Best Mountain Rain Zen Community Podcasts (2025)

1
Seeds of Life, Seeds of Dharma 35:06

4d ago35:06

35:06

Jikai Vicki Turay explores the origins of life from both a scientific and a dharmic perspective. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen.org/donate. A full…

1
When Everything is the Path, Nothing is Left Out 38:49

7d ago38:49

38:49

Hotei Denis asks: given state of world and the seriousness of the human condition, how do we deepen our practice? When the only point is the point, how do we walk the walk? _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teaching…

1
The Great Matter of Birth and Death 32:41

11d ago32:41

32:41

Ninen Susan Elbe offers an exploration of koans and how they help us grapple with the mysteries of birth and death. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen…

1
Make Practice Your Whole Life (Training in Compassion - 5/) 30:14

14d ago30:14

30:14

Jikai Vicki Turay continues our Dharma seminar asking: what strengths do you have when it comes to making practice your whole life? What challenges? How consciously and caringly can you breathe? _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find v…

1
In the Spirit of Mothers' Day 34:10

18d ago34:10

34:10

Shinmon Michael Newton offers stories celebrating the strong influence of mothers within the Buddhist tradition. How do you cultivate a mothering spirit? _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider …

1
Transform Bad Circumstances into the Path (Training in Compassion - 4/) 29:38

21d ago29:38

29:38

Joko Claire Talbot continues the Wednesday evening Dharma seminar on Norman Fischer's Training in Compassion. In what ways do you appreciate your lunacy and pray for help? _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings…

1
The Way is Easy - Just Avoid Preferences 56:07

25d ago56:07

56:07

Zoketsu Norman Fischer 's second dharma talk from the MRZC weekend retreat is again full of wonderful teachings and stories from Dongshan. What is this life now, beyond theologies and categories? [with apologies for rough audio] _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our …

1
Inanimate Objects Speak the Dharma 52:51

26d ago52:51

52:51

Rich with stories and teachings from Dongshan's life, Zoketsu Norman Fischer gives the first of two talks at the annual MRZC weekend retreat. [with apologies for rough audio] _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachi…

1
Relative Compassion (Training in Compassion - 3/) 28:52

28d ago28:52

28:52

Our dharma seminar on Zoketsu Norman Fischer’s Training in Compassion continues. Dai-i Flo Rublee offers that relative compassion helps ground the broad view of life’s empty nature in heart-connection and engagement. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide co…

1
Different Ways of Expressing What it is to be Human 39:54

1M ago39:54

39:54

Myoshin Kate McCandless gives a dharma talk on one of humanity's great koans: gender. Can we release our fixed views on identity? _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at m…

1
Absolute Compassion (Training in Compassion - 2/) 41:32

1M ago41:32

41:32

Myosen River Shannon continues the Dharma Seminar on Zoketsu Norman Fischer’s Training in Compassion. How does caring for ourselves help us care for others? How do we not hide behind the dream-like quality of the absolute? _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldw…

1
A ZED talk for Earth Day 25:50

1M ago25:50

25:50

Zen Engaged Dharma (ZED) talk by Kokai Michael Drebert on Gardening and the Wild. ZED talks are informal talks by sangha members on how they take their practice into the world, and how their practice supports doing so. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide …

1
Resolve to Begin (Training in Compassion - 1/) 28:44

1M ago28:44

28:44

Shinmon Michael Newton gives the first talk in our new Dharma Seminar on Zoketsu Norman Fischer’s Training in Compassion, where we will explore the practice of Lojong. The first slogan, "Train in the Preliminaries," strengthens our resolve to practice and invites us to reflect deeply, whether we are an experienced practitioner or just beginning. __…

1
Following the Precepts 34:39

2M ago34:39

34:39

Shinmon Michael Newton outlines how taking the bodhisattva vows reduces suffering and can help cultivate dignified presence. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mounta…

1
Everyday Zen (9/9): Service 33:23

2M ago33:23

33:23

Shinmon Michael Newton gives the last talk in our Dharma Seminar on Charlotte Joko Beck's Everyday Zen - Love and Work, offering further insight into a formidable zen teacher. What would it be like to live a life of no exchange? _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our …

1
Religion's Relevance to Contemporary Society 28:33

2M ago28:33

28:33

Myoshin Kate McCandless emphasizes that religions can not only provide solace and inspiration, but also need to reckon with harms done in the name of "god". _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consid…

1
Everyday Zen (8/9): Boundaries 24:11

2M ago24:11

24:11

Using Joko Beck's Everyday Zen as a springboard, Myoshin Kate McCandless asks us to consider what kind of boundaries we are attached to, and which of the worldly winds blows us off our path. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value…

1
Everyday Zen (7/9): Choices 27:07

2M ago27:07

27:07

Nin-en Susan Elbe picks up the thread of Charlotte Joko Beck’s Everyday Zen by offering a talk on Chapter 8. How do the paramitas help us make difficult choices? _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please c…

1
Not One Not Two: Art and Practice – a ZED talk by Onsen Kerr 36:29

2M ago36:29

36:29

ZED Talks (Zen Engaged Dharma) invite sangha members to tell their stories about how Zen practice manifests in their life. Zen priest Onsen Kerr from Middle Way Sangha in Victoria discusses how her lifelong art practice is one of realization and disruption, and explores the question of how Art and Zen co-exist – and for whose benefit? See Onsen's w…

1
Dogen Intensive: Moon (3/3) 38:36

2M ago38:36

38:36

To end our month long Genzo-e, Shinmon Michael Newton underlines that the moon is a symbol for awakening to non-dual reality and to impermanence. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporti…

1
Dogen Intensive: Moon (2/3 - Closing Retreat) 38:15

2M ago38:15

38:15

In this talk, Shinmon Michael Newton encourages us to not reject the incomplete and to not hang on to what is complete, but rather just to practice; to actualize the complete moon that is not yet full. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you…

1
Dogen Intensive: Moon (1/3 - Closing Retreat) 39:02

2M ago39:02

39:02

Shinmon Michael Newton offers insights into the moon as symbol for the formless dharma body. What preconceived notions do you have about zen practice and your life? Can you let go of that mode of thinking? _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If…

1
Dogen Intensive: Dreams (4/4) 29:10

3M ago29:10

29:10

In the last dharma talk on Dogen's Dream within a Dream, Myoshin Kate McCandless shares a dialogue between Ziyong, a 17th century Chinese nun at the end of her life, and her disciple Jingxuan. How do we express the dream within the dream in times of great loss? _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possi…

1
Dogen Intensive: Going Beyond Buddha (3/3) 42:28

3M ago42:28

42:28

In this dharma talk, Shinmon Michael Newton encourages us to “hold up the sun and moon on the top of a staff” and asks what we offer to this troubled and confused world? _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, …

1
Dogen Intensive: Dreams (3/4) 32:26

3M ago32:26

32:26

Myoshin Kate McCandless asks: how can Dogen, and seven wise princesses, help us be fully alive and express the "dream within a dream"? _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work…

1
Dogen Intensive: Going Beyond Buddha (2/3) 39:24

3M ago39:24

39:24

Shinmon Michael Newton asks that we get past "zero sum thinking" the better to cultivate and encourage buddha nature, wherever and whenever we can. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider suppor…

1
Dogen Intensive: Dreams (2/4) 36:40

3M ago36:40

36:40

"How can I express the dream of this life?" Myoshin Kate McCandless offers an exploration of what Dogen calls "twining vines" - the entanglement of our karmic lives and the intertwined nature of awakening. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If…

1
Dogen Intensive: Going Beyond Buddha (1/3) 38:53

3M ago38:53

38:53

Shinmon Michael Newton explores how, by taking a step backwards and shining the light inwards, we might realize the nature of Buddha. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work …

1
Dogen Intensive: Dreams (1/4) 34:21

3M ago34:21

34:21

For the 1st Wednesday evening of MRZC's Genzo-e, Myoshin Kate McCandless explores how perhaps we are "within a dream expressing a dream". _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our w…

1
Dogen Intensive: Miracles (3/3) 39:32

3M ago39:32

39:32

Themes from the Dogen Genzo-e opening retreat continue to be explored in the Sunday morning dharma talk. Can we practice humility and be open to wonder? In what ways do we express how we feel about miracles? _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. …

1
Dogen Intensive: Miracles (2/3 - Opening Retreat) 31:17

3M ago31:17

31:17

A call to the co-arising of "be alert!". Enlightenment is not a fixed state - it is the expression of our practice. And that is a great miracle. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supportin…

1
Dogen Intensive: Miracles (1/3 - Opening Retreat) 51:26

3M ago51:26

51:26

Mysoshin Kate McCandless offers a deep dive into what Dogen meant by saying miracles are "the tea and rice of buddha's house". _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at moun…

1
Everyday Zen (6/9): Suffering 29:06

4M ago29:06

29:06

Dai-i Flo Rublee offers the last instalment in our dharma seminar - Chapter 5 from Charlotte Joko Beck’s Everyday Zen - with the suggestion that we don't have to be engaged in endless struggle with forces external to ourselves. "No old age and death. No end to old age and death. No suffering. No end to suffering." (the Heart Sutra) ________________…

1
Anger and Forgiveness 40:58

4M ago40:58

40:58

Kakuko Kaye Simard offers a talk on anger as a path of transformation. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work at mountainrainzen.org/donate. A full archive of recorded teach…

1
Everyday Zen (5/9): Ideals 32:14

4M ago32:14

32:14

Jikai Vicki Turay continues our dharma seminar on Charlotte Joko Beck’s Everyday Zen asking the question: Do our ideals serve us or confuse us? Are they guiding principles or subtle forms of attachement? _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If y…

1
What is Death with Dignity? 32:33

4M ago32:33

32:33

In honour of the Buddha's parinirvana, Shinmon Michael Newton asks: how does realizing our self-nature free us from birth and death? _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please consider supporting our work a…

1
Everyday Zen (4/9): Relationships 31:14

4M ago31:14

31:14

"Every moment of our life is relationship. There is nothing except relationship." (Charlotte Joko Beck) Shinmon Michael Newton continues our dharma seminar, exploring how we can perceive and navigate relationships with mindfulness and presence. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to don…

1
Truth and Beauty in Hard Times 34:21

4M ago34:21

34:21

Myoshin Kate McCandless asks, with so much seeming to be so awry in the world right now, how can we meet beauty and truth in unexpected moments and guises. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please conside…

1
Everyday Zen (3/9): Feelings 21:05

4M ago21:05

21:05

Daikan John Green continues our dharma seminar on Charlotte Joko Beck's Everyday Zen, in which Joko describes how sitting can be like opening a Pandora’s box — which looks still and pretty on the outside, but can release a swarm of intense feelings. How do we experience these feelings as they arise, without being caught by ‘emotion-thought’? ______…

1
Working With Anger: Practising Patience (2/2) 34:26

4M ago34:26

34:26

In this second talk on working with anger, MRZC Priest Dai-i Flo Rublee uses Shantideva's writings in The Way of the Bodhisattva—along with Pema Chödrön's masterful analysis—to explore specific situations for practising patience in the midst of overwhelming emotion. She also reminds us of the value of our troublemakers: those people or situations t…

1
Working With Anger: Avoiding the Hook (1/2) 33:11

4M ago33:11

33:11

In this first of two talks based on Shantideva's writings in the classic text The Way of the Bodhisattva, MRZC Priest Dai-i Flo Rublee unpacks how anger functions as a hindrance to happiness and affects all around us. She goes on to explain how, by cultivating patience, we can learn to sit through the 'pain of detox' and avoid biting anger's hook. …

1
Everyday Zen (2/9): What is Practice? 29:28

4M ago29:28

29:28

Myosen River Shannon continues our dharma seminar on Charlotte Joko Beck's book Everyday Zen and explores two questions Beck poses: "What is practice?" and "What is not practice?" _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these t…

1
Zen, Karate, and Kiai - ZED Talk with Michael Hare 37:28

5M ago37:28

37:28

Michael Hare describes how his different communities of practice weave together like the threads of a martial arts belt. ZED (Zen Engaged Dharma) talks are short talks by sangha members about how they take their practice into the world, through work, art, activism, service, family life, etc. and how their practice supports them in doing so. _______…

1
Everyday Zen (1/9): Love and Work 38:42

5M ago38:42

38:42

Kakuko Kaye Simard begins a new dharma seminar on Joko Beck's book Everyday Zen: Love and Work. If you are curious about the references made during the talk, please click below! Tales from the San Deigo Zen Center Joko Beck videos/documentary Dale S Wright - Humanizing the Image of a Zen Master: Maezumi Roshi _______________________________________…

1
Taking Vows in a Troubled World 36:37

5M ago36:37

36:37

"All sentient beings have their existence and live within my life" -Uchiyama Roshi Shinmon Michael Newton asks us what our deep vows are, particularly in light of the many complex and difficult issues facing contemporary society. How can we open our hearts and see we are not separate from the ones we want to shun? __________________________________…

1
Tribute to Hozan Alan Senauke 37:59

5M ago37:59

37:59

Hozan Alan Senauke was an American Sōtō priest, folk musician and poet residing at the Berkeley Zen Center. Myoshin Kate McCandless reads from Hozan’s tribute and shares some of his writing. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value…

1
Joy 25:31

5M ago25:31

25:31

Myoshin Kate McCandless offers insight into how, even with all the challenges the holiday season might bring, we can experience joy as one of the noble abodes. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value in these teachings, please con…

1
Impermanence and Uncertainty 32:42

5M ago32:42

32:42

Shinmon Michael Newton asks how we might best respond to the uncertainty that is always present in our lives. In what way does living in sangha provide an opportunity to meet the unexpected and experience what enables the heart to be at peace? _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to dona…

1
Rohatsu sesshin - Living in Indra's Net: the Avatamsaka Sutra and Beyond (7) 44:34

6M ago44:34

44:34

Mysohin Kate McCandless gives the last talk of sesshin and concludes the story of Sudhana’s pilgrimage. Because we only exist within the vast matrix of Indra’s Net, the work of a Bodhisattva is never solitary. The greatest gift we can bring to the world is to give up our self-clinging. _____________________________________________________________ T…

1
Rohatsu sesshin - Living in Indra's Net: the Avatamsaka Sutra and Beyond (6) 44:42

6M ago44:42

44:42

Continuing the exploration of Samantabhadra's Ten Vows, Shinmon Michael Newton reminds us to never give up on ourselves, and to dedicate the merit we accrue towards the good of all beings. _____________________________________________________________ These talks are made possible thanks to donations from our worldwide community. If you find value i…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Mountain Rain Zen Community Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide