Getting Started
Mountain Cloud offers daily sitting meditation sessions, an intro class, and opportunities to connect with peers and teachers. There’s much to explore! Read on to get a sense of our offerings and formats.
Meditate with us
Our Daily Meditation Sits, offered both online and in-person, offer a supportive community space for daily silent meditation practice. Daily sits are open to the public at no charge, no registration or permission is required.
- Jump Below to learn about the format of our daily sits and what to expect.
- Click here for our daily meditation schedule: every day of the week, online & in person
- Click here to learn about our in-person Intro Class: Sundays, 10:00 – 11:15am MT

Get to know the community
Online participants:
- Join for a friendly check-in to chat with other meditators on Tuesday mornings after zazen
- Drop in to our weekly Book Group with Scott Thornton, Wednesdays @ 9am MT.
- Members Lab: We host a weekly 1-hour peer learning session on Sunday mornings that explores a wide range of topics that resonate with practice, from sutra study to buddhist art to qigong… Reach out to Kieran@mountaincloud.org to drop in to one!
Onsite participants:
- Tea and Toast: Mondays – Wednesdays we offer morning sitters a friendly conversation and tea and toast with our zen teacher Scott Thornton.
- Sunday Morning Tea: Sunday sits are followed by an informal social tea in the dining hall.
- Wisdom Wednesday evenings include a shorter meditation period, a more informal talk, and more sharing from the audience.
- After Thursday Night Dharma Talks one of our teachers or staff members will stick around to chat about the talk or anything on your mind related to practice or Mountain Cloud!
Daily Meditation – Format and FAQ
Important Links
- Our Zoom Zendo is at sit.mountaincloud.org passcode:mountain22
- Click here for Daily Sitting Meditation Schedule.
Format
- Silent meditation (not guided)
- Two rounds of 25 minutes
- 5 minutes of walking meditation in between (or break as needed)
- Arrive early to get settled. The meditation will start promptly.
- We close with chanting “The Four Vows of the Bodhisattva”
- Bell: The bell is run 3 times at the beginning of meditation, twice at the end of the first period, and once at the end of the second meditation period.
- Clacks: The leader”clacks” wood blocks at various times to indicate a transition or action. It might be to bow, to begin walking meditation, to stop walking meditation, or just an indicator that we’re about to start. Feel free to just observe what others are doing and follow along — no pressure to “get things right”.
- Bows: Our tradition is to bow at our cushion, and bow “to the zendo” before taking our seat. This is an acknowledgement of gratitude for that which supports our practice (the cushion itself, and the sangha surrounding us). We also bow to one another at the end of the hour of meditation — the timekeeper will signal the group.
- Check out our Glossary.
Beginners Mind: Follow what the others do. We are flexible and there is no zendo patrol monitoring your sitting, clothing or actions!
Talk to us! If you have any questions prior to the beginning of the sit, feel free to ask the timekeeper, or email one of our community stewards abby@mountaincloud.org or kieran@mountaincloud.org
ONLINE FAQ
- Use this link to access our zoom zendo: sit.mountaincloud.org passcode:mountain22
- Click here if you have any trouble logging on to zoom.
- Stick around after Tuesday morning sits for an informal peer check in!
- Want to meditate with a guided meditation? Jump over to our Intro Zone to see various guided meditations from Henry Shukman. Feel free to play these while you sit with us.
ON-SITE FAQ
- No shoes in the center; indoor-only slippers are allowed.
- You can sit on cushions, chair, or backjack — we welcome any way you need to sit to support your body.
- Arrive early so you can set up your cushions as you like.
- Sit facing the wall.
- Our walking meditation is slower/faster than other traditions. The pace is more like normal walking – keeping pace with the person ahead of you. Clappers will indicate when to return to your seat, bow, and take a seat for the next round.
We are happy to connect with you
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Deepen your knowledge and practice with our free resources
Dharma Talk: “Where the Active Wheel Revolves” with Valerie Forstman
Dharma Talk: “Flower Garland Buddhism” with Ben Connelly
Dharma Talk: “No Merit” with Scott Thornton
Glossary
Mountain Cloud comes from a lineage of Zen born in Japan. In honor of those roots, some of the original Japanese terms/names for things have stuck, and you may hear us using some of these words or their English translations interchangeably.
Terms in the Zendo
Jiki – timekeeper, sit leader. This is the person responsible for keeping time, ringing the bell, and leading the walking meditation.
Kinhin – Slow walking meditation. Keep the gap with the person in front of you. Right hand is a fist and the left hand is over the right, held near your solar plexus. When others speed up, do the same until you are standing in front of your cushion or chair.
Sit – Often we use “sit” as a short hand for meditation. This touches on out roots in “just sitting” and the fact that you don’t have to do anything special in your meditation — assuming the posture might be enough!
Zazen – At its essence, Zazen is the act of simply sitting, yet it encompasses much more than mere physical stillness. Practitioners engage in Zazen with a deliberate posture and mental focus unique to Zen meditation, emphasizing mindfulness and awareness of breath.
Other Terms
Dharma – this can refer to: The Way, or path of liberation. Universal Truth, the underlying truth or reality of existence. Awakening to the true nature of things. Teaching delivered by a teacher, texts or Sutras.
Dokusan – A private meeting between a Zen student and teacher. This is important as it provides an opportunity for the student to get personal guidance and develop deeper understanding.
Gassho – Giving thanks with hands in a prayer position.
Samu – Work practice, part of Zen tradition. Mindful attention to and fellowship with others while doing chores and maintenance.
Sangha – Our community of teachers and lay practitioners.
Sanbo Zen – Sanbo Kyodan (三宝教団, Sanbō Kyōdan, is a lay Zen school derived from both the Soto (Caodong) and the Rinzai (Linji) traditions. It was renamed Sanbo-Zen International in 2014.
Teisho – Formal Dharma talk.
Zendo – The room where we practice Zazen, our seated meditation.
