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The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Zen Mountain Monastery
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 Eig
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- 2 weeks ago42 min
Ch’ien and Her Soul are Separated
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.)
- 3 weeks ago49 min
Ango Opening Talk at ZMM with Shugen Roshi
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi – 8/30/26 – Shugen Roshi introduces the theme of the MRO 90-day Fall Ango 2026 training period: “Buddha Nature.”
- 3 weeks ago46 min
Ango Opening Remarks at Fire Lotus Temple
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.
- 3 weeks ago41 min
Taking Up Zen Training
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.
- 3 weeks ago34 min
Standing in the World
Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei – ZCNYC – 8/29/26 – The Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta is where Buddha gives the four postures: walking, standing, sitting, and lying down. The instruction is essentially to know the body as it is disposed: “when standing, one knows, ‘I am standing.’” walking they know: ‘I am walking.’ When sitting they know: ‘I am sitting.’ And when lying down they know: ‘I am lying down. When our body is aligned and upright the bodies energies begin to settle and circulate in a way that is balanced and the mind too settles into a calmer place. In this talk Hojin explores “when standing, one knows, ‘I am standing.’ It seems simple to just stand, but is it? (Zazenkai Talk)
- 4 weeks ago47 min
Inspiration, Aspiration
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi – ZMM – 8/23/26 – Breath is the quality that brings and sustains life–an inspiration of what enters us and provides nourishment. To have aspiration, in a sense, is the desire and motivation inspired by the Dharma which brings us into practice, inspired by our own internal call. When we cultivate even a small aspiration toward awakening, we encounter the possibility of freeing ourselves and liberating others. Shugen Roshi reminds us that we each have influence within our own sphere of living. So, what is our aspiration? What will we do with this very precious life?
- 4 weeks ago40 min
Alone, Lonely, Solitary, All Related
Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei – ZCNYC – 8/23/26 – A practitioner came to the temple during the week and in a conversation they asked Hojin Sensei: “Are you lonely?” In this talk, Hojin takes up the this koan of our life: who or what is alone, lonely, solitary, related? Aren’t we all each truly alone as we are also completely in relationship? The Buddha taught, “All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else.” This old woman hermit when asked if she is alone responds: “everything is my relative” Can you relate? Where do you find the self? (From The Hidden Lamp #48: The Old Woman’s Relatives)
- 4 weeks ago40 min
Good Qualities
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi – ZMM – 8/22/26 – Many times our practice can be simple and straightforward. But when conditions become adverse, how do we stay on the path? The Dharma points us toward beneficial qualities within ourselves that we can cultivate and draw upon for strength—to support our focus, deepen our faith, and develop clarity. Sometimes called the Beautiful Qualities, or Beautiful Mental Factors, these qualities can sustain and strengthen our practice, especially as we encounter negative conditioning and our habitual patterns.
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About 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 Eig
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