Mountain Cloud Zen Podcasts
195 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 46 ratingsSanta Fe, NM
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Episodes
Dharmatalk: Encounter of the Heart Retreat: Zen’s Origin Story Q&A (Part 4 of 6)
July 05, 2022 17:00 - 29 minutes - 43.2 MBDescription: This is the Question & Answer companion to Encounter of the Heart Retreat: Zen’s Origin, Part 2. Valerie Forstman is the speaker and teacher for this session. And, here’s
Dharmatalk: Encounter of the Heart Retreat: Zen’s Origin Story (Part 3 of 6)
June 28, 2022 17:00 - 33 minutes - 49.8 MBDescription: Valerie explores Zen’s origin story about the flower, a smile and universal space, case six from the Gateless Gate. And, here’s a link to our YouTube video of this
Dharmatalk: Encounter of the Heart Retreat: Stop & See Q&A (Part 2 of 6)
June 21, 2022 17:00 - 34 minutes - 51 MBTo be able to hear the dharma is truly rare. To do so we must: Stop and see, sit still and let go. Description: This is the Question & Answer
Dharmatalk: Encounter of the Heart Retreat: Stop & See (Part 1 of 6)
June 14, 2022 17:00 - 39 minutes - 35.8 MBEmpty, new and utterly fleeting, arriving now but already done. Description: In this first Teisho from the Encounter of the Heart Retreat, January 2021, Valerie Forstman reminds us that this
Dharma Talk: Nansen Kills the Cat
June 07, 2022 17:00 - 44 minutes - 41 MB“… Does Nansen really kill the cat? …” Description: Maria Reis Habito gives a teisho on Case 14 from the Gateless Gate, Nansen Kills the Cat. And, here’s a link
Dharmatalk: Nansen Kills the Cat
June 07, 2022 17:00 - 44 minutes - 41 MB“… Does Nansen really kill the cat? …” Description: Maria Reis Habito gives a teisho on Case 14 from the Gateless Gate, Nansen Kills the Cat. And, here’s a link
Dharmatalk: Meet your Life
May 31, 2022 17:00 - 39 minutes - 36.5 MBDescription: Natalie Goldberg gives an inspiring talk about Zen in action. She describes some of her background experiences in both Zen and writing and how they interact and nourish each
Dharmatalk: Dosho Port speaks about his new book The Record of Empty Hall: One Hundred Classic Koans
May 24, 2022 17:00 - 41 minutes - 37.6 MBDescription: Dosho Port teaches with the Vine of Obstacles: Online Support for Zen Training and at the Nebraska Zen Center in Omaha, and he has been practicing Zen since 1977.
Dharmatalk: Empty Hands
May 17, 2022 17:00 - 32 minutes - 30.2 MB“We are always looking for the lack, like Eka (Huike) searching for his mind – this lack is so convincing and so untrue. It blinds us to who we really
Dharmatalk: Reflection on Dogen’s Fukanzazengi
May 10, 2022 17:00 - 42 minutes - 39.3 MBDescription: Newly appointed assistant Sanbo Zen teacher Will Brennan offers reflections on Dogen’s Fukanzazengi, (Recommending Zazen for all People) about how to practice, why practice, a beginner’s primer and much more.
Dharmatalk: Three Simple Lines
May 03, 2022 17:00 - 58 minutes - 53.3 MBDescription: Natalie speaks about her new book Three Simple Lines: A Writer’s Pilgrimage into the Heart and Homeland of Haiku. The final section includes a short exchange with Sanbo Zen
Dharmatalk: Introduction to Meditation Retreat: Abundant Advantage (Part 2 of 2)
April 26, 2022 17:00 - 31 minutes - 28.8 MB“May each and everybody whether staying still or standing up have ten thousand blessings….Today I have advantage after advantage, now, please practice.” ~ Dogen Description: Valerie explores the dharma hall discourse
Dharmatalk: Introduction to Meditation Retreat: Invitation to Trust (Part 1 of 2)
April 19, 2022 17:00 - 34 minutes - 31.5 MB“When you sit, the whole world is sitting… We really don’t have to do anything, just show up”. Description: The invitation of Zen practice is to sit with the world,
Dharmatalk: Winter Solstice Retreat: Bright Light (Part 4 of 4)
April 12, 2022 17:00 - 36 minutes - 33.8 MBDescription: Valerie and Henry explore Unmon’s Bright Light, Case 84 from the Blue Cliff Record in this final talk from our 2020 winter solstice retreat. Valerie opens with the Great
Dharmatalk: Winter Solstice Retreat: Beginner’s Mind (Part 3 of 4)
April 05, 2022 17:00 - 42 minutes - 38.8 MB“… The knot of self has become untied …” Description: Henry returns to the basics of practice in this third talk from the 2022 winter solstice retreat picking up on
Dharmatalk: Winter Solstice Retreat: The Origin Point (Part 2 of 4)
March 29, 2022 17:00 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MB“… the awakening of Shakyamuni Buddha and the simultaneous awakening of all existence, past, present and future …” Description: To explore the origin point of practice in this second talk
Dharmatalk: Winter Solstice Retreat: It’s All Empty (Part 1 of 4)
March 22, 2022 17:00 - 34 minutes - 31.4 MB“… This moment – just as it is – is our reality. …” Description: Henry describes how meditation practice exclusively focused on awakening (kensho) can bypass the enormous gains practice
Dharmatalk: Moving Toward the Winter Light
March 15, 2022 17:00 - 35 minutes - 32.6 MBDescription: Valerie Forstman explores the silence when Vimalakirti is asked, what is the bodhisattva entering the dharma-gate of non-duality (or the gate of not two)? Vimalakirti opens a portal to
Dharmatalk: The Context of Practice
March 08, 2022 18:00 - 34 minutes - 32 MBDescription: Henry reminds us that training is our own work, effort, commitment and investment of time and energy. Yet the context of practice pulls us outside of ourselves, out of
Dharmatalk: The Unadjusted Step
March 01, 2022 18:00 - 28 minutes - 26 MBThe unadjusted step is a way of naming this moment. Valerie Forstman Description: Valerie Forstman offers this post-election talk and acknowledges our deeply divided nation. She introduces the taoist
Dharmatalk: Samadhi, Unification
February 22, 2022 18:00 - 32 minutes - 29.8 MB“… samadhi … bringing together or unification …” Description: Our Sanbo Zen lineage has traditionally focused on kensho (sudden awakening) experiences which offer a complete, though often brief, shift in
Dharmatalk: Fierce Compassion
February 15, 2022 18:00 - 41 minutes - 38.1 MB“… This very moment is awakening ...” Description: Valerie Forstman’s dharma talk probes Case 23 from the Blue Cliff Record, Hofuku and Chokei on an Outing. Hofuku says “This very moment
Dharmatalk: Bodhidharma’s Vast and Void
February 08, 2022 18:00 - 37 minutes - 33.9 MB“… ultimate meaning of the holy truth … Vast and void, no holiness ...” Description: Guest speaker and Sanbo Zen teacher Hannelore Mueller opens this beautiful talk recognizing the seriousness
Dharmatalk: The Oak Tree in the Garden
February 01, 2022 18:00 - 38 minutes - 35.6 MB“… has a strange power to remove and delete delusions, concepts and unnecessary attachments ...” Description: Listen to this personal and powerful talk from Carmen Afable, Sanbo Zen teacher from
Dharmatalk: Beginners Mind & Four Levels of Practice
January 25, 2022 18:00 - 52 minutes - 47.7 MB“… The beauty of Zen is its simplicity. The challenge of Zen also is its simplicity ...” Description: This Sunday morning talk by Henry Shukman starts with a guided meditation
Dharmatalk: A Precious Path
January 11, 2022 18:00 - 39 minutes - 36.5 MB“… When we find a path and follow it … we will be able to say, this was a precious path ...” Description: Henry describes the heart break and love
Dharmatalk: Dharma Master Hsin Tao
January 04, 2022 18:00 - 50 minutes - 46.3 MBDescription: Dr Maria Reis Habito describes her experiences and work with dharma Master Hsin Tao. Maria Reis Habito is the International Program Director of the Museum of World Religions, the
Dharmatalk: Life and Death, Zen and God
December 28, 2021 18:00 - 48 minutes - 44.1 MB“… from a Zen perspective God is indeed everywhere ...” “… Does a practice lead to God where one forgets about God?. ...” Description: Sanbo Zen teacher Marlis Muting discusses
Dharmatalk: Courage to Grow, Henry Shukman
December 21, 2021 18:14 - 42 minutes - 39.2 MB“… Have courage. Have trust. Let go. Surrender. Grow. ...” Description: Traditionally in Buddhism, there were three phases in the growth of practitioners. One must move beyond sati and samadhi
Dharmatalk: A New Bodhisattva Path
December 14, 2021 18:00 - 49 minutes - 45.7 MB“… how modern-day bodhisattvas may direct their efforts toward the benefit of all beings ...” “… Nondual, non-selfish engagement with the world is an essential part of our practice ...”
A New Bodhisattva Path
December 14, 2021 18:00 - 49 minutes - 45.7 MB“… how modern-day bodhisattvas may direct their efforts toward the benefit of all beings ...” “… Nondual, non-selfish engagement with the world is an essential part of our practice ...” Description: Buddhism does not prescribe any simple, straightforward method for dealing with the societal problems that we face today, but it does tell us how […]
Dharmatalk: Sound of Silence
December 07, 2021 18:00 - 59 minutes - 54.6 MB“… the silence that is our very essence ...” “… The reality of silence knows no birth and no death ...” Description: In this talk, Migaku Sato Roshi discusses how
Dharmatalk: The Great Matter
November 30, 2021 18:00 - 37 minutes - 34 MB“… What holds us back from experiencing the boundless freedom of who we truly are? ...” Description: In the aftermath of the death of George Floyd in 2020, Valerie takes
Dharmatalk: Bearing Witness from Deep Realization of Inseparability
November 23, 2021 18:00 - 47 minutes - 43.5 MBDescription: Henry talks about the corona-virus pandemic and endemic racism in America and what our practice offers as a solution to racism; bearing witness from deep realization of inseparability. And,
Dharmatalk: Is Zen Buddhist?
November 16, 2021 18:00 - 42 minutes - 39.3 MB“… Zen is a mechanism for letting go ...” “… One fruit of wisdom is not being so caught up in having our desires met ...” Description: Zen draws its
Dharmatalk: Sosan, Doshin and Mu
November 09, 2021 18:00 - 46 minutes - 42.2 MB“… The capacity to awaken is not something you have. It’s what you are ...” Description: In this talk given jointly by Valerie and Henry on the last day of
Dharmatalk: The Sharpest Sword
November 02, 2021 17:00 - 38 minutes - 35.6 MB“… Mu cuts through our false sense of separation...” Description: A monk asked Haryo, “What is the sharpest sword?” He replied, “Each branch of corral reflects the moon.” Taking up
Dharmatalk: Mu
October 26, 2021 17:00 - 51 minutes - 46.8 MB“… we must drop all the schemes and agendas we may bring to our sitting ...” “… I want to devote myself to the capaciousness of my heart ...” Description:
Spiritual Habits
October 19, 2021 18:25 - 53 minutes - 49 MB“… how we can make significant changes in our lives if we start out small ...” “… Little by little, a little becomes a lot ...” Description: Behavioral coach Eric Zimmer breaks down for us how we can make significant changes in our lives if we start out small and set realistic goals for […]
Dharmatalk: Spiritual Habits
October 19, 2021 18:25 - 53 minutes - 49 MB“… how we can make significant changes in our lives if we start out small ...” “… Little by little, a little becomes a lot ...” Description: Behavioral coach
Dharmatalk: No Choosing
October 12, 2021 17:00 - 46 minutes - 42.5 MB“… Focusing on the breath, we learn how to tame the delusive mind ...” Description: Master Joshu features in several important koans in the Zen canon. He is often heard
Dharmatalk: On Time
October 05, 2021 16:56 - 41 minutes - 38.2 MB“… Reflect now whether any being or any world is left out of this present moment ...” Description: Valerie Forstman leads us through an examination of what it means to
Dharmatalk: Mountains and Snow
September 28, 2021 17:00 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MB“… The image of mountains is common to many spiritual traditions but is especially fitting for Zen practitioners ... “… This truth knows no obstacles anywhere...” Description: This talk was
Dharmatalk: Mind At Rest
September 22, 2021 16:40 - 30 minutes - 28.3 MB“… Bodhidharma Puts the Mind at Rest...” Description: Ruben Roshi has been both Henry and Valerie’s teacher. He is the guiding teacher at the Maria Kannon Zen Center in Dallas
Dharmatalk: Ordinary Mind Is the Way
September 15, 2021 17:04 - 41 minutes - 38.2 MB“… how everyday experience is actually as vast and boundless as outer space ...” “… By letting everything be, things have the intrinsic capacity to release themselves ...” Description: Resuming the discussion
Dharmatalk: Enlightenments – One Mountain
September 07, 2021 17:00 - 32 minutes - 30.2 MB“… Many flavors of awakening exist, constituting one mountain range …” “… If you’re lucky enough to get up the mountain, you’ve still got to come down again ...” Description: A
Dharmatalk: Most Intimate, So Near
August 31, 2021 17:00 - 37 minutes - 34.6 MB“… a world that is so near to us yet so well able to maintain itself that we needn’t do anything to influence it …” “… Zazen has been described
Dharmatalk: Deepening of the dharma – Meditation, Talk, and Q&A
August 24, 2021 17:00 - 50 minutes - 46.1 MB“… subjectivity of deeper states of meditation …” “… What is the price of rice?’ Why is that the totality of the human experience of awakening?” ...” Description: Following a
Dharmatalk: The Silent Way
August 17, 2021 17:00 - 41 minutes - 38.2 MB“… Sitting is the vehicle for discovering innate “awakened-ness.” ...” Description: Case 1 of the Book of Equanimity offers a beautiful example of how an awakened person might expound the dharma
Dharmatalk: Being Open to Help – Q&A
August 10, 2021 16:00 - 31 minutes - 28.8 MB“… Practice wears thin the veil between non-awakened and awakened experience ...” Description: The questions raised after this Sunday sitting and lecture touch upon kensho, or Zen awakening, and what might