Practice of the Wild (M&W 2025 sesshin day 6)
/In the final talk of the sesshin, Shinmon Michael Newton explores the notion of the unknown in the wild and along the path of practice.
Soto Zen Practice in Vancouver, BC
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In the final talk of the sesshin, Shinmon Michael Newton explores the notion of the unknown in the wild and along the path of practice.
Drawing on the essay “Survival and Sacrament” by Gary Snyder, Myoshin Kate McCandless reflects on how our lives are intertwined with all other beings.
Shinmon Michael Newton draws on Gary Snyder’s essay “Good, Wild, Sacred” to consider the notion of the wild both within us and around us.
Myoshin Kate McCandless explores living and practicing in place through Gary Snyder’s essay “The Place, the Region, and the Commons.”
In this talk, Shinmon Michael Newton discusses Gary Snyder’s essay “Blue Mountains Constantly Walking” and explores how the idea of the mountain can be expressed in our practice.
Myoshin Kate McCandless introduces the theme of this years MRZC Mountains and Waters sesshin - The Practice of the Wild. Through the writing of Gary Snyder, in particular the essay “The Etiquette of Freedom,” the talk explores our practice in relation to nature, wilderness and the wild.
Note: we apologize for the audio issues in the first few minutes of the talk
Shinmon Michael Newton shares teachings about mantra and suggests the Heart Sutra is chanted the better to drink it in, helping gather body and mind in times of distress, loss, and confusion.
Mysohin Kate McCandless discusses how to practice with hindrances. When we free ourselves from fear, that gift extends out through the world in ways that we may never know.
MRZC's Soto Zen practice emphasizes being fully awake to our own moment-to-moment experience, from our meditation cushion to every aspect of our everyday life. Join us!
Mountain Rain Zen Community's Wall street Zendo and Bright Stream Temple (Koryuji) are situated on the unceded, traditional and ancestral territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh speaking peoples, the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
Let's let our time in nature not be just another way of consumption, but a way of learning from the web of interconnection--
Mountain Rain Zen Community
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Banner: Blue Mountains Walking by Bruce Shotoku Nielsen (2013)