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.
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Dharmatalk: Case 78, Book of Equanimity: Unmon’s “Rice Cake”
January 31, 20191 min read
"... Everything is a treasure ..." Description: Koans are anecdotes from the lives of enlightened masters. The focus of this talk is a koan that conveys the mind of Master Unmon. In Case 78, a monk asks Unmon what it means to “go beyond Buddha and the ancestors” -- a quote that the monk has read. Unmon responds simply: “Rice cake.” The talk explores the meaning of the monk’s question, and the dynamic power of Unmon’s...
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Dharmatalk: Case 77, Book of Equanimity: Kyozan: As His Profession Requires
January 24, 20191 min read
"... Infinite love is the whole story ..." Description: What is a koan? This talk begins by addressing this question. Koans aid us in the investigation of what it is to be alive. This unfolds into a discussion of Case 77 and what it offers to us. There is a dance happening between Kyôzan and the monk and they are both aware that it is all empty. Post & Featured image: Love by johnhain, Pixabay License.
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Dharmatalk: Case 76, Book of Equanimity: Shuzan’s Three Verses
January 17, 20191 min read
"... Your you-ness is what is utterly beloved, from beginningless beginning ..." Description: This talk begins with a discussion of the five hindrances: desire; aversion; sloth and torpor; restlessness and worry; doubt. It goes on to explain how our task is not so much to get rid of them as to be aware of them. This leads into an examination of Case 76, where Master Shuzan is telling it like it is—practice has nothing to...
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Dharmatalk: Koan Study: Why Bother?
January 10, 20191 min read
"... a glimpse of another order of things, in an experience of awakening from the “dream” of what we have taken our lives to be ..." Description: This talk is about why and how we study koans. Practice often begins with mindfulness training, with the breath as our focus as well as other aspects of present-moment awareness. Koan study is encouraged once we’ve had a glimpse of another order of things, in an experience of awakening...
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Family Matters: Welcoming the New Year 2019 by Ruben Habito
January 7, 20198 min read
Dear Brothers and Sisters of our Sanbo Zen Community, Let me begin by citing from an inspiring sermon I heard at a Eucharistic celebration on the Feast of the Holy Family, Sunday, 30 December 2018, at St. Johann’s Basilica, in Saarbrücken, Germany. Given the theme of the day, the preacher, as to be expected, spoke about family and its vital role in making (or breaking) us in becoming who we are as human beings. He...
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Dharmatalk: A Well That Has Not Been Dug
January 3, 20191 min read
In a well that has not been dug, water is rippling from a spring that does not flow; There, someone with no shadow or form is drawing the water. Description: This talk focuses on one of the first koans in the koan training: In a well that has not been dug, water is rippling from a spring that does not flow; There, someone with no shadow or form is drawing the water. We can find with...
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Dharmatalk: Love is the Teaching
December 27, 20181 min read
It is empty, nameless, all-embracing love Description: The Blue Cliff Record is a classic collection of koans compiled by Setcho (Xuedou) in 1028. Each koan has a corresponding verse composed by Setcho, and the focus of this talk is Setcho’s beautiful verse to Case 2: In one there are many kinds. In two there are not two. Post & Featured image: Rose by Sushuti, CCO Public Domain.
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Dharmatalk: Case 75, Book of Equanimity: Zuigan’s “Everlasting Truth” (Part 2)
December 20, 20181 min read
Description: This talk continues the discussion of Case 75 and the wonder of practice. Zuigan has asked Ganto if there is an unchanging, everlasting reality. This can be taken as the central question of a lifetime. Ganto tells him that “it” -- the unchanging truth -- has already changed. We can never experience the world that Ganto inhabits through our understanding. Yet it is embodied in the koan, and embodied in the great masters. This...
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