PODCAST · religion
in the Cloud
by 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 [email protected] with any comments/suggestions.
Episodes
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Teisho: "On the Way Without Ever Leaving Home" with Valerie Forstman
Freshly returned from the annual Sanbo Zen teacher training in Germany and a sesshin she led there, Valerie reflects on these experiences and on the many gifts of practice. How do we find our way on this path of practice exactly where we are, lacking nothing, and, at the same time, called ever…
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Path(less): Vanessa Zuisei Goddard
Such a delight to chat with Vanessa Zuisei Goddard. Zuisei has a fascinating pathless path. She joined me online, from her home in Panama City. You, too, can join Zuisei online, with the Ocean Mind Sangha. If you're enjoying these conversations, please consider supporting Mountain Cloud through...
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Teisho: "Three Bright Pearls: Honoring our Masters" with Shana Smith
Shana reflects upon the recent Kenshukai in Germany, and examines Case 86 of the Blue Cliff Record, "Unmon's Bright Light." Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member, so we can continue to offer these programs freely. Donations:...
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Path(less): Daisy Lin
We're back with another episode of Path(less)! Today with the lovely Daisy Lin. We had a great time chatting about a whole host of interesting topics. Please enjoy! If you're enjoying these conversations, please consider supporting Mountain Cloud through donation and membership. Your contribution...
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Teisho: "Falling into the Heart of the World" with Valerie Forstman
As our 30 Days of Dogen course comes to an end, Valerie invites a return to Dogen's seminal awakening: Body and mind fallen away. What geography of awakening does Dogen's experience lay bare for us and can it be anywhere but here? Looking into this, the talk turns to case 27 in the Blue Cliff...
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Path(less): Henry Shukman
What a pleasure and a privilege to sit down with Henry Shukman for a conversation in the Study at Mountain Cloud. Henry's app, The Way, is a single-path meditaton program designed to bring the depth of traditional practice into the digital age. He's also the author of the excellent books, One…
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Path(less): Light Watkins
A real joy chatting Light Watkins from his home in Mexico City. Light's latest book, The Year You Transform, is a wonderfully practical guide to how small, daily behaviors can have truly transformative power. If you're enjoying these conversations, please consider supporting Mountain Cloud…
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Path(less): Sarah Giffin
So nice to chat with Sarah Giffin, the Executive Director of Mountain Cloud Zen Center. Sarah's had an interesting pathless path to her current role at the Center, and has such a gift for storytelling. If you're enjoying these conversations, please consider supporting Mountain Cloud through...
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Teisho: "Wild Thing!" with Scott Thornton
Scott explores Case 53 of the Blue Cliff Record or Hekiganroku: "Hyakujo and the Wild Ducks." 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:...
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Path(less): Eric Zimmer
Really enjoyed this conversation with Eric Zimmer. Eric was in Santa Fe while touring in support of his latest book, How A Little Becomes A Lot. Also check out his incredibly popular podcast, The One You Feed. If you're enjoying these conversations, please consider supporting Mountain Cloud…
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Dharma Talk: "Touching the Earth" with David Loy
When the Buddha touched the Earth (bhumisparsha), was the Earth touching him? What does our nonduality with the Earth really mean? Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member, so we can continue to offer these programs freely. Donations:...
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Path(less): Elena Brower
Such a pleasure to sit down with Elena Brower in the Study at Mountain Cloud for a beautiful conversation around the pathless path of practice and life. Please check out Elena's latest book, Hold Nothing, as well as her Substack, where she writes on practice, study, and listening. Elena also…
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Teisho: "The Circle Game" with Shana Smith
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 [email protected] with any comments or...
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Path(less): Tias Little
Such a joy to sit down with Tias Little (during a break from writing his latest book) on the beautiful grounds of Prajna Yoga. Tias and Surya offer amazing courses and classes, both in their temple in Santa Fe, as well as online. If you're enjoying these conversations, please consider supporting...
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Path(less): Katie Arnold
Really enjoyed this conversation with author, journalist, and ultra-endurance athlete, Katie Arnold. Her latest book, "Brief Flashings in the Phenomenal World", is a beautiful Zen meditation wrapped in a memoir. And check out all of the great things Katie is up to, including her next "Flow Camp",...
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Dharma Talk: "Flower Garland Buddhism" with Ben Connelly
Ben's talk is based on his new book, Inside the Flower Garland Sutra: Huayan Buddhism and the Modern World. Huayan Buddhism arose in the sixth century in China rooted in the Mahayana Flower Garland (Huayan) Sutra. Huayan is relational, practical, and positive. Its emphasis on interdependence,...
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Path(less): David Loy
It was an honor to sit down with David Loy for this next conversation in the Path(less) series. David will be joining us here at Mountain Cloud for our May EcoDharma Residency. To learn more about David, his teachings, books and appearances, check out his webiste: https://www.davidloy.org Please...
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Teisho: "No Merit" with Scott Thornton
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 [email protected] with any comments or...
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Teisho: "The Nonduality of Good and Evil" with David Loy
Ukraine … Gaza … Iran … Can Buddhist teachings help us understand what is happening, and how we might respond? 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/...
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Path(less): Valerie Forstman
Such a pleasure to sit down with Valerie Forstman, Guiding Teacher for Mountain Cloud Zen Center, for this first conversation in the Path(less) series. Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud through donation or membership. Donation: https://www.mountaincloud.org/donate/ Membership:...
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Teisho: "In the Wake of Sesshin: Wash your bowls" with Valerie Forstman
In this first dharma talk following the Spring Sesshin, Valerie begins with a poem that whimsically maps the trajectory of practice. The talk then turns to Case 7 in the Mumonkan or Gateless Gate, "Joshu's 'Wash Your Bowls.'" A monk arrives at the monastery and asks for instruction. On the…
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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...
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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:...
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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…
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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...
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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...
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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…
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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....
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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...
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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…
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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:...
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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...
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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…
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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...
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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…
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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...
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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/
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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…
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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...
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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…
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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…
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Dharma Talk: "The humanity of our life in a borderless now" with Valerie Forstman
In this talk, Valerie begins with the poetry of love and loss as a portal to a saying from the eminent 9th century Chan/Zen master Joshu (Zhaozhou) about the timelessness of our everyday lives. The talk explores Joshu's response to a monk who asks, "During the 24 hours, how is mind put to use?"...
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Dharma Talk: "It's Alive!" with Scott Thornton
Scott's talked is based on one of Joshu's sayings. When asked "What is meditation?" he responded, "Non-meditation." When asked how that could be, he said, "It's alive! It's alive!" Recorded on July 17th, 2025 Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member so we can...
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Dharma Talk: "The Great Matter: Arriving in the Light of Day" with Valerie Forstman
Fresh home from a memorial service for a beloved mentor and on the heels of the flooding in Texas, Valerie turns to case 41 of the Hekiganroku or Blue Cliff Record, "Joshu's 'Great Death.'" How does this case speak to the root of our human experience? What does it say about the coming and going…
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Dharma Talk: "The World and Us" with Henry Shukman
In this talk, Henry explores our place in the world through koans and poems. 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:...
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Dharma Talk: "Falling into the Heart of the World" with Valerie Forstman
In this first teisho since returning from the North American Sanbo Zan sesshin led by Yamada Ryoun Roshi, Valerie takes up Case 4 in the Shoyoroku or Book of Serenity, 'The World-honored One Points to the Ground.' "Here is a good place to build a temple," says the Buddha, pointing to the ground…
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Dharma Talk: "The Practice of Insight Dialogue" with Nicola Redfern
Insight Dialogue (ID) is a relational meditation practice for developing awareness, compassion and wisdom. It is designed to help us awaken together and integrate our understanding of Dharma teachings in a direct and immediate way. Nicola's talk was followed with a brief period of Q&A. Nicola...
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Dharma Talk: "Homecoming: Not a single step taken" with Valerie Forstman
In this first dharma talk after returning from a monthlong mini-ango in Germany, Valerie turns to the final case in the Mumonkan or Gateless Gate, "Kempo's One Way," a koan that presents the world of absolute immediacy and infinite capacity, and invites us to taste and see. Please consider...
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How to Disappear
Katie Arnold tells a story from her upcoming book How to Disappear about an arduous and illuminating long distance run in the high country. Katie Arnold is the author of Brief Flashings in the Phenomenal World as well as critically acclaimed RUNNING HOME: A Memoir, published by Random House in...
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The Eightfold Path and Tribal Spirituality
This talk was offered by Karen Waconda-Lewis at Mountain Cloud Zen Center on May 22nd, 2025. Karen discusses how the Noble Eightfold Path connects with Tribal spirituality. Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member so we can continue to provide online programs...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
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 [email protected] with any comments/suggestions.
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Mountain Cloud Zen Center
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How many episodes does in the Cloud have?
in the Cloud currently has 498 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is in the Cloud about?
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"...
How often does in the Cloud release new episodes?
in the Cloud publishes regularly with 498 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
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You can listen to in the Cloud on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
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in the Cloud is created and hosted by Mountain Cloud Zen Center.
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