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.

  • Spiritual Practice for a Global Sangha, by Ruben Habito, Part 3

    MCZCDecember 17, 20163 min read

    The whole illusion of a separate holy existence is a dream. Seeing in a New Light How do we bring to light and address those items lurking within each of us that can cause fissures in a spiritual community? Let me offer a way of looking at this in a roundabout way, recalling an experience related by Thomas Merton. This is based on an account in his journals dated March 1958, which he revised and...

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  • Teisho: Case 46, Book of Equanimity, Study Accomplished (Part 1 of 2)

    MCZCDecember 15, 20162 min read

    "... The “one giving the great laugh” is the ultimate learner ..." ~ Henry Shukman "... The pure ground without an inch of grass for ten thousand miles still deludes people, and the clear sky without a speck of cloud still deceives you."  ( from master Bansho’s verse to the koan). 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...

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  • Message from Henry: Awakening – The Enemy of the People? Part 1 of 3

    MCZCDecember 13, 20163 min read

    Is awakening an enemy? Does it snatch away our lives? Is it nothing but a neurological oddity, a deception resulting from chemical imbalances? And is it at odds with the rest of life? You sometimes hear caveats, qualifications, cautions and bet-hedgings around the fact of “awakening” in Western Zen. Some teachers disavow it entirely. They want nothing to do with it. Even though it is arguably the core of the Zen tradition. (Is this a...

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  • Spiritual Practice for a Global Sangha, by Ruben Habito, Part 2

    MCZCDecember 10, 20164 min read

    The question that each one of us faces then is this: what is the scope and extent of this “us” which we acknowledge as our circle of belonging? Click here to read Part 1 of  Spiritual Practice of a Global Sangha. The Sangha: Companions on the Path As Buddhists themselves would affirm, however, the truth realized by the Awakened One concerns not only those who identify themselves as Buddhists by reciting the Triple Refuge, but...

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  • Teisho: Case 45, Book of Equanimity, Phrases from the Engaku Sutra

    MCZCDecember 8, 20161 min read

    "... Zen process is similar to a house of cards ..." ~ Henry Shukman "... We are working on many levels…. unraveling wounds, complexes, patiently sitting, letting it all dissolve in the solvent of deep absorption. We feel it cleaning, purifying us… washing away our delusions ..." ~ Henry Shukman Case 45: Four Phrases from the Engaku Sutra "At all times, you do not raise the delusive mind. When there are all kinds of illusory thoughts, you...

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  • Message from Henry: Doubt

    MCZCDecember 6, 20164 min read

    According to Pure Land Buddhism...trust....comes to us “out of Buddha’s compassion, which long ago threw its pure light into human minds and dispelled the darkness of ignorance.” Doubt is one of the “five hindrances” that can afflict our practice, doing their best to slow or halt it. According to Pure Land Buddhism, “there is nothing more dreadful than doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations.” They...

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  • Spiritual Practice for a Global Sangha, by Ruben Habito, Part 1

    MCZCDecember 3, 20164 min read

    Sangha refers to those who hear and accept the Buddha’s teaching and live in accordance with it. Sangha in Historical Context The term sangha, a word that means “assembly” or “gathering,” has now become part of English parlance, together with other terms from the Buddhist tradition, such as nirvana, dharma, and of course, Buddha. Buddhists throughout the world chant in the Pali language, Buddham saranam gacchami Dhammam saranam gacchami Sangham saranam gacchami ...which means “I...

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  • Teisho: Why are we Here?

    MCZCDecember 1, 20161 min read

    "... Zen is not so much a teaching methodology as a learning methodology ..." Description: The second talk from the October Introductory Sesshin argues that Zen is not so much a teaching methodology as a learning methodology that allows us to explore and appreciate reality ever more intimately and gratefully. In a way, Zen has nothing to teach.  Which poses the central question: Why are we here?   At the practical level, many of us come...

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  • Message from Henry: Paying the Toll

    MCZCNovember 29, 20162 min read

    Humility is the one gateway. Without humility there can be no spiritual peace. Acknowledging our ancestors, accepting a lineage, stooping under the lintel of a house of archetypal forebears, submitting to the guidance of a teacher, imperfect though they may be, who has also in their time submitted to a teacher before them -- this all has its spiritual, psychological and doubtless neurological rationale. Of all the qualities that help us in practice, I wonder...

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  • Straightforward Mind is the Dojo

    MCZCNovember 26, 20162 min read

      直心是道場 Jikishin Kore Dojo “Straightforward mind is the Dojo"   Dojo literally means the “place - jo 場 - of the Way - do 道”, also sometimes translated as the “Bodhimandala”. An early reference to the ‘Straightforward / direct mind is found in the Platform Sutra by the sixth Patriarch Hui-neng... The Master instructed the assembly: “… the Single Conduct Samadhi is the constant practice of maintaining a direct, straightforward mind in all places,...

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  • Teisho: Three Treasures and Three Fruits

    MCZCNovember 24, 20161 min read

    Description: This first talk from the October Introductory Sesshin explores some basic underpinnings of Zen practice, introducing the Three Treasures - Buddha, Dharma, Sangha - and describing how they naturally lead us to the three “fruits of practice”: Joriki — mindful awareness, which can be further broken down into concentration, clarity and equanimity Kensho — awakening Actualization or personalization — living out awakening in ordinary daily life Buddha’s aim was to uncover what it is to...

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  • Message from Henry: Dharma

    MCZCNovember 22, 20161 min read

    ...the Dharma is actually not a teaching system. It’s a learning system. The word “Dharma” means “law” or “natural law,” but it also means “teaching.” In a Buddhist context it most commonly refers to the body of teachings of the Buddha, as well as other later teachings in the many traditions of Buddhism. Sometimes it also refers to the fundamental “law” of all things arising, changing and passing away. Thus it also refers to each...

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  • Birth and Death 5

    MCZCNovember 21, 20161 min read

    There is a simple way to become a buddha... When you refrain from unwholesome actions, are not attached to birth and death, and are compassionate toward all sentient beings, respectful to seniors and kind to juniors, not excluding or desiring anything, with no designing thoughts or worries, you will be called a buddha. Do not seek anything else.   Translated by Arnold Kotler and Kazuaki Tanahasi From Moon in a Dewdrop, Writings of Zen Master...

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  • Jizo

    MCZCNovember 19, 20161 min read

      Jizo Scroll by Seki Yasuju (1919-)     Born in Tokyo, Seki Yasuju is a sculptor and a Japanese style painter. He studied under Sawada Masahiro and Fuin Hoshi. Jizo – also known as Kṣitigarbha (in Sanskrit), is a bodhisattva that helps people in hell – s/he is seen a protector, in particular, of children and women.             Photo and creation by Rosa Bellino

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