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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:

Avian Traces Aug 02, 2026

Show notes

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - 8/2/26 - “A bird flies in the sky, and no matter how far it flies, there is no end to the air.” Following a retreat at the temple, Avian Traces, Hojin Sensei speaks about being with her mother recently in her dying process, and a bird showing up on the windowsill making contact. She links this with other stories of birds and the fact that birds have been showing up in the Buddhist teachings going back to the time of the Buddha.

Faith In Our Totally Free Nature Jul 26, 2026

Show notes

Danica Shoan Ankele, Sensei - 7/26/26 - In sesshin, the deep work of transformation is held within a supportive container. Yet each of us must still discover the capacity for faith as we learn to settle the mind and realize our true nature—our fundamentally free nature. This cultivation of faith can be understood in three ways: faith in practice and the path, faith in the boundlessness of the bodhisattva vow, and faith in the truth of cause and effect. In this talk, given at the conclusion of ZMM's Interdependence Sesshin, Shoan Sensei offers guidance for navigating these dimensions of faith.

In Silence There Is Illumination Jul 25, 2026

Show notes

Bear Gokan Bonebakker, Osho - ZMM - 7/25/26 - Zazen practice of shikantaza, “just sitting” comes from the Chan practice of Silent Illumination. In solitude we find our way, in the support of the teachings and learning to allow our minds to settle and come to rest. How we can understand this practice requires knowing that it’s open and available all the time. Gokan Osho reminds us that this path of liberation, of silent illumination, is never far away when we clarify it for ourselves.

In Daytime The Sun, At Night The Moon Jul 12, 2026

Show notes

Bear Gokan Bonebakker, Osho - ZMM - 7/12/26 - Ancient masters offer us teachings that speak to us in subtle ways, communicating insights that can be transformative even though they may not yet be our conscious experience. Hongzhi’s guidance speaks directly to our practice, toward how we can let the thinking mind go and let everything reveal itself. Gokan Osho says the revolution of practice is to see the mind, to see how we are creating our reality and, with awareness, let things be as they are.

Painting the Whole Picture Jul 05, 2026

Show notes

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 7/5/26 - Celebrating July 4th by looking at the dharma teachings on interdependence, Shugen Roshi leads us through the fundamental question of how suffering is created, and our personal and collective ability to heal as we affect the reality—the whole picture—of the physical, moral and metaphysical aspects of our lives. (From the Koans of the Way of Reality.)

Every Day Is A Good Day Jun 28, 2026

Show notes

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 6/28/26 - This teaching from ancient master Yunmen calls us not to ignore the strife around us, but to see it all through the eye of wisdom and compassion which does not get entangled by it. Even when the outer circumstances are not favorable—which is typical for samsara—we still have agency to affect things beyond our understanding when we take the Dharma as our refuge. (From the Blue Cliff Record, Case 6 - Every Day is a Good Day)

Actualizing Buddha Ancestors Jun 27, 2026

Show notes

Danica Shoan Ankele, Sensei - ZMM - 6/27/26 - Practicing zazen, seeing into our minds, is what makes it possible to loosen the grip and let our true self be known. We are called to actualize in our present bodies, in this life, the actual body and life of Buddha. On the path of awakening to the truth of this, we awaken to the truth of the “self-born wisdom deity” of the Buddha ancestors.

Impermanence And Ease Jun 25, 2026

Show notes

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 6/25/26 - Resistance to change often underlies our suffering and shows up in feelings such as anxiety, irritation, impatience and so on. As an essential teaching of the Buddha, impermanence calls on us to reflect and study this as the condition of all life, allowing us to loosen the tension, to accept what is true, and find ways to move in accord with things. (From the Book of Serenity, Case 75 - Ruiyan's "Constant Principle")

Not Really Separate At All Jun 21, 2026

Show notes

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 6/21/26 - The sense of separation — from life, from happiness, from anything we feel apart from — lies at the root of what brings many of us to a spiritual path. The Buddha taught that suffering arises from the duality created by conceptual thinking. To truly end our troubles, and the troubles we create in the world, we must see into this directly. Shugen Sensei explores how we can deepen the practice of seeing the mind and experiencing our true nature. Through mindfulness, wisdom, and compassion, we can discover that we are not separate; we were never separate at all.

Oh! Really? Jun 14, 2026

Show notes

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei - ZCNYC - 6/14/26 - The Buddha said, “All things are ultimately liberated; they have no abiding place.” In this koan, the teenage Satsujo, completely devoted to practicing the Dharma, was sitting in her room when her father peeked in and saw her seated on a copy of the Lotus Sutra. Shocked, he shouted, “What are you doing sitting on this precious scripture?” Satsujo replied, “How is this wonderful sutra different from my ass? Quickly! What is this body-heart-mind before thoughts of sacred and profane arise?” Hojin Sensei uses this encounter to invite us to question the familiar divisions and fixed ideas in which we can become stuck—those habits of mind that separate sacred from ordinary and can become a source of confusion and suffering. (From Hidden Lamp: Stories from Awakened Women #72 – “Satsujo Sits on the Lotus Sutra”. Japan, 18th century.)

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