Teachings

  • Message from Valerie: An Invitation to Serve

    Valerie ForstmanJanuary 25, 20232 min read

    Mountain Cloud sangha members are currently coming together once each month to prepare and serve a delicious meal at the Interfaith Shelter, known as Pete’s Place, here in Santa Fe. For members interested in further engagement with vulnerable segments of our community, we have an opportunity to serve with fellow practitioners in Upaya’s Street Ministry project.  Upaya’s Street Ministry focuses on supporting member’s of Santa Fe’s community who are experiencing homelessness. Volunteers in the Street Ministry not only...

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  • A Flash of Lightening

    MCZCNovember 27, 20151 min read

    Once, inspired by the beautiful autumn evening, the Master was strolling through a sweet potato field. A farmer, thinking he was bent on stealing the crops, surprised him and struck him with his fist. Not content with this, he then tied the Master to a pine tree and continued to pummel him with blows. Begging forgiveness, the Master declared: “I never intended to steal!” The farmer, shocked to recognize the Master’s voice, promptly untied him, apologizing profusely. The Master broke out laughing. The...

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  • Teisho: Case 18 Book of Equanimity, Does A Dog Have Buddha Nature? Part 2 of 3

    MCZCNovember 26, 20151 min read

    Description: Henry continues his lively exploration of the the Book of Equanimity’s version of the Mu koan. In this koan, Joshu replies to the monk’s question, “Does a dog have Buddha nature?” first by saying “U” or yes, then later by saying, “Mu” or no. Henry addresses Joshu’s apparently contradictory responses by paraphrasing from the Buddha, “If you are looking for big cosmic answers, you have come to the wrong place.” Joshu is baiting the monk...

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  • Message from Henry: Practice and Training

    MCZCNovember 25, 20153 min read

    Training is about ... diminishing our faith in what we think we understand, and learning how to surrender. There's a distinction between practice and training. At times we are happy to practice, but are not so open to training. But to practice without training is to miss the heart of practice. Only through training does practice keep opening itself. This is hard to see for ourselves, without help. Sesshin is the main element in training. The great...

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  • Everything Just as it Is

    MCZCNovember 23, 20151 min read

    "Everything just as it is, as it is, as is. Flowers in bloom. Nothing to add." ~Roshi Robert Aitken Photo and creation by Rosa Bellino

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  • White Clouds, Old Mountains

    MCZCNovember 20, 20151 min read

    “Although the white clouds have no mind, wherever they go they seem to be attracted to the old mountains. What are these white clouds? What are these old mountains? Dōgen struck the sitting platform with his whisk. After a pause Dōgen said: No guests remain within the dragon gate. Turtles and cranes are inherently mountain sages.” * * * * * In Dogen’s Extensive Record: A Translation of Dogen’s Eihei Koroku, Taigen Dan Leighton footnotes as follows: “These two sentences...

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  • Teisho: Case 18 Book of Equanimity, Does A Dog Have Buddha Nature? Part 1 of 3

    MCZCNovember 19, 20151 min read

    Description: This talk opens with some reflections on what we are doing practicing Zen. Henry describes some of the ways and means by which Zen practice came to America during the mid 20th century, noting that meditation has now become mainstream, and many students are hungry to learn from the ancient masters in order to experience true peace, freedom and kindness.  Henry then looks at Case 18 in the Book of Equanimity, which is a fuller...

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  • Message from Henry: Spiritual Bypassing and Awakening

    MCZCNovember 18, 20155 min read

    ...don’t hide from our personal and interpersonal problems by hiding away in our spiritual practice. “SPIRITUAL BYPASSING:” A COUPLE OF CLARIFICATIONS The most obvious form of “spiritual bypassing” is when we run away from life into spiritual communities, especially residential ones, where we try to avoid the challenges of our personalities and relationships by throwing ourselves into spiritual practice. The danger is that we don’t get any better in areas of life that we might do better...

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  • Empty Sky

    MCZCNovember 16, 20151 min read

    The empty sky embracing All with choiceless Love Photo and Poem by Rosa Bellino

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  • The Three Refuges, Part 3, The Sangha

    MCZCNovember 13, 201516 min read

    Buddham saranam gacchami Dhammam saranam gacchami Sangham saranam gacchami Written by Ruben Habito. Click to read Part 1 and Part 2 of the Three Refuges. Part III—The Sangha as Refuge We continue unpacking the three refuges, called the three treasures in the Buddhist tradition. In the last two talks, we looked at the Buddha, the first treasure, and the Dharma, the second, and noted how these two point us to the basic components of the awakened life. Gautama Shakyamuni...

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  • Stephen Batchelor and Henry Shukman, A Conversation, Part 2: Q & A

    MCZCNovember 12, 20151 min read

    Description: Stephen Batchelor returned to Mountain Cloud on Thursday April 2  for a conversation on early Buddhism, the Zen tradition and ancient Greek Philosophy with Mountain Cloud’s guiding teacher, Henry Shukman. Their wide ranging discussion continued the exploration of contact, connection and congruence between the ancient East and West begun the previous June, when Stephen and Henry sat down for an engaging conversation on “Going Back to the Source.”  This episode is part 2 of the...

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  • Crimson Leaves of Autumn

    MCZCNovember 12, 20151 min read

    "What will remain of my legacy? Flowers in the spring, The hototogisu in summer, And the crimson leaves of Autumn." - Ryokan, 1758-1831 One Robe, One Bowl, Translated by John Stevens Photo and creation by Rosa Bellino, used with her permission.  

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  • Message from Henry: Wisdom

    MCZCNovember 12, 20153 min read

    In nothingness there is a way.  --Tozan Ganto (828-887) once said: “It is better to expel things and inferior to pursue things.” The Tao Te Ching says: Those who pursue learning gain something every day. Those who pursue the Way lose something every day, loss after loss, until we reach nothing to do – no doing, yet nothing is not done. How do we lose things? We watch them arise and pass away, we allow them to arise and pass away; and...

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  • A Bird in the Sky

    MCZCNovember 9, 20151 min read

    “A fish swims in the ocean, and no matter how far it swims there is no end to the water. A bird flies in the sky, and no matter how far it flies there is no end to the air. However, the fish and the bird have never left their elements. When their activity is large their field is large. When their need is small their field is small. Thus, each of them totally covers its full range, and each...

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  • The Three Refuges, Part 2, The Dharma

    MCZCNovember 6, 201521 min read

    Buddham saranam gacchami Dhammam saranam gacchami Sangham saranam gacchami Written by Ruben Habito, Click to read Part 1 of The Three Refuges Part II—The Dharma Refuge We are in the process of elucidating the three refuges which we just chanted. Our intent is not just to give an intellectual explanation, but to allow an unfolding of what actually happens as we chant those verses with our whole body, with our whole mind, with our whole being....

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