Sitting
Morning meditation
A short sit before breakfast. Optional. No prior practice needed — the monks will guide it.
The Monks
The temple next door
The Bodhisattva Nature Foundation, a Zen Buddhist center adjacent to the farm, and one of the three teachers of the week.
Right next to the farm is a Buddhist center dedicated to contemplative practice and the natural world. We'll cross back and forth between them all week.
The monks are people I've cooked and eaten with — quiet, generous, present. They'll be cooking for us, leading the morning sits, and welcoming us into the temple's rhythm.
What we'll practice
How they'll hold the week
Moving
Tai chi & walking
Slow movement on the lawn most mornings. Walking meditation on a forest path the monks know well.
Eating
Meals in silence
Three plant-based meals a day, prepared by the monks. Some eaten in silence. Served in the Buddhist hall at several long tables, each seating about ten.
The teachings the monks bring are old and unfussy: mindfulness, compassion, awareness, return. The point isn't to make anyone into a Buddhist. It's to quiet the week down enough that you can hear yourself.
You can opt into as much or as little of it as you want. Sleep in when you need to.
A grounding force across the week — silence, presence, return.