The Dharma & Climate | September 8, 2025

Описание: Refuge & Response: Loving Engagement in a Time of Transformation
Opening Session - September 7, 2025
Teachers: Carol Cano, James Baraz, Kirsten Rudestam , and Ayya Santacitta
Performance by: Antonique Smith

In September 2025, Spirit Rock hosted Refuge and Response: Loving Engagement in a Time of Transformation — a four-night, invitation-only retreat exploring the intersection of contemplative practice and engaged activism. Drawing on Buddhist and Earth-based teachings, the gathering offered space to reconnect with clarity, resilience, and compassionate action for a changing world.

This session explored how Buddhist teachings and embodied awareness can guide compassionate responses to the climate crisis. Drawing from forest tradition, participants were invited to cultivate deep listening with the Earth through body-centered meditation and mindful walking. Teachings emphasized gratitude, grief, interconnection, and action as pathways for transformation. Indigenous and ancestral wisdom were woven in, highlighting ritual, reciprocity, and reverence for the natural world. Practices such as “kissing the Earth” walking meditation and gratitude dialogues encouraged sacred relationship with life. The gathering affirmed that spiritual awareness and ecological responsibility are inseparable expressions of care for our shared home.

Spirit Rock’s EcoDharma & Transformational Culture Program (ETCP) is partnering with One Earth Sangha , Braided Wisdom, Aloka Earth Room, and teachers: Bonnie Duran, James Baraz, Kirsten Rudestam, Mark Coleman and Yong Oh, reflecting our shared commitment to collective awakening and compassionate action for the Earth.

For more information about Spirit Rocks Eco-Dharma Transformational Culture program: https://www.spiritrock.org/programs/e...