Upaya Zen Center's Dharma Podcast

Wendy Johnson: Elemental Zen Gardening in Challenging Times

06.07.2021 - By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya AbbotPlay

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

Episode Description: Sensei Wendy Johnson begins her talk by drawing our attention to the many challenges confronting us today: the extreme climate swings around the world, the death and despair from the global pandemic, the 100 year anniversary of the Tulsa Massacre, and the legacy of genocide and racism in the USA. ‘Old zen…,’ Wendy goes on to say, ‘…is a practice of sitting in the saddle, and acting in the world.’ In the run-up to the Planting Life, Growing Justice weekend, Wendy elucidates how the ethos and pathos of planting isn’t a metaphor to confront life’s challenges but is actually the very method and attitude to confront life’s challenges. How important it is to discern, when to stop and when to act. How important it is to, ‘find your place where you are, and allow practice to occur.’

More episodes from Upaya Zen Center's Dharma Podcast