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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Poetry, Practice, and the Wild Ethics of Love: A Conversation with David Hinton
November 19, 20241 min read
David Hinton has published numerous books of poetry and essays, and many translations of ancient Chinese poetry and philosophy—all informed by an abiding interest in deep ecological thinking. This widely-acclaimed work has earned Hinton a Guggenheim Fellowship, numerous fellowships from NEA and NEH, and both of the major awards given for poetry translation in the United States: the Landon Translation Award (Academy of American Poets) and the PEN American Translation Award. Most recently, Hinton received...
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Poetry, Practice, and the Wild Ethics of Love: A Conversation with David Hinton
November 14, 20241 min read
David Hinton has published numerous books of poetry and essays, and many translations of ancient Chinese poetry and philosophy—all informed by an abiding interest in deep ecological thinking. This widely-acclaimed work has earned Hinton a Guggenheim Fellowship, numerous fellowships from NEA and NEH, and both of the major awards given for poetry translation in the United States: the Landon Translation Award (Academy of American Poets) and the PEN American Translation Award. Most recently, Hinton received...
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Valerie Forstman: Zen’s Subverting Impulse: Overturning the One
November 5, 20241 min read
This week's talk was offered by Mountain Cloud's Guiding Teacher, Valerie Forstman. It was recorded on October 31st at the Zendo in Sante Fe. Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member so we can continue to provide online programs such as this. Donations: https://www.mountaincloud.org/donate/ Become a member: https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/membership/ Check out our website: https://www.mountaincloud.org/ All are welcome to join us for sitting and dharma talks. Use this link to join us:...
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Kali Basman: Cultivating Wonder
October 29, 20242 min read
Kali invites us to examine the wide array of features that comprise “The Practice Field,” the many aspects of our path of practice. She states that as a species we are quite proficient at ignoring our “shadow side of life,” those parts of us that help inform the richness of the practice field. Through this avoidance of difficult experiences, we contribute to our own suffering. Kali suggests that, with kindness and insight, we can lovingly...
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Kali Basman: Cultivating Wonder
October 25, 20241 min read
Kali invites us to examine the wide array of features that comprise “The Practice Field,” the many aspects of our path of practice. She states that as a species we are quite proficient at ignoring our “shadow side of life,” those parts of us that help inform the richness of the practice field. Through this avoidance of difficult experiences, we contribute to our own suffering. Kali suggests that, with kindness and insight, we can lovingly...
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Teshin Sweger: Am I too old to realize my true nature?
October 3, 20241 min read
Teshin Sweger invites us to consider a koan that is not in any of the koan collections. He asks us to consider the koan of our aging. In practice he often hears the question, am I too old to sit and realize my true nature? As we are all aging, Teshin encourages us to hear the messengers of sickness, old age, and death. At what point will we stop having a need to shine and...
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David Loy: A Buddhist Response to the Ecological Crisis
September 11, 20241 min read
Author, Zen teacher, and Ecodharma activist David Loy begins his talk reminding us that the ecological crisis is the greatest crisis humanity has ever faced, and that we are doing this to ourselves. He then poses the question: what do our spiritual traditions have to offer to help us respond appropriately? The Buddhist tradition offers the bodhisattva path. David shares with us a rich trajectory of the Buddhist path, the natural world, and our engagement....
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Katie Arnold: Brief Flashings in the Phenomenal World
August 29, 20241 min read
Ultramarathon runner, Zen practitioner, and author Katie Arnold shares her compelling story of running, Zen, writing, and living life - all through the lens of not-knowing and accepting uncertainty. Katie’s recent book, Brief Flashings in the Phenomenal World, emerged in the aftermath of her father’s death, her associated anxiety, and a life-altering accident that occurred while rafting a whitewater river. “Brief flashings,” she says, “are moments of wonder that make us feel alive and connected.”...
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Carmen Afable: Breathing Mu
August 22, 20241 min read
Zen teacher Carmen Afable grounds her teisho in Shoyoroku case #93: Roso Does Not Understand. After reading the case, Carmen reminds us that we are the treasure and pearl of great value discussed in the koan. She says, “the Kensho experience is right before our eyes but we cannot see it as we are full of our delusive selves.” But Mu is everywhere, and the entire universe is “Mu-ing.” We are Mu, the finest jewel....
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