By Shoan Osho At night, deep in the mountainsI sit in meditation.The affairs of the world never reach here:Everything is quiet and empty,All the incense has been swallowed up by the endless night.My robe has become a garment of dew.Unable to sleep, I walk into the woods—Suddenly, above the highest peak, the full moon appears. —Ryokan(trans. John Stevens) As we approach the winter solstice, these words from the wandering Zen monk and poet Ryokan seemed to speak specifically to this mountain realm. Soon enough we'll be in the midst of Rohatsu sesshin, where the hush of the winter mountain and the...

By Shoan Osho For Muge Daido Daiosho: The Great WayIs not difficult—Slip the oar into the water on Long Pond. Is not easy—Build a seamless temple in the rain and snow. It is neither easy nor difficult—Today is a good day.Just bow and serve. What can I say after all these years?The Heavenly Light is never anywhere else,Yet when I call,You do not answer. Bah!Slippers by the altarCoffee light and sweet—A subtle impression does still remain. —Kodo Shugen   Tenkosan Doshinji   October 9, 2024   15th Memorial With all the energy and emotion of last week’s election moving through me, I’ll keep it simple and just say that...

“May I support the life of boundless untold beings” By Sandy Joshin Del Valle  One Sunday afternoon in September 2023, Hojin sensei announced to the sangha her intention to launch a choir at the Temple. She just needed a choir leader and sangha members willing to participate. No training in voice or experience in singing would be required. We would come as we were. All that was required was attendance; showing up, and willing to practice on our own. In essence, Hojin voiced the Three Essentials of Zen; great faith, great doubt and great determination, as her recipe for success....

By Shoan Osho Each training week, the sangha gathers in the rear of the zendo around an altar devoted to the Monastery and Temple’s guardian deity, Hakuryu-o Daizenjin, the white dragon. Hakuryu-o Daizenjin was the protector of Maezumi Roshi's home temple in Japan, and he brought this dragon with him to America. Daido Roshi continued this tradition of honoring a dragon protector, which goes back as far as Song dynasty China (960-1279) or even earlier. In addition to dedicating the merits to the Monastery’s dharma guardians, we “especially dedicate it” to the “peace of this temple and strength and sound...

The end of May brought the conclusion of Spring Ango, the three-month span of intensified training and commitments to personal practice taken up by lay practitioners and residents—nearly 300 people practicing together—in the Mountains & Rivers Order sangha. Continue reading “Looking Back at Spring Ango 2024” »

It is with sadness that we announce the passing of Senior Monastic Michael Choke Yukon Grody. Our dear brother and friend slipped away peacefully in the midst of a formidable wind storm Wednesday night here on Tremper Mountain. (The storm temporarily took out the local electrical grid, brought down a mess of trees, and knocked the main Monastery sign off its hinges.) Yukon's sister Kathryn, nephew Gideon, and Mn. Hokyu were at his bedside. His other nephew Isaac and his family had just departed after a warm visit.  The following morning, Yukon's monastic and blood family gathered at dawn to perform the liturgy for the...

Since early September, we've been keeping the sangha informed through email of our dear brother Mn. Yukon's health condition. In the interest of sharing this news more widely, we're adding Mountain Notes to the means of communication. The following post does not add much substantive information to the email sent out to formal students and Practicing Members in early December. All we can add at this point is that Yukon continues to teach us how to live in the present and practice the paramita of patience. We simply don't know the timing or exactly how things will unfold from here,...

As summer colors held fast we began the Ango Training period in September, a three-month span of retreats, training and commitments to personal practice taken up by nearly 300 people. Continue reading “Fall Ango 2023 and Winter Training” »

By Eliza Nappi Former ZMM resident and MRO student Eliza is an artist who, during the Fall Ango 2023 art practice, combined two of her favorite things: illustration and "Inktober" She writes: Continue reading “Illustrating the Lojong—Slogans of Atisha” »

Every season, rites of passage happen for students and practitioners in the Mountains and Rivers Order, some coinciding with the ango training period, some in the summer or winter months... Continue reading “Spring Ango 2023 and Summer Training” »