Mountain Rain Zen Dharma Podcast

Talk by Myoshin Kate McCandless on Yurei and Hannya: Japanese women ghosts and demons. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen.org/donate . A full archive of recorded teachings going back over ten years is...

Shuso Myosen River asks: as followers of 'The Way', are we supposed to transcend desire? _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen.org/donate . A full archive of recorded teachings going back over...

Myoshin Kate McCandless examines how different women have coped with intense grief, and how buddhist perspectives and practices have supported their process. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen.org/don...

Shinmon Michael Newton takes a backstep into the context of India at the time of Shakyamuni Buddha, and surfaces through the story of bhikkhuni Bhadda Kapilani, foremost in recollecting past lives.  _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider suppo...

Myosen River Shannon asks: When people we love and trust harm us, how can we hold that contradiction in our bodies and transform what is possible in our relationships and communities? The Buddha was imperfect - does this understanding makes it easier to confront the paradoxes in our own lives? _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to don...

A body from which another body is born - what a marvel! Myoshin Kate McCandless shares teachings about Buddha’s mother Maya and her younger sister Prajāpatī (Buddha’s step-mother) as well as Yaśodharā, Buddha's wife and mother of his son. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find va...

Shinmon focuses on home altars as a part of embodied practice. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen.org/donate . A full archive of recorded teachings going back over ten years is free and accessible on...

Shinmon Michael Newton parses apart the title for this year’s practice period In this Lifetime, In this Body: Cultivating Embodied Wisdom and Compassion with our Women Ancestors , and asks himself how he understands his malenesss as it shapes and colours his practice. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide...

In part of her role as shuso, Myosen River gives a Way-Seeking Mind Talk.  “Emptiness is not erasure, it’s a promise and a warning.” _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen.org/donate . A full archive of r...

Myoshin Kate McCandless introduces the Practice Period theme and describes how the lens will be turned onto what it is for us to live and awaken in the fullness of our embodied life in these difficult times on earth.  _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, pl...

Shinmon Michael Newton offers a talk on one of his dearly treasured woman ancestors, the nun Ōtagaki Rengetsu. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen.org/donate . A full archive of recorded teachings goin...

Myoshin Kate McCandless offers a talk on one of her dearly treasured woman ancestors, 17th century nun - Ziyong Chengru. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen.org/donate . A full archive of recorded teac...

A first koan: how does one get in "the zone" and then stay in "the zone"? _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen.org/donate . A full archive of recorded teachings going back over ten y...

Daikan offers insight into the suffering and instability we create for ourselves.  In what way is the position of Tenzo (head cook) a metaphor for the settled life that is grounded in zazen? _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting ou...

Shinmon Michael Newton  suggests retreats (such as the day-long zazenkai hosted at Bright Stream Temple) are an opportunity to sit with others, to notice our busy minds, and to work on letting thoughts go. Returning to innocent mind, the question is asked: "What is this life?" _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations...

Continuing the dharma seminar on Uchiyama’s commentary on Dogen’s Instructions to the Cook Shinmon Michael Newton asks: as this is the only life you get, how do you look deeply to know who you are?  “In attachement blossoms fall, in aversion weeds spread” -Dogen  _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide commu...

Myoshin Kate McCandless offers reflections on the moon, bodhisattva precepts, and failure. How would it be to commit to these precepts in daily life, particularly when we are faced with so many choices? _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider s...

Myoshin Kate McCandless continues the exploration of Uchiyama’s commentary on Dogen’s Instructions To the Cook , delving in to Chapter 10 making life calculations and Chapter 11 working with clear vision . “All comparing-mind is vanity and self clinging.”  _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. I...

Shinmon Michael Newton reminds us that we cannot take for granted the work our ancestors have done, and that each of us can labour for the good of all beings.  _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen.org/d...

Nin-en Susan Elbe reads correspondence between herself, Uchiyama Roshi, and Dogen Zenji as part of the dharma seminar on Instructions to the Cook. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen.org/donate . A ful...

Myoshin Kate McCandless takes us along her and Shinmon Michael Newton’s recent camping trip - a time for letting go into moment by moment experience…to include, notice, and release. How can we be with nature in order to summon the life force and renewal we need to live bravely in these perilous times? _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thank...

Myosen River Shannon continues the  Dharma seminar on Uchiyama Roshi's commentary on Dogen's Instructions to the Cook , offering insights into Great Mind and Parental Mind. What would it be like to fully the taste the experiences of each day? What kind of medicine bowl can be made with what’s available? _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made po...

Lay Entrusted Dharma Teacher and Palliative Care Physician  Joko Claire Talbot asks: in our distressing moments, before our limbic system kicks in to full gear, can we practice generosity towards ourselves, crossing over to the shore of peace and understanding? “Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.” (Leo Buscaglia) ________________________________________________...

Jikai Vicki Turay gives a talk on chapters 3 and 4 of Uchiyama Roshi's commentary on Dogen's Instructions to the Cook . Cooking is not a distraction from the more serious pursuit of meditation but rather an entry way to a deeper understanding of how our minds are intimately connected to all phenomena and to one’s buddha nature. ____________________________________________________________...

Jikai Vicki Turay  shares reflections on the recent MRZC Summer sesshin and Dogen’s Mountains and Waters sutra. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen.org/donate . A full archive of recorded teachings goi...