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.

  • Dharmatalk: Valerie Forstman on The Two-Fold Truth: Genjokoan

    MC PodcastOctober 4, 20221 min read

    "Showing their backs then their fronts - falling maple leafs."  ~ Ryokan "Resolving the matter of Life and death is of prime importance." To explore this phrase which is recited at the close of Zen Sesshins, Valerie turns to Dogen's Genjokoan and digs into two truths, conventional and absolute, which are actually one truth. Dogen believes that in Zazen, we are practicing realizing, “ripening the sweet milk of the long rivers.” The entire Genjokoan essay...

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  • Reduced Payments 30 Days of Zen, Nov 2023

    MCZCOctober 1, 20221 min read

    Enter the amount agreed upon with our team. Contact Sarah with questions.

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  • Message from Valerie: That Love is All There is

    Valerie ForstmanSeptember 28, 20222 min read

    “Every single thing holds all things.” This is a line from the awakening poem of Kongshi Daoren, an early 12th c. Chinese laywoman whose name is recorded – and in some centers recited – among the ancestors, one of Zen’s female masters. Born Zhidong, Kongshi is the Buddhist name given when she was permitted as a laywoman - a Daoren or follower of the way - to study with the Zen teachers of her time. Kongshi was...

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  • Dharmatalk: Henry Shukman on Presence

    MC PodcastSeptember 27, 20221 min read

    "Your consciousness does not exist separately from what it contains" Henry explores presence from several different angles, including Internal Family Systems (IFS). The word presence includes some of what mindfulness means, and more. All you have to do is taste it. Presence is really about coming back to yourself, to your own experience. I am here. It requires no blistering kensho experience, but presence softens the way we cling to ourselves. And,

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  • Embracing Our Intrinsic Belonging

    MCZCSeptember 23, 20221 min read

    Dear Mountain Cloud Friends, With grateful hearts, we offer deep appreciation to our members and friends, our growing sangha, near and far – Mountain Cloud is flourishing! To our local community, your presence, patience, and practice make Mountain Cloud a place of peace and belonging. As we reopen our doors we invite our local sangha back home. We need you and want you to return to the zendo and our land, if you haven’t done...

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  • Sangha Meeting – September 17, 2022

    MCZCSeptember 21, 20228 min read

    Mountain Cloud Zen Center (MCZC) seeks to foster teachings of Zen Buddhism, as adapted to Western cultural forms and traditions.

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  • Dharmatalk: Within Practice We Meet Ourselves

    MC PodcastSeptember 19, 20221 min read

    Guest Speaker Karin Kempe of the Zen Center of Denver joins our Thursday Night Sit to offer a talk on Dogen's statement, "Practice is Enlightenment, Enlightenment is Practice." While this sounds great, it doesn't always feel easy. We face resistance that comes up over and over again. Karin offers perspective on the Genjokoan and reminds us that the way is already here. It is not contingent on some method of practice, but within us. And,

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  • Message from Henry: Wanting Things

    Henry ShukmanSeptember 14, 20222 min read

    Let's say I suddenly remember that I need another cap for my head. I can order it for $12 instantly. It will arrive the next morning. The gap between the recognition of the wanting, and the decision to fulfill it, and the execution to supply it, is minimal. How great – quick and convenient beyond belief. The next day the package is at my door and the cap is on my head. Could there be...

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  • Simplicity Zen Podcast Features Valerie Forstman

    MCZCSeptember 13, 20221 min read

    Simplicity Zen is a Zen and mindfulness themed blog and podcast started by Gambo Berry Crawford. Enjoy Berry's interview with Valerie Forstman. https://simplicityzen.com/simplicity-zen-podcast-episode-39-an-interview-with-valerie-forstman/ Image by Takeshi Shimizu

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  • Dharmatalk: Infinitely Open, Endlessly Bright with Valerie Forstman

    MC PodcastSeptember 13, 20221 min read

    Valerie takes up case 29 of the Denkoroku, the record of the ‘transmission of light’ from Bodhidharma to Eka or Huike, as a way to explore the boundless clarity that is none other than this immediate world. One clarity, void of any separation. Hearing a turning word, Eka awakens to the reality Bodhidharma called “vast and void,” and illumines the way. And,

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  • Within Practice We Meet Ourselves, Karin Kempe (Video)

    MCZCSeptember 12, 20221 min read

    Guest Speaker Karin Kempe of the Zen Center of Denver joins our Thursday Night Sit to offer a talk on Dogen's statement, Practice is Enlightenment, Enlightenment is Practice. While this sounds great, it doesn't always feel easy. We face resistance that comes up over and over again. Karin offers perspective on the Genjokoan and reminds us that the way is already here. It is not contingent on some method of practice, but within us. Karin...

    Watch the video
  • Infinitely Open, Endlessly Bright (Video)

    MCZCSeptember 12, 20221 min read

    Valerie Forstman takes up case 29 of the Denkoroku, the record of the ‘transmission of light’ from Bodhidharma to Eka or Huike, as a way to explore the boundless clarity that is none other than this immediate world. One clarity, void of any separation. Hearing a turning word, Eka awakens to the reality Bodhidharma called “vast and void,” and illumines the way. Image by Mark Petrick

    Watch the video
  • Message from Valerie: Welcome Suffering

    Valerie ForstmanSeptember 7, 20222 min read

    This Zen or Chan tradition is at root a response to suffering, sentient being suffering, suffering in all forms. The response is summed up in the first ennobling truth - there is suffering (dukkha) - and the first bodhisattva vow: Sentient beings are numberless; I vow to free them (or I vow to save them all). On the surface, this sounds like mission impossible. But it’s already going on. The vow points to the absolute capacity...

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  • Introduction to Meditation Weekend, Talk Two: All

    MC PodcastSeptember 6, 20221 min read

    "Love sitting in Zazen, as if putting out a fire on top of your head" ~ Dogen Valerie Forstman gives the second talk during the April Intro to Meditation weekend. What are you practicing for? We sit in the midst of it all, the pandemic, climate change, suffering and joy... all. And,

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