The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast

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 gene... more

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Number 1: This Life
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - 8/19/26 - What are the qualities that help, or hinder, our ability to enter and sustain practice on a path of liberation? What to cultivate, what to mindfully let go of? The Buddha and later practitioners studied and taught these ways to support our practice, to best support us in this life, for the life of all beings. Shugen Roshi offers this guiding talk during the Hazy Moon sesshin.
August 19, 202645min
Number 2: The Form of Buddha Nature
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - ZMM - 9/13/26 - This formless Buddha Nature, how does it manifest? Is it large or small? Shugen Roshi quotes the great teacher Nagarjuna, “If you want to see buddha nature, first, let go of your pride,” first let go of the certainty with which we bestow value on things and on people. Let go of our sense of self that separates self and all others. When we let appearances determine how we respond and act, we risk living in a deluded state of our biases that is in conflict with our true buddha nature, our liberated nature, the absolute basis of reality.
September 13, 202648min
Number 3: 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."
August 30, 202650min
Number 4: 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.
August 29, 202642min
Number 5: 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.
August 22, 202641min