Getting Started

Mountain Cloud offers daily sitting meditation sessions and an Introductory class for new meditators. If you are new to Mountain Cloud or to meditation, please read this page for some basic guidance. We recognize that the first time you join us, you may not know what to do or what to expect.

Our Daily Meditation Sits, offered both online and in-person, offer a supportive community space for daily silent meditation practice. Read through this page for details on what to expect, the format and timing of our meditation sessions, and how to join/attend. Please know these daily sits are open to the public at no charge, no registration or permission is required. We have revised our COVID-19 Protocols. Click here to read the policy

Click here to go to our daily sitting schedule – both virtual sits and onsite sits.

Click here for our in-person sit schedule.

Click here for our hybrid Introduction to Meditation classes the first Wednesday of each month, with a follow up class for beginners and more experienced practitioners on the third Wednesday of each month. This is part of our Wisdom Wednesdays program

We also have a on-site, in person only Introduction to Zen Meditation class each Sunday morning from 10-11:15am. Click here for more details about this weekly class.

Benefits of Meditation

The practice of meditation can bring many benefits: greater attention and awareness, the settling down of our emotional life, a growing sense of goodwill and kindness, and a desire to be of help in this world.

Many people have extolled the virtues and benefits of meditation, and its capacity to turn a human life around in positive ways. For millennia some people have discovered this for themselves. In recent decades the latest neuroimaging technology has been confirming what meditators have always claimed: that there may be nothing so reliably and dependably helpful for a human being as a regular meditation practice.

If you are new to meditation and would like some basic instruction, explore this page which has a number of short instructional videos, podcasts and guided meditations to help get you started.

What to Expect

Our sits are offered on zoom and some sits are taking place in-person at our zendo in Santa Fe.  Sits are open to all. There is no cost or registration required. If you are interested in sitting with us, consider yourself invited and welcome.

Our daily sits run for one hour as follows….

  • 25 minutes of silent sitting
  • 5 minutes of walking meditation. In the zendo we walk slowly around the room, follow the person in front of you or any instructions given. On zoom you may walk at home or take
  • 25 minutes of silent sitting

Each sitting period begins and ends with a bell rung by our jiki (time keeper)

On Thursday evening, our schedule is slightly different.  We sit for 25 minutes, have a short break then we listen to a dharma talk given by one of our teachers, or occasionally a guest teacher.

Zoom Sits

Use this link to access our zoom zendo:

sit.mountaincloud.org
passcode: mountain22

Use a cushion, bench or chair to sit on.  Find a quiet place in your home, perhaps face the wall. The jiki/host will ring a bell to start and stop the sit. Use the five minute break between the two sits to walk slowly around your space (walking meditation) or take a stretch or break as needed.

Click here if you have any trouble logging on to zoom.

Click here to go to our Daily Sitting Meditation Schedule.

In-person Zendo Sits

Click here for our in-person sit schedule.

We ask that all those who attend sits inside our zendo be fully vaccinated, and preferably boosted. Masks are recommended but optional. No shoes allowed in the zendo and main building. Please leave your shoes in the entryway. We have shoes shelves next to the main door.

When you arrive enter the zendo quietly, and it is best to arrive about five minutes prior to the start of the sit. If you are late, it’s fine, just enter quietly.

Find a place to sit. We have cushions and chairs to choose from. Sit facing the wall. We also appreciate that you wear dark or subdued colored clothing that is fairly modest and not attention grabbing. For example no short, shorts or T-shirts with bright graphics.

During the walking period we walk at a steady but slow pace around the zendo. Please space yourselves evenly and be aware of the speed taken by the time keeper who leads the walking. The leader will clap two wooden clappers at the end of the walking period indicating that you return to your original place, standing. You may sit down when the leader claps the clappers a second time.

Follow what the others do. It’s perfectly fine to make mistakes if you are new. We are flexible and there is no zendo patrol monitoring your sitting, clothing or actions. !! If you have any questions prior to the beginning of the sit or after the sit concludes, you may ask the time keeper for assistance.

Meditation Schedule

Click here to go to our Daily Sitting Meditation Schedule – both virtual sits and onsite sits.

COVID-19 Protocols

We have revised our COVID-19 Protocols. Click here to read the policy and, if you are attending an event that is overnight, you can download a waiver that we ask you to sign and return to us.

Photo by Le Minh Phuong on Unsplash
footer support banner image

Support Mountain Cloud

You can show your gratitude for Mountain Cloud events, retreats, podcasts and other teachings by making a one-time gift, or by becoming a supporting member.

Donate to Mountain Cloud Become a Member