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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 Eight Gates training matrix.
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- 1 weeks ago39 min
The Nature of Experience
Danica Shoan Ankele, Sensei – ZMM – 10/18/26 – While concepts and ideas help us to learn about and understand our world, they also have a way of limiting our ability to experience things as they really are. Don’t keep yourself in a state of numbness or emotional distance from whatever is arising, but study and practice with a full and capable heart. (From the Gateless Gate, Case 27 – Neither Mind Nor Buddha.)
- 2 weeks ago1h 1m
Jukai Ceremony with Shugen Roshi at ZMM – October 2026
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi – ZMM – 10/11/26 – Shugen Roshi officiates the Fall Ango Jukai ceremony at Zen Mountain Monastery. Today, two students formally receive the sixteen Buddhist precepts, taking up these living teachings, living vows in the company of the sangha with family and friends: George Ando (“peaceful earth”) Milne and Tre Shokai (“divine ocean”) Miller.
- 3 weeks ago39 min
You Have “No Buddha” Nature
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi – ZMM – 10/04/26 – Taking up a segment from Dogen’s fascicle on Buddha Nature, Shugen Roshi illuminates how we lead ourselves into misunderstanding our fundamental nature because we grasp so readily at things—at language, at meaning, and what it says about “me”—before we actually experience our fundamental nature. “Not this” is a negation, but it can really mean: “Not this, but This” —our fundamental buddha nature—which cannot be grasped at, owned, or taken away. Not ever.
- 3 weeks ago30 min
Fusatsu: Be Still and Heal
Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei – 10/4/26 – In this Fusatsu talk, Hojin Sensei explores atonement as a way to acknowledge harmful karma, renew our vows, and begin again. The Buddha called healthy shame and fear of wrongdoing “bright guardians, a noble treasure of the world.” How can we take responsibility for our actions without becoming trapped in shame, guilt, or self-justification? Through this ancestral ceremony, we practice stillness, connect with our heart-mind, and find the clarity to release and heal what we no longer need to carry. Can we meet ourselves and one another with the courage and compassion to begin again?
- Sep 27, 20261h 14m
Dharma Encounter: Bringing Our True Nature to Life
Ron Hogen Green, Sensei – ZMM – 9/27/26 – Drawing on Dogen’s teaching that all beings are Buddha nature, Hogen Sensei asks how we bring this truth to life through practice. What inner resources do we draw on in difficult times, and where do they come from? In facing illness, navigating relationships, and making moral choices, how do we bring forth wisdom and compassion amid uncertainty? How do we meet whatever life brings as an expression of our true nature?
- Sep 26, 202646 min
Beyond Yes and No
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi – ZMM – 9/26/26 – Drawing on Dogen’s Bussho, Shugen Roshi explores the seemingly contradictory teachings that all beings are, have, or have no Buddha nature. If Buddha nature isn’t something we can possess or acquire, what are we realizing through practice? These teachings invite us to loosen our grip on fixed ideas and discover for ourselves what they point to. Through a story of simple hospitality becoming a lifelong friendship, we see how ordinary acts of kindness and generosity give this practice life. Can we trust the path and meet our difficulties as opportunities to practice?
- Sep 25, 202623 min
Fusatsu: Renewing Our Humanity
Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei – ZMM – 9/25/26 – In this Fusatsu talk, Hojin Sensei explores renewing our bodhisattva vows and practicing loving-kindness through the Three Pure Precepts. What does it mean to live by vow rather than be driven by our habitual karma? When we’re hurt or in conflict, can we see ourselves and others as more than our worst actions? Through humility, curiosity, and practice within the Sangha, we can acknowledge harm and learn to respond differently. Atonement offers a way to move through guilt and shame, renewing our commitment to compassion and service.
- Sep 24, 202643 min
Living Beings Are Buddha Nature
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.
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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 Eight Gates training matrix.
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