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.

  • One Bright Pearl: Conversation on Zen with Henry Shukman and Chris Hebard

    MCZCSeptember 28, 20181 min read

    In One Bright Pearl, Henry and Chris Hebard take us on an intimate journey about Zen. This wide ranging conversation explores many core questions, including... What does awakened mean?  What is happiness?  What causes our suffering? What is Zen?  Is Zen a religion?  What is practice? and why do we practice?  How do we meet personal or social crisis from a zen perspective? What differentiates me from everything else?   Settle back and enjoy this 77...

    Watch the video
  • Teisho: One Love

    MCZCSeptember 27, 20181 min read

    "... It is possible to see through our lives to a great wonder that is without form but is infinitely loving and deeply personal ..." Description: This talk was given the day after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida. Henry had planned on presenting a koan but, instead, decided to tell us a story about an experience he had while at Esalen in Big Sur, California. It is possible to see through our lives to a great wonder...

    Listen to the talk
  • Message from Henry: 4 x 4 All-Terrain Practice

    MCZCSeptember 25, 20182 min read

    The dharma we are encountering... precisely is the contents of our life, warts and all... Occasionally we hit difficult times in our practice and may be tempted to think the practice surely can't apply to or “fit in” with these rough times. I remember one phase early in my own training when I was caught in a complicated, painful situation. I assumed I would have to forego training for a while, until I had sorted...

    Read more
  • Unfiltered Perception

    MCZCSeptember 22, 20181 min read

    Once perception occurs unfiltered,  stripped of the habitual veil of automatic preconception,  it is inherently fulfilling. ~ Henry Shukman **** Photo and creation by Rosa Bellino. Text from The Unfamiliar Familiar, originally published in Tricycle Magazine, Fall 2014

    Read more
  • Teisho: Case 71, Book of Equanimity: Suigan’s “Eyebrows”

    MCZCSeptember 20, 20181 min read

    "... Zen does not impart anything to us, but rather allows us to let go of everything ..." Koans are able to untie things we didn’t know were tied and to open things we didn’t know were closed. Description: This talk begins with a discussion of the power of koans to work on us -- “they are little love bombs.” These stories provide us with a glimpse into the world of the great masters, showing us how they...

    Listen to the talk
  • Message from Henry: Coming Home

    MCZCSeptember 18, 20182 min read

    The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The journey of a million miles begins by sitting down. The whole drama of the self, which wants this and doesn't want that, and gets anxious and then doesn't like the anxiety and wants to be rid of it – why not take a little step back and touch into an awareness which includes all of that, which holds all our experience in a...

    Read more
  • When Spring Returns

    MCZCSeptember 15, 20181 min read

    When spring returns to the earth, the myriad things are born. Smashing empty space to pieces, one is free and at ease. One will never again become attached to self or others. Although the Dharma Realm is vast, one can encompass it all. *** Venerable Master Hsuan Hua http://www.cttbusa.org/dharmatalks/chan.asp *** Image and Creation by Rosa Bellino.

    Read more
  • Teisho: Ruben Habito: Two Zen Questions – Guest Episode

    MCZCSeptember 13, 20182 min read

    Description: This talk was given by Ruben Habito Roshi, founding teacher of Maria Kannon Zen Center in Dallas, TX and Professor of Comparative Religion at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He offers an inspiring introductory talk on Zen, centered on two key questions of a lifetime... Please enjoy this 30 minute talk from a great living Zen master to find out more!. NOTE: The original recording is at a low audio level with some background noise, however Rubne...

    Listen to the talk
  • Message from Henry: Experience

    MCZCSeptember 11, 20182 min read

    ...we’re all barefoot servants, joined in a joyous humility. Right off the bat Zen is about experience. The fact. Reality. The meeting of this moment in its very core. Like getting inside the heart of the atom. Inside the force that makes this moment – with all its contents unified, and with each of its contents individual and unassailable in itself. The praise and awe and reverence that might be given to Shakyamuni or other...

    Read more
  • Flower’s Song, Dogen

    MCZCSeptember 8, 20181 min read

    Haru kaze ni Waga koto no ha no Chirinuru o Hana no uta to ya Hito no nagamen. **** Will their gaze fall upon The petals of words I utter, Shaken loose and blown free by the spring breeze, As if only the notes Of a flower's song? **** The Zen Poetry of DOGEN Verses from the Mountain of Eternal Peace STEVEN HEINE Tuttle Publishing. Boston This talk was given by Zen teacher John Gaynor at The Meditatio...

    Read more
  • Teisho: Happiness

    MCZCSeptember 6, 20181 min read

    Description: In this talk, Henry touches on the various kinds of happiness, or sukha, as articulated by the Buddha, and explores why happiness is a worthwhile subject in light of the questions: Who are we? What are we? Why are we here? Ultimately, Zen practice can guide us into allowing the true experience of unconditional wellbeing. Post & Featured image: Happiness by mohamed_hassan, CCO Public Domain.

    Listen to the talk
  • Message from Henry: Zen and Vipassana

    MCZCSeptember 4, 20184 min read

    ...that infinite nothing has the power to resolve our lives, and not through a sweeping nihilism but an infinite loving wonder, a marvel at the core of every moment... I enjoy close inspection and investigation of the fabric of experience. When I'm thinking a lot, is there some discomfort in the body for example: perhaps the chest is tight. Is it an emotion? Which one? What initiated it? Was it that thought about a recent...

    Read more
  • The Meaning of it All, by David R Loy

    MCZCSeptember 1, 20186 min read

    ...by not taking this side rather than that, we become receptive to both. By not identifying with either, we can come to identify with everything. ~ David Loy The most important thing that humans create is meaning. Because of our distinctive ways of valuing and intending, it is with us (or, to express it less dualistically: in us, as us) that the cosmos becomes meaningful in a new way. To examine the universe objectively and conclude...

    Read more
  • Teisho: Suffering, Beauty & The Dharma

    MCZCAugust 30, 20181 min read

    Description: Highlighting excerpts from two books, Why Buddhism is True, by Robert Wright and Narcissus and Goldmund, by Hermann Hesse, this talk focuses on three topics: suffering, beauty, and the Dharma. When we expose and examine our pain and the suffering caused by wanting things to be different than they are, it becomes easier to allow and accept it— just as it is. Then, we can truly discover the Dharma, and the experience of beauty is...

    Listen to the talk
footer support banner image

Support Mountain Cloud

You can show your gratitude for Mountain Cloud events, retreats, podcasts and other teachings by making a one-time gift, or by becoming a supporting member.

Donate to Mountain Cloud Become a Member