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The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast — Buddhism
The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast

The Mountains and Rivers Order (MRO) is a Western Zen Buddhist lineage established by the late John Daido Loori Roshi and dedicated to sharing the dharma as it has been passed down, generation to generation, since the time of Shakyamuni Buddha. Zen Mountain Monastery, the main house of the Mountains and Rivers Order, is one of the West’s most respected Zen Buddhist monasteries and training centers. Nestled in New York’s beautiful Catskill Mountains, the Monastery draws its strength from the ancient tradition of Buddhist monasticism. Since 1980, the Monastery has offered spiritual practitioners traditional and innovative ways to engage the dharma through a wide range of retreats and residential programs that unfold within the context of authentic, full-time Zen monastic training. The Zen Center of New York City: Fire Lotus Temple is the city branch of Zen Mountain Monastery. Supporting home practitioners in the metropolitan area, ZCNYC offers varied practice opportunities within the Eight Gates training matrix.

Latest Episodes:

Living Beings Are Buddha Nature Sep 24, 2026

Show notes

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 9/24/26 - The Buddha realized that all beings are capable of awakening to their true nature. Dogen echoed this truth by saying that all beings are Buddha nature, emphasizing that this is our very nature, not something we can gain or lose. If we could “have” Buddha nature, then we could also “not have” it. This subtle shift in emphasis opens up an extraordinary way of understanding this truth about ourselves and all beings. We simply need to realize it for ourselves.

Offering This Buddha Nature Sep 23, 2026

Show notes

Danica Shoan Ankele, Sensei - ZMM - 9/23/26 - The path of the bodhisattva is not always a convenient one, and probably not as we imagine it to be. We may struggle; it may feel prickly. So how do we stay on the path of unburdening ourselves and waking up? Transformation means getting very clear about what hinders us—about the inner conditions that keep us from being truly and completely available. It is through transforming ourselves in this way that we become free to offer ourselves freely to others.

Transform A Vow Into Action Sep 20, 2026

Show notes

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 9/20/26 - What is the cause of suffering, at its root? The bodhisattva vow is to put an end to suffering and its causes—but how do we put that vow into action? First, we have to see clearly what is causing harm: to see into our delusions and the ways in which they give rise to suffering. And then we need to act. When we slow down and consider what causes harm—when we ask, for example, what the moral implications of something might be—we can trust the bodhisattva vow to orient us toward skillful action. In this way, the vow is not simply an aspiration; it becomes something we live. - From Master Dogen's 300 Koan Shobogenzo (The True Dharma Eye), Case 227 - Priest Xixian's "I am Watching"

The Form of Buddha Nature Sep 13, 2026

Show notes

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 9/13/26 - This formless Buddha Nature, how does it manifest? Is it large or small? Shugen Roshi quotes the great teacher Nagarjuna, “If you want to see buddha nature, first, let go of your pride,” first let go of the certainty with which we bestow value on things and on people. Let go of our sense of self that separates self and all others. When we let appearances determine how we respond and act, we risk living in a deluded state of our biases that is in conflict with our true buddha nature, our liberated nature, the absolute basis of reality.

Jukai at Fire Lotus Temple with Hojin Sensei Sep 13, 2026

Show notes

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZCNYC - 9/13/26 With Hojin Sensei officiating, four students formally receive the sixteen Buddhist precepts, taking up these living teachings, living vows in the company of the sangha with family and friends. Alexis Waller: Myokan ("Wondrous Intuitive Wisdom") Joan Guiterrez: Yūsei ("Profound Quiet Mystical Vow") María José Gimenez: Shomei ("To Proclaim True Light, Genuine Clarity") Edmund Langdell: Yumon ("Gate of Healing")

Ch’ien and Her Soul are Separated Sep 06, 2026

Show notes

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 9/6/26 - Stories are one of the primary ways that we create and re-create suffering in our own minds, and this folk tale of Ch'ien and her soul in a Zen koan lends itself well to the study of mind and reality. With practice comes a fresh awareness of the narrative, and we can see it changing even as we tell it again. When the habit energies in the story begin to shift, we take steps toward our liberation. (From Master Wu-Men's Gateless Gate, Case 35: Ch'ien's Soul is Separated.)

When the Word ‘Should’ Begins to Shine Sep 06, 2026

Show notes

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZCNYC - 9/6/26 - Taking up Emily Dickinson’s practice—“I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word. Sometimes I write one, and I look at it, until it begins to shine”—Hojin Sensei stares into the words should and shouldn’t. “We should observe carefully,” implores Dōgen in Busshō, his fascicle on Buddha Nature. Dōgen explains that the act of observing is itself part of the moment: “You do not stand outside of reality to look at it.” What are the “shoulds and shouldn’ts” in a life of Dharma practice?

Ango Opening Talk at ZMM with Shugen Roshi Aug 30, 2026

Show notes

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - 8/30/26 - Shugen Roshi introduces the theme of the MRO 90-day Fall Ango 2026 training period: "Buddha Nature."

Ango Opening Remarks at Fire Lotus Temple Aug 30, 2026

Show notes

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZCNYC - 8/30/26 - Join Hojin Sensei offering opening remarks to the practitioners at Fire Lotus Temple in Brooklyn to begin the Fall Ango Practice Period: "Now the hundreds of grasses are actually gathering for the Fall. Plucked from the entire earth, there would be ten million stalks. One flower with five petals opens in the sky and the mud. Without doubt it will naturally bear fruit." —Dogen’s words opening an Ango practice period.

Taking Up Zen Training Aug 29, 2026

Show notes

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 8/29/26 - Breathing, sitting, walking, all of these ordinary activities offer the capacity to train the mind. But in what? Awareness, non-grasping, insight, stability, all these good qualities essential for liberating ourselves and others. Training is a vessel, it holds whatever we bring and it carries us along as well, a vehicle for practice. Shugen Roshi reminds us that trust in the process of Zen training is essential, but we will need to take that first step to enter training, and to continue coming back to receive the benefits of what it has to offer.

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