in the Cloud

Mountain Cloud Zen Center

Welcome to the Mountain Cloud Zen Center "in the Cloud" podcast. Here, we'll be sharing our weekly Teisho's exploring classical Zen Koans, offered by Mountain Cloud teachers, and some guest teachers. Additionally, we have a conversation series, titled Path(less), which explores the "pathless path" of practice and life.

Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud Zen Center through donation and membership, both of which allow us to offer these and other programs. Visit mountaincloud.org for our daily meditation schedule, weekly talks, upcoming retreats, and more.

Reach out to grant@mountaincloud.org with any comments/suggestions.

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493 episodes
Updated Wednesday

Episodes493

Newest first

March 28 · 15 min
Path(less): Intro
Welcome to a new converation series, titled "Path(less)," on the "in the Cloud" podcast. In this introductory episde, host, Grant Goulet, provides a brief orientation to the theme of the series: the pathless path of practice and life. Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member, so we can continue to offer these programs freely. Donations: https://www.mountaincloud.org/donate/ Membership: https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/membership/ Reach out to grant@mountaincloud.org with any comments or suggestions.
March 16 · 19 min
Teisho: "A Person of Great Strength" with Carolyn Seburn
In this Teisho, Carolyn takes up Mumonkan Case 20: A Person of Great Strength – Seeing Shôgen's World From the Midst of Fire. Recorded on March 12, 2026 Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member, so we can continue to offer these programs freely. Donations: https://www.mountaincloud.org/donate/ Membership: https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/membership/
March 10 · 31 min
Teisho: "On the Way Without Ever Leaving Home" with Valerie Forstman
Valerie begins this talk with an exploration of Zen's invitation to 'come home' to who we truly are. What kind of path is it that can arrive fully without taking a single step? And what are we to make of this homecoming when the suffering of the world is fully included? As a way of exploring these questions, the talk turns to a koan: Blue Cliff Record or Hekiganroku Case 69, "Nansen Draws a Circle." Three monks, dharma siblings, set out together to visit a renowned master. Along the way, they stop to share the teaching – and to offer us a glimpse of home that is always right where we are. Recorded on March 5, 2026 Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member, so we can continue to offer these programs freely. Donations: https://www.mountaincloud.org/donate/ Membership: https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/membership/
March 2 · 31 min
Teisho: "No Choosing (This is it!)" with Scott Thornton
In Case 2 of The Blue Cliff Record, Master Joshu instructs us that "The Supreme Way is not difficult; it simply dislikes picking and choosing." How can this actually apply to a human life, especially in such trying times, since we seem to be faced with nothing but choices every day, from the most mundane to the most heart wrenching? Recorded on February 26, 2026 Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member, so we can continue to offer these programs freely. Donations: https://www.mountaincloud.org/donate/ Membership: https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/membership/
February 23 · 29 min
Dharma Talk: "The Oak Tree of Life" with Maria Habito
This talk is in reference to the Biblical "Tree of Life," from which we disconnected when we ate from the "Tree of Knowledge." How does our Zen practice help us to reconnect? Does Joshu's "Oak tree in the garden" give a hint? Recorded on February 19, 2026 Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member, so we can continue to offer these programs freely. Donations: https://www.mountaincloud.org/donate/ Membership: https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/membership/
February 17 · 37 min
Dharma Talk: "Taking Care of the One Who is Not Ill" Valerie Forstman
Zen practice invites us to sit in the midst of things just as they are without being tossed about by difficulties. As the waves settle, it can happen – in one unguarded moment – that the world suddenly falls open. The long imagined scaffolding of separation falls away. And we discover: right there in the vicissitudes of our lives there is ONE who is completely free and untroubled. Dogen called it "untrammeled." In this talk, Valerie acknowledges the ills of this world then turns to case 94 in the Book of Equanimity or Shoyoroku to explore the reality that doesn't divide and doesn't depend on circumstances. An exchange between Master Tozan (Dongshan) and a monk offers a window into Tozan's sickroom and a gateway into realizing – and taking care of – the one who does not get ill. Recorded on February 12th, 2026 Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member so we can continue to provide online programs such as this. Donations: https://www.mountaincloud.org/donate/ Become a member: https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/membership/
February 10 · 40 min
Dharma Talk: "Opening the Floodgates" with Shana Smith
Shana delves into Case 9 of the Hekiganroku and Case 15c of the Miscellaneous Koans as pointers to navigating the polycrisis. Recorded on February 5th, 2026 Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member so we can continue to provide online programs such as this. Donations: https://www.mountaincloud.org/donate/ Become a member: https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/membership/
February 4 · 37 min
Dharma Talk: "Sun-faced Buddha, Moon-faced Buddha" with Valerie Forstman
This talk begins with the question of how to embody the freedom and ease of Zen's empty hands while being fully attuned to the cries of the world – including the cries of our own hearts. As a prelude to a koan, the talk turns to the great lay disciple of the Buddha, Vimalakirti, who lies ill and says, "I am sick because the whole world is sick." What wholeness has Vimalakirti seen that allows him to say this? Case 3 of the Hekiganroku or Blue Cliff Record offers a response. About to die, Master Baso (Mazu) gives a final teaching that continues to resound. Recorded on January 29th, 2026 Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member so we can continue to provide online programs such as this. Donations: https://www.mountaincloud.org/donate/ Become a member: https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/membership/
January 27 · 33 min
Dharma Talk: "The 'Such-as-this' Sutra" with Valerie Forstman
Opening with a reading of Mountain Cloud's Land Acknowledgment, this talk is framed by a tribute to Joanna Macy through poetry that helped to inspire her deep and abiding support for the earth and all forms of life. Within this frame, Valerie turns to a koan about Prajnatara, teacher of Bodhidharma and an ancestor who may well have been a woman. Case 3 of the Shoyoroku or Book of Equanimity presents Prajnatara embodying the way by "always reciting the 'Such-as-this'-sutra" and opening our eyes to what that is. Recorded on January 22nd, 2026 Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member so we can continue to provide online programs such as this. Donations: https://www.mountaincloud.org/donate/ Become a member: https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/membership/
January 27 · 29 min
Dharma Talk: "Sitting in the Midst of Tragedy" with Scott Thornton
Scott takes up Case 6 of the Blue Cliff Record, Unmon's "Every Day is a Good Day." Recorded on January 15th, 2026 Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member so we can continue to provide online programs such as this. Donations: https://www.mountaincloud.org/donate/ Become a member: https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/membership/
January 13 · 35 min
Dharma Talk: "Begin Again: The timeless gift of a new day" with Valerie Forstman
In this first Dharma talk of the new year, Valerie reads from a recently published collection of poetry, Begin Where You Are, then turns to the question, 'Where Are You?' Issuing from our practice, this question is not a matter of geographical location but a pointer to the fundamental reality of who and what we truly are. Centuries ago, Master Tosetsu Etsu famously addressed his monks with this fundamental question: Right in the midst of your seeking and searching, where is your self-nature at this very moment? Addressed to us, how will we respond – right now in 'this very moment,' exactly as it is? Recorded on January 8th, 2026 Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member so we can continue to provide online programs such as this. Donations: https://www.mountaincloud.org/donate/ Become a member: https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/membership/
January 9 · 34 min
Dharma Talk: "One Treasure – Endlessly Functioning" with Valerie Forstman
In the wake of the Rohatsu sesshin at Mountain Cloud and our deep dive into Hakuin's Song of Zazen, Valerie begins this talk with a painting by Hakuin, an image of three blind men crossing a precarious log bridge. What does Hakuin's vision of 'crossing over' say about our practice, about awakening, and about the leap or fall right into the heart of this broken open world? By way of response, Valerie takes up case 62 in the Hekiganroku or Blue Cliff Record, "Unmon's 'One Treasure.'" In the case, Master Unmon/Yunmen quotes a famous passage about the one treasure that is always right in our midst and offers a teaching about its manifold activity. Recorded on December 18th, 2025 Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member so we can continue to provide online programs such as this. Donations: https://www.mountaincloud.org/donate/ Become a member: https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/membership/
January 8 · 37 min
Dharma Talk – Illumined; Illumining: The Full Moon of Our Lives
On the occasion of the last full moon of this calendar year, Valerie turns to case 100 in the Blue Cliff Record or Hekiganroku. Speaking directly to our life and practice, Master Haryo (Baling), asks, "What is the sharpest sword? He himself answers, "Each branch of coral reflects the moon." How does that sharpest sword function and what does it have to do with the light of the moon? In the course of her talk, Valerie reflects on a recent sesshin in Germany then makes the turn toward Rohatsu, the deepest ingathering of the year at Zen centers around the world. The talk also includes a poem by Maelna Mörling from her forthcoming collection, 'Lumina Station.' Recorded on December 4th, 2025 Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member so we can continue to provide online programs such as this. Donations: https://www.mountaincloud.org/donate/ Become a member: https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/membership/
Nov 25, 2025 · 25 min
Dharma Talk: "The Boundless Way" with Maria Habito
Maria turns to Mumonkan Case 7, Joshu's "Wash your Bowl", his advice to a newcomer who earnestly asked him for instruction about the way. How does this simple instruction reflect the boundless way that Joshu himself asked his own teacher Nansen about when he first entered the monastery? Recorded on November 20th, 2025 Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member so we can continue to provide online programs such as this. Donations: https://www.mountaincloud.org/donate/ Become a member: https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/membership/
Nov 25, 2025 · 24 min
Dharma Talk: "Freedom and the Sound of the Bell" with Carolyn Seburn
How do we reconcile the wondrous and borderless reality of the essence with the messiness of our everyday lives? Are changing diapers, checking a phone or driving to work really compatible with "vast and void, no holiness?" Carolyn explores this question as it was posed by Unmon in 10th century China (Case 16 of the Mumonkan) "the world is vast and wide like this. Why do we put on our seven-panel robe at the sound of the bell?" Delve in to see how there is no contraction here. Recorded on November 13th, 2025 Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member so we can continue to provide online programs such as this. Donations: https://www.mountaincloud.org/donate/ Become a member: https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/membership/
Nov 25, 2025 · 26 min
Dharma Talk: "Nothing Lacking" with Scott Thornton
In this talk, Scott takes up Case 10 of the Mumonkon, "Seizei the Poor." Recorded on November 6th, 2025 Donations: https://www.mountaincloud.org/donate/ Become a member: https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/membership/
Nov 24, 2025 · 52 min
Dharma Talk: "Bring me the Rhinoceros" with Valerie Forstman and Natalie Goldberg
For this talk, Valerie is joined by friend, author, artist, and dharma teacher, Natalie Goldberg. Together, Natalie and Valerie take up case 25 in the Book of Equanimity or Shoyoroku as a way of exploring the dharma that is at the heart of every koan – this world that is at once broken and utterly complete. Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member so we can continue to provide online programs such as this. Recorded on October 30th, 2025 Donations: https://www.mountaincloud.org/donate/ Become a member: https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/membership/
Oct 29, 2025 · 35 min
Dharma Talk: "How to See in the Dark" with Valerie Forstman
This talk begins with the question, 'What is it to be human?' When Siddhartha Gautama was 29 years old, he leapt beyond the palace walls of his rarified life in search of an answer to this question. One of Shakyamuni Buddha's earliest teachings points the way towards what he discovered: Stop and see. Stop the conditioned activity of our discursive minds, our habitual ways of framing the world, our fixed concepts about who and what we are. Put down the artifice of that narrow flashlight. Turn off the projector and see. See what remains. In effect, see in the dark. In response to this invitation, Valerie turns to case 89 in the Hekiganroku or Blue Cliff Record, 'Unmon's Bright Light.' Addressing the assembly, Unmon says, "Everyone has their own bright light. When you look at it, you can't see it; it is complete darkness. Now, what is the bright light of you all?" Unmon's own reply is a pointer to who we truly are and to how that matters in our lives. Recorded on October 23rd, 2025 Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member so we can continue to provide online programs such as this. Donations: https://www.mountaincloud.org/donate/ Become a member: https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/membership/
Oct 15, 2025 · 49 min
Dharma Talk: "Everywhere You Turn" with Valerie Forstman
This talk takes up case 34 in the Blue Cliff Record or Hekiganroku, "Kyozan's 'Not Wandering,'" as a guide to that exploration. Kyozan (Yangshan) asks a monk, "Where have you come from?" It's a common question – a fundamental question – that the monks of record repeatedly fail to realize. Here, the monk responds in terms of geography, the distance between here and there, near and far, coming and going. The exchange unfolds with a turning word addressed to the student and to us: Can you wander in the mountains without ever leaving home? Can you not? Recorded on August 7th, 2025 Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member so we can continue to provide online programs such as this. Donations: https://www.mountaincloud.org/donate/ Become a member: https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/membership/
Oct 15, 2025 · 37 min
Dharma Talk: "Zen Practice: Sweeping the Ground of our Lives" with Valerie Forstman
In this talk, Valerie returns to the basics of Zen practice beginning with a beloved verse by the renowned 8th century Chinese poet, Li Po. The poem is both a practice pointer and an expression of the fundamental reality we can discover along the way as practice unfolds: the essential world that is empty, boundless, and one, while, at the same time, exactly the world of our everyday lives. As a pointer to this one reality, the talk takes up case 21 in the Shoyoroku or Book of Equanimity, "Ungan Sweeps the Ground." Two dharma brothers meet each other eye to eye and invite us into the dance where form and emptiness are not two. Not even one. Recorded July 31st, 2025 Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member so we can continue to provide online programs such as this. Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member so we can continue to provide online programs such as this. Donations: https://www.mountaincloud.org/donate/ Become a member: https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/membership/

in the Cloud

Path(less): Intro

Teisho: "A Person of Great Strength" with Carolyn Seburn

Teisho: "On the Way Without Ever Leaving Home" with Valerie Forstman

Teisho: "No Choosing (This is it!)" with Scott Thornton

Dharma Talk: "The Oak Tree of Life" with Maria Habito

Dharma Talk: "Taking Care of the One Who is Not Ill" Valerie Forstman

Dharma Talk: "Opening the Floodgates" with Shana Smith

Dharma Talk: "Sun-faced Buddha, Moon-faced Buddha" with Valerie Forstman

Dharma Talk: "The 'Such-as-this' Sutra" with Valerie Forstman

Dharma Talk: "Sitting in the Midst of Tragedy" with Scott Thornton

Dharma Talk: "Begin Again: The timeless gift of a new day" with Valerie Forstman

Dharma Talk: "One Treasure – Endlessly Functioning" with Valerie Forstman

Dharma Talk – Illumined; Illumining: The Full Moon of Our Lives

Dharma Talk: "The Boundless Way" with Maria Habito

Dharma Talk: "Freedom and the Sound of the Bell" with Carolyn Seburn

Dharma Talk: "Nothing Lacking" with Scott Thornton

Dharma Talk: "Bring me the Rhinoceros" with Valerie Forstman and Natalie Goldberg

Dharma Talk: "How to See in the Dark" with Valerie Forstman

Dharma Talk: "Everywhere You Turn" with Valerie Forstman

Dharma Talk: "Zen Practice: Sweeping the Ground of our Lives" with Valerie Forstman