Deer Park had many great conditions to host the Earth Holder Retreat from February 27th to March 1st 2020, with the theme “We are the Earth walking on Earth.” Retreat friends were offered this introductory reflection:
If we want to extend the lifespan of humanity and countless other lifeforms in a meaningful way, we must make radical changes in our everyday behavior, we must do it on a global scale, and we must act quickly.
But is it possible to do all of this and maintain solidity, clarity, freshness, peace, and happiness? How do we maintain our practice even as our brothers and sisters disappoint us, even as there are no guarantees that our efforts will bear fruit? How do we insist upon living a life in line with our deepest aspirations, and peacefully invite others to do the same? How do we persist in spite of our fear, anger, and despair?
We must acknowledge that we are the Earth, accepting and embracing that each thought, word, and action of life on our planet influences us, and we must also recognize that we are walking on earth, and that each of our own thoughts, words, and actions has an influence on all life on this planet.
Over the course of these five days, we will explore together the ways we inter-are from these two perspectives. We will examine the ways that this beautiful planet nourishes us, and also the ways that we can better nourish our planet.
We would like to offer the recordings of retreats including chanting, guided meditations, dharma talks, and workshops. We hope that you can enjoy these recordings and practice together with Mother Earth.
Dharma Talks YouTube playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaX_vxbhs8fgqRW-NuyT0LniNGyAAOm3w
SoundCloud Audio playlist: