Friends of Clear Mountain Monastery

09/15/2026

This is PART TWO of Clear Mountain's interview with Andrew Holecek; scholar, practitioner, and "student of the night" (https://www.andrewholecek.com/).

Watch PART ONE here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wqSc5M1z-Q

Andrew Holecek's Biography:
Dr. Andrew Holecek is an author, concert pianist, and interdisciplinary scholar-practitioner of Vajrayāna Buddhism. A member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, he holds degrees in music, biology, and a doctorate in dental surgery, in addition to having completed a traditional Tibetan three-year meditation retreat under the guidance of Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche. He serves as Resident Contemplative Scholar at the Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies, is a research consultant for the Cognitive Neuroscience Program at Northwestern University, and is actively involved in scientific research on dark retreat with the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Tiny Blue Dot Science Foundation. He is also the author of 10 books including: Preparing to Die; Dream Yoga; The Lucid Dreaming Workbook; and his latest book Total Eclipse of the Mind: Unleashing the Power of Darkness for Creativity, Healing, and Transformation.

This is PART TWO of Clear Mountain's interview with Andrew Holecek—...

09/15/2026

The Dangers of Using AI for Translations | Prof. Paul Harrison

Paul Harrison is a professor of religious studies at Stanford University (https://religiousstudies.stanford.edu/people/paul-harrison).

In this excerpt, Professor Harrison explores the dangers of using AI to perform translations when you have little experience with the foreign language.

This clip is taken from the interview "Stanford Scholar on the Conceits & Blind Spots of Every Form of Buddhism".
You can listen to or watch the full talk on Spotify or YouTube.

For further Dhamma teachings, please visit clearmountainmonastery.org

09/14/2026

In this session, Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho engage in a conversation with poet David Whyte (https://davidwhyte.com/).

David Whyte's biography:
David Whyte grew up with a strong, imaginative influence from his Irish mother among the hills and valleys of his father’s Yorkshire. He now makes his home in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The author of twelve books of poetry and five books of prose, David Whyte holds a degree in Marine Zoology and has traveled extensively, including living and working as a naturalist guide in the Galapagos Islands and leading anthropological and natural history expeditions in the Andes, Amazon and Himalaya. He brings this wealth of experience to his poetry, lectures and workshops.

David’s life as a poet has created a readership and listenership in three normally mutually exclusive areas: the literate world of readings that most poets inhabit, the psychological and theological worlds of philosophical enquiry and the world of vocation, work and organizational leadership.

In this session, Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho engage in a convers...

09/14/2026

From left: Venerable Satimā, Ayya Ānandabodhī, Ajahn Nisabho, and Ajahn Kovilo chanting before a meal offering at a Clear Mountain Saturday gathering

09/14/2026

"Thay said it was the happiest day of his life" - Brother Phap Luu

"This is the direct path for the purification of beings, for the overcoming of sorrow & lamentation, for the disappearance of pain & distress, for the attainment of the right method, & for the realization of Unbinding — in other words, the four foundations of mindfulness." The Buddha's words in the Satipatthana Sutta

The fruit lies in the practice, testing out the Buddha's statement for one self. How about one mindful breath after reading this?

For live Dhamma teachings and community, visit clearmountain.org

09/13/2026

**MN 28 | The Great Elephant Footprint**

In MN 28, Venerable Sāriputta gives us a remarkable demonstration of how the Buddha’s teaching fits together.

Beginning with the Four Noble Truths, Sāriputta examines the five aggregates of clinging, then zooms in on form and the four great elements: earth, water, fire, and wind.

But the teaching doesn’t stop at analysis.

As Sāriputta moves through the elements, the investigation opens naturally into equanimity. From there, the teaching connects with the six sense bases, contact, feeling, and the conditions through which the aggregates arise and manifest.

One part of the Dhamma opens into another.

What can initially seem like a collection of separate teachings reveals itself as an interconnected way of understanding experience: the body, the senses, feeling, perception, consciousness, craving, clinging, and suffering.

This is one of the reasons MN 28 is such a beautiful example of the depth and coherence of the Buddha’s teaching.

Sāriputta isn’t simply giving us a list of doctrines. He is showing us how to look closely enough at experience that the structure of the Dhamma becomes visible.

A true virtuoso performance of Dhamma.

📖 **MN 28 — Mahāhatthipadopama Sutta: The Great Elephant Footprint**

Read the sutta:
[MN 28 at Access to Insight](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.028.than.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

09/13/2026

Joy from within as an antidote to craving - Brother Phap Luu

Do the objects in the world ever really satisfy? If not, how about we relinquish the chasing of them? Cultivating inner joy might be a powerful antidote for that.

For live Dhamma teachings and community visit clearmountain.org

09/12/2026

https://tricycle.org/article/dolly-parton-buddhism/

On the “Queen of Country,” culture war pacifism, and the nondiscriminatory nature of refuge

09/10/2026

This is PART ONE of Clear Mountain's interview with Andrew Holecek—scholar, practitioner, and "student of the night" (https://www.andrewholecek.com/). Watch PART TWO here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGqZDbIVK0c

Andrew Holecek's Biography:
Dr. Andrew Holecek is an author, concert pianist, and interdisciplinary scholar-practitioner of Vajrayāna Buddhism. A member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, he holds degrees in music, biology, and a doctorate in dental surgery, in addition to having completed a traditional Tibetan three-year meditation retreat under the guidance of Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche. He serves as Resident Contemplative Scholar at the Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies, is a research consultant for the Cognitive Neuroscience Program at Northwestern University, and is actively involved in scientific research on dark retreat with the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Tiny Blue Dot Science Foundation. He is also the author of 10 books including: Preparing to Die; Dream Yoga; The Lucid Dreaming Workbook; and his latest book Total Eclipse of the Mind: Unleashing the Power of Darkness for Creativity, Healing, and Transformation.

This is PART ONE of Clear Mountain's interview with Andrew Holecek—...

09/10/2026

In this session, Ajahn Kovilo and Ajahn Nisabho engage in a conversation with poet David Whyte.

David Whyte's biography:
David Whyte grew up with a strong, imaginative influence from his Irish mother among the hills and valleys of his father’s Yorkshire. He now makes his home in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The author of twelve books of poetry and five books of prose, David Whyte holds a degree in Marine Zoology and has traveled extensively, including living and working as a naturalist guide in the Galapagos Islands and leading anthropological and natural history expeditions in the Andes, Amazon and Himalaya. He brings this wealth of experience to his poetry, lectures and workshops.

David’s life as a poet has created a readership and listenership in three normally mutually exclusive areas: the literate world of readings that most poets inhabit, the psychological and theological worlds of philosophical enquiry and the world of vocation, work and organizational leadership.

The link to the 7:00-7:45 pm Zoom session following the livestream may be found on the event listing at https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/events/wednesday/.

Tune in with fellow practitioners for Clear Mountain’s weekly online and hybrid events!
- Wednesday Evening Teaching & Discussion (6:00 - 7:45 pm PT, YouTube then Zoom)
- Saturday Morning Meditation, Teaching, & Coffee Social (9:30 - 11:00 am PT, Online & In-Person)
- Sunday Evening “Mission Majjhima!” Sutta Teaching & Discussion (5:00 - 6:00 pm PT, Online)

See https://www.clearmountainmonastery.org/ or visit https://linktr.ee/clear_mountain_monastery for details. Welcome!