The Zen Mountain Monastery Podcast

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei – ZCNYC – 8/29/26 – The Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta is where Buddha gives the four postures: walking, standing, sitting, and lying down. The instruction is essentially to know the body as it is disposed: “when standing, one knows, ‘I am standing.’” walking they know: ‘I am walking.’ When sitting they know: ‘I am sitting.’ And when lying down they know: ‘I am lying down. When our body is aligned and upright the bodies energies begin to settle and circulate in a way that is balanced and the mind too settles into a calmer place. In this talk Hojin explores “when standing, one knows, ‘I am standing.’ It seems simple to just stand, but is it? (Zazenkai Talk)

Jody Hojin Kimmel, Sensei – ZCNYC – 8/23/26 – A practitioner came to the temple during the week and in a conversation they asked Hojin Sensei: “Are you lonely?” In this talk, Hojin takes up the this koan of our life: who or what is alone, lonely, solitary, related? Aren’t we all each truly alone as we are also completely in relationship? The Buddha taught, “All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else.” This old woman hermit when asked if she is alone responds: “everything is my relative” Can you relate? Where do you find the self? (From The Hidden Lamp #48: The Old Woman’s Relatives)

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.

Danica Shoan Ankele, Sensei – ZMM – 8/21/26 – What do we aspire to in our practice? What are we looking for? This deeply personal question can help us find our way among the many Dharma offerings we encounter, which can sometimes feel difficult to take up. In this vast, wide world, why practice? Why? This fundamental question opens many fruitful avenues of practice. Looking within—deepening our zazen—we discover this vastness, this world, and, within it, our freedom. (From the Gateless Gate, Case 16 – The Sound of the Bell and the Seven-Panel Robe.)

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.