is constantly pouring into existence in this magnificent generosity ..." Description: The Buddha spent his life trying to help others to be freed from suffering. Zen practice exposes our weaknesses, limitations and challenges—this is the grit that makes the pearl. We face things we may not want to face and, therefore, fuel the possibility of discovering that what we thought we were is an invention, that we are not separate, and the true self...

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  • Beauty – Truth

    MCZCApril 13, 20191 min read

    Try to find the Way  to marry  your love of  Beauty  to your love of  Truth  they are the same  Love   ~ Rupert Spira  Image: Rosa Bellino

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  • Dharmatalk (Guest): Ruben Habito: Case 3, Blue Cliff Record: Master Ba is Ill

    MCZCApril 11, 20191 min read

    "... See with the eyes of the heart ..."  ~ Ruben Habito Description: This talk was given by Ruben Habito, founding teacher of Maria Kannon Zen Center in Dallas, TX, on the occasion of a memorial service to celebrate the life of a sangha member. In Case 3, Master Ba is close to death and the temple attendant asks him how he is feeling. What does Master Ba’s answer show us about how he lived? How...

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  • Message from Henry: Kindness

    MCZCApril 9, 20191 min read

    Wisdom asks: how can we live better? Zen is ethical. Like all schools of Buddhism. The karmic problem it addresses is that while humans can be extraordinarily kind and altruistic, we can also be spectacularly selfish and cruel. It’s a wisdom tradition. Wisdom asks: how can we live better? What would it mean to live well? What would it be, to make the most of this human opportunity, wherein we can even ask that question?...

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  • Dharmatalk: Getting Better Resourced

    MCZCApril 4, 20191 min read

    "... We are draining poisons and clarifying the system ..." Description: This is the fifth teisho of the Summer 2018 sesshin. In this closing talk the value of Zen practice is explored with regard to how it teaches us about our human nature. Guided by the Dharma, we practice with the help of a teacher and in this process we are healing both self and world. Post & Featured image: Swirl by johnhain, Pixabay License.

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  • Message from Henry: Right Now – Here it is

    MCZCApril 2, 20191 min read

    The whole universe showing itself... Sometimes people ask: how can I get my practice into my daily life more? As if time on the cushion were segregated off from the rest of life. I don’t see that distinction at all. Why would sitting not be part of life? All the lessons that we learn through sitting apply to all of life. The whole of Zen training is about life itself. Just stop, look, listen, feel......

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  • What Shall We Do? by David Loy

    MCZCMarch 30, 20197 min read

    ...humanity’s greatest challenge ever is also Buddhism’s greatest challenge ever. An excerpt from Ecodharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis, by David Loy Buddhist teachings do not tell us what to do in response to the ecological crisis, but they have a lot to say about how to do it. Gautama Buddha lived about 2,400 years ago in what is now northeast India. Over the next millennium Buddhism spread to most of Asia, interacting with...

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  • Dharmatalk: The Heart Sutra (Part 2)

    MCZCMarch 28, 20191 min read

    "... All things are essentially empty ..." Description: This is the fourth teisho of the Summer 2018 sesshin. This talk is a continuation of the third talk, exploring the gift of the Heart Sutra. “Therefore, in emptiness there is no form, no sensation, no perception, no mental reaction, no consciousness. All things are essentially empty.” Why is this good news for us? Post & Featured image: Mars Victoria Crater by WikiImages, Pixabay License.

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  • Message from Henry: Getting what we want?

    MCZCMarch 26, 20191 min read

    In training, in sitting long hours over decades, do we learn more from getting what we want? For example, from experiencing lovely states of calm and clarity, or perhaps even being graced with a  heart-stopping glimpse of the infinite, boundless, loving power of shunyata? Or, do we actually learn more from not getting what we want? From sitting still through all our trials, troubles and tribulations? Could it even be that learning to settle into...

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  • Lost in Dream

    MCZCMarch 23, 20191 min read

    I never saw the heart beating in my chest the Love that was the melody to my life The life that I overlooked searching too far searching in the future for the Present I alway miss Here before me Me! This Being that beats in my heart this song that moves my fingers writing a song to It Self A music that rings in this autumn evening here at my desk Listening to You To You Finally!...

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  • 2019 Spring Sesshin Photo

    MCZCMarch 20, 20191 min read

    Many thanks to our dedicated teacher Henry, Sandy and her phenomenal cooking cohort, and the diligent zendo team for a fantastic six day spring sesshin, March 11-17, 2019. And of course much gratitude for the participants! 

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  • Dharmatalk: The Heart Sutra (Part 1)

    MCZCMarch 20, 20191 min read

    "... Prajnaparamita is the mother of All ..." Description: This is the third teisho of the Summer 2018 sesshin. The focus of this talk is the Heart Sutra, which is the essence of the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajnaparamita) teachings. What are the five skandhas, or aggregates? The Buddha said, “The skandha of form is as empty, hollow, and insubstantial as a ball of foam on a river.” This points to what humans are capable of discovering...

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  • Message from Henry: “My Practice”

    MCZCMarch 19, 20191 min read

    ...the practice was never “ours,” and it’s there ... that its true saving grace lies. It’s natural and appropriate that when we start to practice, most of us will think of it as “my practice.” It’s something I’m doing, and it’s for me. Many of us will tend to approach it as something we do to get certain benefits that we want. The “mindfulness movement” has drawn millions into some level practice on these premises....

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