The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi – ZMM – 10/25/26 – Referring to Zhaozhou’s koan, “Does a Dog Have Buddha Nature?”, and Dogen’s teachings in Busshō, this Dharma Encounter explores how both “yes” and “no” can be doorways to understanding our true nature. Rather than treating these responses as opposing answers, Shugen Roshi encourages us to move beyond conceptual thinking and the habits of grasping and aversion. If Buddha Nature is the fundamental nature of all beings, how do we understand our doubts, imperfections, and reactive patterns? Can we recognize Buddha Nature in our very body that ages, suffers, and dies, rather than seeing it as something separate from our everyday experience? Shugen Roshi invites the sangha to reflect on these questions and come forward to share their own experiences, insights, and questions in the spirit of Dharma Encounter.

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.)

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.

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.

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?