The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 6/15/25 - We acquire language as we become more conscious of what surrounds us—people and things and concepts—and the language we learn to use is inextricable from our conscious sense of ourselves. In this sense we are co-creating our reality moment by moment as we use language. In Dharma study, one of the Eight Gates of Zen, we learn to work with some skill in appreciating the necessity of language as well as the constructed and thereby provisional nature of language. Our capacity to use words toward realization is not limited by words themselves.

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZCNYC - 6/8/25 - Hojin takes up one of her favorite koans from The Hidden Lamp: Lingzhao Pang's Helping. How free and generous it is when we are not keeping score, watching as a third person judging, monitoring, distancing ourselves from interactions. We seem to not want to let go of the idea we are not separate. Here, father and daughter demonstrate what it is to be fully alive to interconnection outside of language. We're never far off!

Dr. Rebecca Li - ZMM - 6/8/25 - This talk from visiting Dharma teacher Rebecca Li explores Silent Illumination, a practice where stillness and clarity are cultivated simultaneously through the process of recognizing and releasing layers of ever more subtle habitual reactivities that cause suffering. This practice allows us to live more in accordance with wisdom and compassion, as we suffer less and become more present, kind and connected with everyone in our lives, enhancing our capacity to bring benefits to the world. Professor Li is a Dharma heir in the lineage of Chan Master Sheng Yen and the founder and guiding teacher of Chan Dharma Community.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 6/1/25 - Why does Buddhism so emphasize life and death? When we begin to see the depths of our attachments to this “self," we have to face the jarring fact that there really isn't anything permanent to attach to. But then, what is this? Shugen Roshi reminds us that our vital life energy can be immediate, compassionate, not clinging to anything. And so within life and death we are liberated from life and death. - From the Entangling Vines Koan Collection, Case 38 - The Wise Women in the Charnel Grove.

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZCNYC - 6/1/25 - Hojin Sensei invokes the Diamond Net of Indra, a vast net on whose every node hangs a glittering diamond-On the surface of this diamond, every other diamond is reflected, multiplying the reflection into infinity. Each diamond exists both in its own right and also connected to every other diamond on the net just as each one of us is unique and connected to every other being and thing in the universe. This means we're constantly affecting one another in ways known and unknown. Is this liberating? What do we do with this kind of knowledge?

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 5/24/25 - What is real strength? Putting to good use all of our obstructions and old habits, we can cultivate our ability to meet whatever arises with pliancy, flexibility, to find our real strength. Zen practice and training is indeed the daily, moment to moment experience of our lives, and learning to find nourishment there. Shugen Roshi encourages us to “meet it simply, honestly” and learn to free ourselves and others. - From the Book of Serenity, Case 33 - Sansheng's "Golden Fish"

Danica Shoan Ankele, Osho - ZMM - 5/23/25 - Gates of entry are enticing and sometimes overwhelming to enter, but we can gather our courage and bring ourselves forward to experience the world which is revealed there. Drawing on teachings from the Lankavatara Sutra and the Heart Sutra, Shoan Osho tells the story of “Enid in Zendoland,” whereby Enid becomes adept at distinguishing the perceptions of their own mind, and enters a marvelous gate of ease and joy.

Bear Gokan Bonebakker, Osho - ZMM - 5/22/25 - When we can see how we use our minds, we can see where our life is really happening. As we enter into practice and continue to relax into our zazen, we develop our capacity to see our habits and conditioning. With notes from the Surangama Sutra teaching on “purifying the mind” of obscurations, Gokan explores how we can relax completely, with awareness, and really take care of our lives.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 5/21/25 - Becoming aware of our minds' potential, it often seems like we're causing ourselves more trouble, because we get caught up in the same old patterns and habits. But learning to honestly recognize ourselves, we also can see that it's possible to live another way, in greater freedom and ease. In this challenging learning process, we can take care of persistent suffering in a new, liberating way, creating the potential and conditions for others to liberate themselves too. - From the Record of Layman Pang.

Lopön Karla Jackson-Brewer - ZMM - 5/18/2025 - This talk from dharma teacher Lopön Karla was offered at the conclusion of the weekend retreat. Feeding your Demons brings an 11th century Tibetan practice to the West in an accessible and effective approach for dealing with negative emotions, fears, illness, self-defeating patterns, and beliefs that hinder our expression of our highest humanity as individuals and as a society.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 5/11/25 - The connection between the creative process and the Dharma is an important entranceway to deepening our Zen practice. Engaging creative expression as a practice helps us leap free of the constraints of intellect, experiencing a resonance with the world beyond what we think of as “myself.” Our senses take in the whole world. So how are we not overwhelmed or deceived by our perceptions? How do we inhabit this “dharma body” with clarity, and commune with all reality? - From the Book of Serenity, Case 82 - Yunmen's Sound and Form.

Bear Gokan Bonebakker, Osho - ZMM - 5/9/25 - What is it we wish to cultivate in our lives, to give energy to? Fusatsu is a chance to bring our intentions alive—especially where we have done harm—by taking responsibility for our actions. Being at one with our transgressions as well as our aspirations are at the heart of this ancient practice of atonement, or “being one with,” and allowing ourselves to resolve, forgive and release what burdens us. - Dharma Talk during the Fusatsu Ceremony at the Spring Ango Intensive.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 5/4/25 - How we take up the Dharma includes how we study, using words to go beyond words and concepts. How we see words being used in the world should give us an understanding of how we might get tangled in our own objectification of things. Freedom emerges hand in hand with how we learn to be free of grasping, even in the realm of language, and to apply what we hear in liturgy and the sutras to our own experience. - From the Book of Serenity, Case 45 - Four Sections of the Enlightenment Scripture.

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZCNYC - 5/4/25 - To truly engage the many skillful means to awakening, we must imagine the possibility of moving beyond reactive patterns and socially imposed norms—to free the clinging mind from suffering. Hojin Sensei explores imagination as an essential part of the dharmic path, through which we begin to recognize, as the Buddha taught, what is true by direct experience. Can we imagine it?

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 4/27/25 - How do we work skillfully with the teacher-student relationship in Zen training? What do we create with it in our minds? Working with a teacher, how can we learn to show up authentically, to meet ourselves? To work out the difficult moments we find ourselves in, and allow our vulnerable hearts to shine forth? Shugen Roshi concludes that even misstepping is an important part of the path, and what matters most is what we do next. - Dharma Encounter at the conclusion of the April 2025 Apple Blossom Sesshin.

Suzanne Taikyo Gilman, Senior Monastic - ZCNYC - 4/27/25 - Can we use our direct experience to express what words cannot adequately convey? Using a teaching from zen master Hongzhi, monastic Taikyo takes up this question of how to explore the vast universe within ourselves and share our dark fears, our vulnerability, and our joys, in traveling this path.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 4/26/25 - All beings have buddha nature and the capacity to fully realize ourselves; this is a fundamental teaching of the Dharma. Shugen Roshi explores the realization of Vasumitra, an early successor to the Buddha, in an encounter with his own transmission teacher. How is it to be fully met in the dharma, and be fully met by a teacher? To fully meet ourselves? Are we ready to extend our patience, vulnerability and integrity? Your own aspiration forms the vessel of the Dharma. It doesn't happen anywhere else. - From the Transmission of Light, Case 8 - Vasumitra.

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZMM - 4/25/25 - Skillful means, “Upaya,” are forms that the teachings take throughout our practice. How do we take up everything, including the edges that appear, rather than fight against them? How do we use our practice to explore and expand our capacity to be alive, fulfilled, and responsive to the world? - Dharma Talk during the Apple Blossom Sesshin 2025 Fusatsu Ceremony.

Ron Hogen Green, Sensei - ZMM - 4/24/25 - Honesty is essential to serious spiritual practice. We need to become honest with ourselves about the nature of our suffering, our habitual reactivity and our fear, so that we can acknowledge them before being able to release them. This level of integrity is needed for the entrance to a loving and compassionate relationship with ourselves and others. As Hogen Sensei says, this intention affects every aspect of living and dying, and the choices we're free to make along the way. - From Master Dogen's Treasury of the True Dharma Eye - Fascicle 31 - Continuous Practice (Gyoji)

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 4/23/25 - The Perfection of Wisdom Sutra shows us there is no intrinsic right and wrong when we understand the nature of emptiness. Selflessness is a key aspect of this wisdom, and developing a clear understanding is essential. The self-less wisdom is what we can rely on to guide us within a world of dualities: good and bad, right and wrong, form and emptiness, seeing their true nature as non dual. In emptiness, nothing exists as separate on its own; all reality is interdependent. Not grasping, not holding on to, not forsaking anything, this is how Shugen Roshi explains the practice of the Perfection of Wisdom.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 4/20/25 - How can we transform our everyday actions into expressions of spiritual awakening and joy? Shugen Roshi explores the concept of "Work" as not just physical or mental effort, but as a profound, joyful manifestation of our inherent spiritual abilities.  (See Master Dogen's Shobogenzo Fascicle #24 - On the Marvelous Spiritual Abilities.)

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZCNYC - 4/19/25 - Being a practitioner of the Buddha dharma, how do you know practice works? Without commenting or evaluating; without looking for progress, look at how it operates -- how you operate -- right here and now.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZCNYC - 4/13/25 - The second of the Eight Gates of Zen Training is "Mountain Light: Zen Study". Don't confuse it with "Academic Study" which is the third gate. Zen Study refers to the many facets of studying with a teacher. Shugen Roshi explains what that kind of study means and emphasizes the importance of holding it in prominence and at the same time keeping all eight interconnected gates in natural balance. - From the Blue Cliff Record, Case 11 - Huang Po's Gobblers of Dregs

Bear Gokan Bonebakker, Osho - ZMM - 4/13/25 - Gokan Osho takes us through Master Hongzhi's Practice instructions, reminding us to appreciate whatever's arising without grasping.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 4/6/25 - Planting, cultivating—how do we affect our troubled world for the better—on a spiritual path? How does this function? Shugen Roshi explores how the reasoning mind can be of service, but the essential ingredient is one's own intention and commitment, beyond the surface of our thinking minds, to the reality which is always coming into being. - From the Book of Serenity, Case 12 - Dizang Planting the Fields.

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZCNYC - 4/6/25 - Hojin Sensei explores the heart of the three pure precepts; the simple path of clarity, kindness and love; this perennial wisdom that flows through all of us. (We apologise for the audio/mic glitches in some parts of the recording.)

Ron Hogen Green, Sensei - ZMM - 3/30/25 - The moral and ethical teachings of Buddhism seem obvious on the surface, such as to not kill, to not steal, and so on, but to really experience the complex layers in these teachings reveals what we are really working with with our minds, our habits and conditioning, and karma. To not deceive oneself about this is the fundamental ground of all moral and ethical action. This Dharma Encounter with the sangha brings out the integrity and courage of Zen training and practice.

Bear Gokan Bonebakker, Osho - ZCNYC - 3/30/25 - Gokan talks about the ways of distraction. Whether blatant or very subtle, they are us, they are mind, and it's so important to be gentle as we work with them.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - 3/29/25 - Every concerned person has to consider the realities of cause and effect, or karma.  In fact, it's causes and conditions that bring this moment to our awareness. We are affected by everything, and every thought and action of ours has an impact. This truth, that our actions matter, is of great benefit to healing ourselves and the world. Shugen Roshi explores further the teachings of Baizhang and the Fox.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 3/28/25 - Perfecting our actions is how we cultivate the qualities of a bodhisattva, and this is what is practiced in the moral and ethical teachings of Zen Buddhism. In this realm of existence, we can have a positive effect even on difficult circumstances. This talk by Shugen Roshi explores what is of benefit in this present life and how a practitioner can live in accord with this. - Teisho during the March 2025 Fusatsu at ZMM.

Danica Shoan Ankele, Osho - ZMM - 3/27/25 - Master Hongzhou says, "Contact phenomena with total sincerity - not a single atom of dust outside yourself." How we connect with the world of beings and things can be seen as caring, and within zazen the energy of steady presence and attention is what we offer those we love. It is a potent mix of awareness and sincerity, and it doesn't take much of that to bring everything to life.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - 3/26/25 - The Zen koan "Baizhang's Fox" explores the nature of cause and effect (karma) and enlightenment and is taken up in this talk. Shugen Roshi explores how freedom is not about escaping cause and effect but understanding its nature, and seeing that we have an enormous effect through our thoughts, words and actions. Our intentions and perceptions are what truly binds us. Freeing ourselves and others involves shifting our understanding of how our intentions have much to do with karma—through our ways of working with causes and conditions—and not grasping on to fixed ideas or opinions.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 3/23/25 - “Shedding body and mind” is now a classic Zen phrase, and so what can it teach us about practice? Shugen Roshi explores how a novel translation of the character for “dust” as “body-and-mind” gave birth to a new perspective on zazen practice through the teachings of Dogen, the 9th century Zen master who gave rise to the Soto Zen School. Stability, aliveness and openings to the true nature of reality are all realized through this body. Our own mortal body-and-mind is the site of practice, and living completely in our bodies is an essential pathway of realization. - From the Transmission of Light (Denkoroku) Case 52 - Master Dogen

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZCNYC - 3/23/25 - What's Liturgy? What's not Liturgy? Hojin Sensei talks about it's place, not just as a function in the Zendo, but as a down to earth, profound opening, right now, in our life.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - 3/16/25 - The Diamond Sutra's teachings convey an understanding of karma at the fundamental level of dharma practice. How we get at the roots of karmic formations happens through cultivating awareness—within zazen and within a vow—where those energies can be transformed into something different. Karma is not determinant, it's always subject to shift. - From the Blue Cliff Record, Case 97 - "The Diamond Cutter Scripture's Scornful Revilement"

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - 3/16/25 - What do we create out of the karma that we have now? How do we "actualize good for others"? Hojin Sensei takes us through Dogen's Fascicle "Tenzo Kyokun" (Instructions for the Zen Cook), which is an instruction assigned to all successive cooks at ZMM, and is a deep teaching for all of us, to use all of our life, moment to moment, down to the intricate details.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 3/9/25 - Everything is in a constant state of becoming, including ourselves. The Buddha said of his realization that this "true self" is not dependent on one's effort. It cannot be created and therefore cannot be destroyed. When the self is freed of all encumbering delusions about the nature of self as being good or bad, pure or impure, then the real form of truth can be known, and one can live freely as "the true person of no rank." (From Master Dogen's 300 Koan Shobogenzo (The True Dharma Eye), Case 147 - Linji's "True Person of No Rank")

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZCNYC - 3/9/25 - Hojin Sensei stresses the universality of creativity; we're creating every minute of our lives. i.e. "creativity is not just about art." Or "Our whole life is art." Furthermore, we can approach the three pure precepts (do not create evil, practice good, actualize good for others) as the practice of creativity in our everyday lives. So the questions become "What and how are we creating?" "What are we connecting with?" Hojin Sensei comments on Daido Roshi's teachings from his book "The Zen of Creativity" and talks about the meaning of her own prolific art practice.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 3/2/25 - Shugen Roshi introduces the theme of the MRO 90-day Spring Ango 2025 training period, "Mountain Training: The Eight Gates of Zen."

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZCNYC - 3/2/25 - Hojin Sensei opens the Spring Ango practice period at Fire Lotus Temple and introduces this Ango's theme: "Mountain Training: The Eight Gates of Zen."

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 3/1/25 - From the Blue Cliff Record, Case 43 - Tung Shan's No Cold or Heat - What are we holding on to? By facing rather than avoiding extremes, we take up the way to freedom. Using an ancient koan, Shugen Roshi explores the extremes and asks: can we see things as they are, not clouded by our preferences? This does not mean that there is nothing to be done, for there is. Practice is changing the way we use our minds, "down to the bone," so that we can be free in the world of duality.

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZCNYC - 3/1/25 - Hojin Sensei talks about Master Hakuin; his "Song of Zazen", and how his art - brushwork and poetry - was integral with his zazen and teaching process. Hojin explains the importance of art in Zen practice and talks about finding herself drawn to a similar teaching path.

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 2/23/25 - At the root of our ancestral lineage is reverence: for the Dharma, for practice and realization, and for all beings. In this talk Shugen Roshi explores the elements of faith and practice which “bring to life” the Buddha Dharma, and are central to the it's transmission from generation to generation. Gokan Osho also shares some words on his practice of Denkai training—the priestly transmission—received from Shugen Roshi this week. 

Bear Gokan Bonebakker, Senior Monastic and Dharma Holder - ZMM - 2/16/25 - Taking up this teaching from Shitou, Gokan delves into how an ancient Zen song-poem can help us find our way in our present world of turmoil and stress. “Let go of hundreds of years and relax completely,” the teaching tells us. Don't separate from this person who you are, this body and mind here and now. In this way we come into accord with our thoughts, words and actions, for the benefit of all beings.

Danica Shoan Ankele, Osho - ZCNYC - 2/16/25 - When polarization seems to surround us, it's imperative to recognize our own dualistic thinking in its many forms, and cultivate a habit of perspective-shifting. Shoan Osho weaves the Zen teachings on stillness and fluidity as seen in the Vimalakirti Sutra chapter, "The Goddess" to help clarify that everything is groundless, impermanent, and subject to change, and therefore will always benefit from impartiality and the goodness of bodhisattva activity.

Danica Shoan Ankele, Osho - ZCNYC - 2/15/25 - When the heart becomes heavy, can we see how our minds tend to run in circles? Seeing this clearly we can have space to stop, breathe, and return to stillness. In this way we can touch the wisdom of being fully embodied, and recognize our inherent spiritual power which is always present within us, right here and now.

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZCNYC - 2/9/25 - Bringing together Rumi's poem "Only Breath" and The Ānāpānasati Sutta (Sutra on Mindful Breathing), Hojin Sensei takes us through a thorough reckoning of this physical and profound practice, and how it is fundamental to being awake.

Danica Shoan Ankele, Osho - ZMM - 2/9/25 - A timely reminder from Shoan Osho that a bodhisattva is one who interrupts the cycle of samsara, to stop creating and perpetuating greed, anger and ignorance, for the benefit of all beings. This “inner revolution” that practice offers is how we can calm the spinning mind and bring the light of wisdom and compassionate action to  meet the challenges of the “outer world.”

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 2/2/25 - What do you see in front of you? Our perceptions are windows to the world, and provide material for how we create “the self” as a separate and seemingly solid entity. But all beings are fundamentally not fixed or solid, and to study this we can put an end to clinging and suffering. How do we live freely and compassionately? These instructions from Shugen Roshi point to our own wakefulness and freedom. (From the Blue Cliff Record, Case 40 - Nan Ch'uan's It's Like a Dream)

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZCNYC - 2/2/25 - The spiritual journey is a path of discovering our true nature. The Ten Ox Herding pictures are a pictorial depiction of the training we each have to put together in our own body mind from the methods and teaching offered in this wisdom tradition. Hojin begins this talk with a live painting of the second ox herding picture: Finding the Traces of the Ox. As the preface to this stage says: "With the aid of the sutras, we gain understanding; through the study of the teaching, we find the traces. The many vessels are clearly all of one gold; and we ourselves, are the embodiment of the ten thousand things. But unable to recognize correct from incorrect, how are we to distinguish true from false? Since we have yet to pass through the gate, only tentatively have we seen the traces." We follow the tracks until we catch it! -- Watch Hojin Sensei paint the second ox-herding picture: https://vimeo.com/1054251015

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 1/26/25 - The sole purpose of a koan is to help the student experience their true nature. As a skillful means, a koan helps us see where we are clinging, and the karma we carry in this life. Yet even an enlightened being has this karmic body to grapple with. The challenge is to be in complete intimacy with our true nature, as it is, as we are.  Part 3 of 3