Join me and Cara Lai at Barre Center for Buddhist Studies!

This program is offered freely in the spirit of generosity, supported in part by Dharma Gates and the broader community of donors. Intended for participants ages 18–35.

This program brings together Buddhist teachings of emptiness and interdependence, awakening and liberation, embodied mindfulness, and nature-connection practices to explore what it means to be human — and to belong — in a world that is wild, uncertain, impermanent, and astonishingly alive. We will practice in nature, with nature, and as nature.

Through meditation, direct sensory encounter, and grief work that reconnects rather than overwhelms, we will open to an animate world of rocks, clouds, birds, wind, and stars. The practices offered here are ones you can return to for a lifetime, supporting your relationship with the earth and your understanding of your own human life.

Program Format: This program will include silent meditation, dharma talks, and large group discussion, with the option to spend a substantial portion of practice time outdoors in nature.

To ensure participant commitment and attendance, a $100 registration deposit is required and can be refunded upon completion of the full program. To be refunded after completing the program, please reach out to Dharma Gates at team@dharma-gates.org. If you are waitlisted and unable to offer you a spot, we will refund you at the start of the retreat.

Info and registration: https://www.buddhistinquiry.org/classes/2026-waking-up-in-a-living-world/