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Faith, Doubt and Determination

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The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast
The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast
Faith, Doubt and Determination
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Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi

Zen Mountain Monastery, Mt Tremper, New York, Sunday 03/19/2023

From Master Wu-men’s Gateless Gate, Case 16 – Yün-men: The Sound of the Bell

Setting out on a spiritual path… is it about seeking and finding answers that will put our questions to rest? Or is about seeing deeply, with faith, doubt and determination, in equal measure; relaxing about finding answers and instead cultivating a path of continually living the questions?

 

To Know Yourself

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The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast
The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast
To Know Yourself
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Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi

Zen Mountain Monastery, Mount Tremper, New York, Sunday 03/12/2023

How do we “cultivate a trust in our non-thinking mind”? What happens when you “give yourself over to everyday mind”? Shugen Roshi illustrates these activities beginning with the the story of Deshan’s awakening.

 

Zenki: “Undivided Activity”

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The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast
The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast
Zenki: "Undivided Activity"
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Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei

Zen Center of New York City, Fire Lotus Temple, Saturday 03/11/2023

Hojin Sensei offers Dharma words and a reading of Dogen’s fascicle Zenki, “Undivided Activity” during a Zazenkai at Fire Lotus Temple.

 

“Birth and Death” – Spring 2023 Ango Opening Ceremony and Talk

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The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast
The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast
"Birth and Death" - Spring 2023 Ango Opening Ceremony and Talk
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Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi

Zen Mountain Monastery, Mt Tremper, New York, Sunday 03/05/2023

Shugen Roshi introduces the theme of our 90-day Spring Ango training period, “Birth and Death.” Preceding Shugen Roshi’s dharma talk, you’ll hear an 8 minute abridged version of the opening ceremony. If you’d like to learn more about our Ango program and possibly participate, please click here: https://zmm.org/teachings-and-training/ango/

 

Spring 2023 Ango Opening at Fire Lotus Temple

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The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast
The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast
Spring 2023 Ango Opening at Fire Lotus Temple
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Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei

Zen Center of New York City, Fire Lotus Temple, Sunday 03/05/2023

Hojin Sensei opens the Spring 2023 Ango at Fire Lotus Temple. She asks, of this Ango’s theme, “Birth and Death,” what is birth? what is death? These themes will be explored through readings, liturgy, art practice, and many other offerings at Fire Lotus Temple and Zen Mountain Monastery this Spring.

 

Home Leaving

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The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast
The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast
Home Leaving
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Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi

Zen Mountain Monastery, Mount Tremper, New York, Saturday 03/04/2023

“Home Leaving” traditionally referred to a person leaving their life behind and becoming a monastic. Shugen Roshi talks about Home Leaving in a deeper, complete sense that applies to all of us on the spiritual path, using the story of Punyamitra and the teachings of Nagarjuna to the writings of Zen Master Hongzhi.

 

Beyond the Wall

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The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast
The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast
Beyond the Wall
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Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi

Zen Mountain Monastery, Mount Tremper, New York, Sunday 02/26/2023

One of the stories of Bodhidharma (the founder of the Zen Lineage) goes this way: that he sat in his cave facing the wall for 9 years. We emulate this during our daily zazen practice. We also say that we’re on the Bodhisattva path, actively practicing the way of the Bodhisattva in our daily lives. So what does sitting facing the wall have to do with the activity of the Bodhisattva? What is the “activity of facing the wall?” Shugen Roshi talks about the ways in which we take up this fundamental practice, and asks: What is it to “study the self” as Dogen says? How are we facing our fears? How do we go “beyond the fear of differences?”

 

On Self-Doubt & Belonging

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The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast
The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast
On Self-Doubt & Belonging
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Degna Chikei Levister, MRO Senior Lay Student

Zen Center of New York City, Fire Lotus Temple, Sunday 02/26/2023

How do we live a life grounded in truth? And how does our conditioning lead us to step outside of ourselves and look for truth elsewhere? Drawing on her own experience on and off the cushion, Chikei discusses the Fourth Grave Precept, “Manifest Truth, Do Not Lie.”

 

Good News

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The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast
The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast
Good News
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Bear Gokan Bonebakker, Senior Monastic and Dharma Holder

Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Sunday 02/19/2023

Gokan invokes the Buddha’s words on fear and dread, how we can’t work through such mental formations and barriers without confronting them. To confront them, we can’t run away when we encounter such habitual reactions. We may even need to welcome such disturbances as opportunities to really stop and see what’s happening below the thoughts. This is the arena of zazen, where we can experience the bareness of sensation as we relax the mind and learn to trust that, rest in that. Gokan asks, “How much of our thinking is reactivity?” To explore this further, he brings in Yogacara teachings. The late Zen Master Bernie Glassman epitomized these teachings with the refrain, “That’s just my opinion,” recognizing that any reaction and opinion is based on one’s own conditioned perceptions. Gokan concludes by saying, “This is the good news! This is the possibility of liberation.”

 

Difficult, Difficult, Difficult

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The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast
The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast
Difficult, Difficult, Difficult
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Patrick Yunen Kelly, Senior Lay Student

Zen Center of New York City, Fire Lotus Temple, Sunday 02/19/2023

Drawing on a story from the Panchatantra, Yunen looks at the Buddha’s First Noble Truth. How do we work with the teaching that life is suffering? In what ways do we try to avoid this fact? And what is our intention in practice?