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 Bodhisattva Path in the Trump Era, by David Loy, Part 2 of 2

    MCZCJanuary 14, 201713 min read

    ...our task is to do the very best that we can, not knowing if anything we do is going to make any difference whatsoever. Click here to read Part 1. The second thing I want to talk about is perhaps the most important thing that Buddhism has to offer us at this particular point: the bodhisattva path. The most essential thing about the bodhisattva path is that the bodhisattva has a double practice, or a...

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  • Teisho: Rohatsu: Mu Koan (Part 1 of 5)

    MCZCJanuary 12, 20171 min read

    The great way has no barrier There are a thousand different roads If you pass through this barrier once You will walk this universe alone.         ~ Mumon Description: In this opening talk of our Rohatsu sesshin, Henry explores the Why, What and How of the koan Mu, which has come to be called the gateless barrier of the Zen sect.  Henry poses these simple questions: Why do we do this practice?...

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  • Message from Henry: Occupant or Host

    MCZCJanuary 10, 20172 min read

    ...our practice can over time become more like the ability to play host to whatever kind of experience arises. It’s so easy to get blown off course in practice. In fact although there may be periods when we are staying true to the Path, most of the time it can be a matter of repeated course-correction. For example, we start practicing, and after some time trying to settle into it, we may start to taste...

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  • The Bodhisattva Path in the Trump Era, by David Loy, Part 1 of 2

    MCZCJanuary 9, 201711 min read

    So how much has the election of Donald Trump shaken us up, and maybe, in the process, is it waking us up in a way that the election of Hillary Clinton would not have done? Nov. 22, 2016  It’s been two weeks today since the election, and many of us are still in a state of shock — traumatized, disheartened if not depressed, anxious, angry, fearful and somewhat confused, wondering what’s going to come next...

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  • Spiritual Practice for a Global Sangha, by Ruben Habito, Part 6

    MCZCJanuary 7, 20174 min read

    ...we embrace all that sangha is, which is none other than the reality that we are as interconnected with one another and with all living beings. The Maria Kannon Sangha Here in Dallas, Texas, we are blessed to have a community of persons who come together to practice Zen meditation on a regular basis, at a small zendō we call the Maria Kannon Zen Center. As “Kannon” is the Buddhist icon of compassion, “Maria” is...

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  • Teisho: Is this life or is this death

    MCZCJanuary 5, 20171 min read

    Description: In this short talk, Henry relates a koan about life and death. A student of Dogo’s had died. He went with Zengen to pay respects. Zengen tapped on the coffin and asked, “is this life or is this death?”  Dogo said, “I won’t say, I won’t say.”  Zengen was bothered by this response and pushed his teacher to answer him. Dogo remained silent. Much later Zengen asked Sekiso the same question, Sekiso also responded...

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  • Message from Henry: Dharma Reflections

    MCZCJanuary 3, 20172 min read

    Lest we think silence is the place to hide a heavy heart, remember to love and be loved is life itself, without which we are naught. -Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins In how many ways is the dharma is preached? The Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra speaks of worlds composed of fragrances where the dharma is preached by fragrance, others with only animals where it’s preached by animals, some where it’s preached by trees, others by sounds,...

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  • Spiritual Practice for a Global Sangha, by Ruben Habito, Part 5

    MCZCDecember 31, 20164 min read

    Our different religious affiliations, with their different ways of expressing commitment to whatever is taken as absolute truth by each group, cause us to look at ourselves in terms of “us” versus “them.” Christian and Buddhist Practices Christians who take up Buddhist practice are confronted with a decision: to chant or not to chant the Three Refuges? This practice may be perceived as a setting aside, or even a betrayal, of the primary Christian allegiance....

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  • Teisho: Times of Great Difficulty

    MCZCDecember 29, 20161 min read

    "Hatred never decreased hatred." ~ Henry Shukman Description: Henry offers calming clarity in this post election teisho. He begins by stating that Zen was forged in times of great difficulty and that practice is our only real response to difficulty. Practice teaches us concentration and the clarity to see what is going on both inside and outside. Practice helps to not be swept along by the three fires (greed, aversion, delusion) and it cultivates equanimity which...

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  • Awakening: The Enemy of the People? Part 3 of 3

    MCZCDecember 27, 20164 min read

    Dogen said: “ordinary beings have no awakening in their consciousness; buddhas have no consciousness in their awakening.”   Click to read Part 1 and Part 2 Picking up on the Ox-herding Pictures…. Pictures 1 and 2. Get on the path of training. Picture 3. Sooner or later, a glimpse of the Ox, of the “absolute”, will likely befall us. Picture 4. With another 10 or 20 or 30 years of training, another deeper letting-go can...

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  • Spiritual Practice for a Global Sangha, by Ruben Habito, Part 4

    MCZCDecember 24, 20166 min read

    As we look at this circle of interconnectedness, we will see that it excludes no one in this universe. In some way or other, everything, every sentient being is part of that sangha that makes me who I am. Who belongs to my Sangha? Let us pause at this point to reflect on our own life context, to enable us to see the dimensions of our sangha more clearly. We can ask ourselves: who are...

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  • Teisho: Case 46, Book of Equanimity, Study Accomplished (Part 2 of 2)

    MCZCDecember 22, 20162 min read

    "This life is an unparalleled opportunity; so far as we know, there is nothing like it in the universe. We don’t need to know anymore. This is it." ~ Henry Shukman Case 46: Great Master Tokusan Emmyo instructed his assembly and said, "If you have exhausted to the end, you will realize right away that all buddhas in the three worlds have stuck their mouths to the wall. Yet there is still one person giving a...

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  • Message from Henry: Awakening-The Enemy of the People? Part 2 of 3

    MCZCDecember 20, 20162 min read

    The eye of a true practitioner envelops the entire world. So where would there be a single thing left for you to see or to realize? This transcendence! This miraculous state! Why don’t you investigate it? -Gensha If you missed it, read Part 1 Here are some points.... Awakening is clearly seeing: that self and world are totally empty and boundless and one. that our very self is none other than this world, with all its...

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  • A Bird Flies High

    MCZCDecember 19, 20161 min read

    A bird flies high in the sky Where there is nowhere to go. What remains? Just this flying! Dogen wrote on this subject: Birds fly the skies, and however much they fly, there is no end to the skies. Birds never forsake the sky. When their need is great, there is great activity. When their need is small, there is small activity. In this way, none ever fails to exert itself, and nowhere does any...

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