Session Resources
Session Leader
Core Offering and Guided Meditation
Damchö is spiritual director and a founder of Comunidad Dharmadatta, one of the largest Buddhist practice communities serving Latin America. Dharmadatta Community understands the path to liberation to be a primarily collective rather than individual path. In her teachings, Damchö transmits an earth-based vision of the Dharma in which care for our more-than-human kin is integral to spiritual practice. She has a PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in gender and ethics in Sanskrit and Tibetan Buddhist narratives, and is translator and co-editor of Interconnected: Embracing Life in our Global Society.
Opening the Space
Tools for Every Session of the Training
Dharma Offerings
Introduction
In this introduction, Kristin encourages us to start identifying the resources that will support us through this journey, and to begin opening up, with great care and friendliness, to the psychological burdens we might be carrying.
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Core Offering
How can we turn toward the complexity and suffering of this moment? In this video, Damchö invites us to offer our loving presence to the Earth and all beings. Staying present is not always easy, but there are practices and refuges we can draw on for support. And by understanding our own stories about this journey and about what we are going through, we might discover a liberating fluidity in our “narrative self.”
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Guided Practice (Optional)
In this guided meditation, Damchö leads us in examining our experience of belonging to the Earth. What communication can we find within the grounding force of gravity? Can we distinguish a separate self in this body that has been trees, flowers, whales, and honeybees?
Inquiries
We offer here a set of inquiries and group practices that support this step in our journey. Consider these suggestions and feel free to customize, replace and augment. But we strongly suggest that you explore at least one inquiry with each session.
Below are this session’s inquiry questions in bold, followed by a short commentary. We invite you to gently hold these questions. If this form of exploration is new to you or you would like a refresher, you can learn more about inquiry practice here.
- What emotions do I feel when I bring our ecological situation to mind?
What do you feel when reflecting on the past, present, and future suffering of ecological crises? Where is the feeling in your body, and how might you describe its characteristics? Does it have a temperature, a shape, a texture? What does it want from you? What happens if you simply allow the feeling to be present? - What are my spiritual resources for this journey?
What gives you sustenance and inspiration as you engage in this journey of transformation? Whether Buddhism’s classic refuges of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, the Brahma Viharas, ancestors, rituals, prayer, your friends, your family, or other community, notice what happens when you bring this source of inspiration into your awareness. Do you notice any changes in your embodied experience? - What shifts when I recognize the Earth as my companion and witness?
At the moment of his enlightenment, the Buddha famously stated, “The Earth is my witness.” How might you come to feel this same unconditional support and companionship? And what impact might it have if you could viscerally feel the Earth’s presence in every moment?
Supplemental Resources (Optional)
- For more EcoDharma from Damchö, consider checking out her Buddhism and Ecology video series.
- In Damchö’s talk, she alludes to ‘s suggestion that the next Buddha may be a Sangha, not an individual. ‘s full talk on this can be found here: The Next Buddha May Be a Sangha
- Damchö’s guided practice invites us to sense our bodies as part of the Earth. In this article, Catherine McGee connects this belonging to the first foundation of mindfulness: It Is Here We Awaken
- You can find teachings and other resources from Damchö and her community at Comunidad Dharmadatta.
- Green Tara Mantra chanted by the Dharmadatta Choir (La Coral Dharmadatta). The Spanish-speaking choir of Comunidad Dharmadatta unites the voices of Buddhist practitioners from Mexico, Uruguay, Venezuela, Colombia, Spain, Argentina and other countries to recite the mantra of Green Tara. This mantra convokes the protective energy and fierce wisdom of the enlightened female Buddha.
Support these Teachings
Dana, or generosity, is considered an essential part of practice and situates us in the unbroken line that seeks to bring the gifts of Buddhadharma, wisdom and compassion, to our world. One Earth Sangha offers dana directly to our session leaders, and we invite you to join us in supporting them if you value what is offered here.
You may also wish to support One Earth Sangha. We offer this series at minimal cost in order to maximize participation, and any contribution you share is greatly appreciated.
Another way to support the training is to share your first-hand experience in a way that we can use to help inspire others to participate. We invite you to share your testimonial here.