Mountains and Waters Alliance: Travel notes and upcoming events

Dear Friends,

I’m having an amazing time traveling with the book tour. Thought I would share it with you all. At the end are some plans. (I didn’t include last names except public figures, just because this is public.)

The book tour is being amazing.

• I started late September in Rochester, MN, with the Women and Spirituality Conference, led an outdoor ritual with a rather small group, and they loved it. I sold a bunch of books, became friends with the woman who shared a sales table with me, and figured out that sitting all day in a crowded room with fragrances is not a good plan. Next year I will tentatively plan to just do a presentation, and not have sales. And I met lovely humans, and was encouraged by community.
• Madison, WI, Zen center, was a lovely time, I gave a good talk, people bought books, and I have friends there now.
• Milwaukee, WI, party at the home of Zen friend Devin, because Milwaukee Zen Center was busy hosting a big conference the week before. Bunch of people, great conversation, etc. Reirin Gumbel, teacher at Zen Center, came, and invited me to give a talk on Saturday, and I was thinking about changing my plans to do it. But after spending the night there, my incense-free sleeping space was not, and I left to recover, leaving in good relations.
• Chicago, 3 days with Wendy and her husband/partner, in an amazingly tiny apartment, mostly rest and meeting fascinating people. Then a talk at Zen Life & Meditation, where I learned we were very much in accord (Robert Althouse, Bernie Glassman lineage, if anyone recognizes this stuff).
• Cleveland, OH – my sister, and a permaculture new connection, and lunch with someone mentioned in Milwaukee, who tells me he can actually produce an event – for next time.
• Rochester, NY – my niece, and my brother. Just good family connections.
• Vermont: I can’t even keep track. Two bookstore readings; the second was supposed to be a big deal but there were only four of us. The staff person is totally enthusiastic, and my friend Doug from the Compassionate Earth Walk drove me around, treated me to meals, and made my life easier.  Before that: Bread Loaf Mountain Zen – they work with homeless people – a great afternoon conversation, a few books sold, a comfortable place to stay. Barre Zen Center, a talk that included a short video and more good conversation, and gifts. There have been multiple gifts along the way, but the big quartz crystal is like a gift of magic, and a fisherman’s sweater that I’ve wished for since I had one 20 years ago. I’m feeling so well cared for. Brattleboro Zen Center, beautiful hosts, great Zen group, etc.
• I think this is when I stopped being totally fatigued and on the verge of falling asleep driving. Whether it was some internal change, or the result of being away from fragrance and incense for so long, I don’t know. It’s pretty much stayed okay – but today I want a nap pretty seriously. But it’s warm and sunny out with fall colors.
• Massachusetts – Wenham, Zen Center North Shore, my friend Joan Amaral, and three days. Mostly I joined their schedule, but gave a couple of talks, we worked in the garden of my hosts (Jim and Billy), went for a walk in a beautiful wild place and did singing and community things – and collapsed. That was after an hour at the local No Kings rally, where lots of people came up and talked to us, and the energy was loud and enthusiastic. I was treated so much, I felt like royalty.
  • Friday evening after the potluck was designated a book reading. I asked other people to also read parts they liked. A few people did, and I read, and it was magical. Now I want to read the book, at least in sections, and send it to Resilience and maybe some other places.
• Amherst, MA, my old friend Jerry from 45 years ago, we just hung out and we took a beautiful walk.
• Then my old friend Luca’s place for a few days. Beautiful space, dharma conversation, more fall colors.
• Village Zendo in NYC found a place for me to stay, I took a bus in and out of town and learned a tiny bit of subway. I would NOT want to be disabled in NYC, it was hard enough. The sangha was a blessing. Sunday morning talk, will be on their website.
• Now I have a 3-day break in the most beautiful place in the world. Well, maybe not, comparisons fail. But fall colors are flaming and the red bushes have just started.

What’s coming next

(Somehow I put the full schedule in here, even though it’s also on the page referenced)

• On Wednesday Oct 29 in Philadelphia, a talk for a Quaker environmental group, https://mountainsandwatersalliance.org/book-travels-teachings-2025/
• then to Reading where I we’re doing a Halloween ritual, October 31, evening – details still in process.
• My time off at Assateague Island – I finally have campsites confirmed for the entire time, believe I won’t actually freeze – I’ll be there for the full moon and a little beyond. The campground is amazingly full. I’d thought there was no hurry, but other  people have RVs and such, so I have to move a couple of times.
• Washington DC, staying at Dassanaya, another break time for quiet and meditation,  then giving a talk Nov 13 at All Beings Zen Sangha, https://www.allbeingszen.org/frequently-used-chants/all-beings-zen-sangha-2025-fall-practice-period/ (scroll down)
• Nov 15-16: Chapel Hill Zen Center, NC – some informal events plus a talk and booksigning Sunday morning. https://chzc.org/
• Nov 17-23, Atlanta, GA – Friday evening at Charis Books; Saturday morning 9-1 workshop at Red Clay Sangha. Plus two online events (college class and Zen Peacemakers) and relax and rest.
• Maybe Berea KY, maybe not. Definitely Bloomington, IN, old friends from when I lived there.
• 11/26-11/30: Thanksgiving with my permaculture friends Peter and Keith in Montague, MI, and a talk at The Book Nook, 2 pm.Saturday afternoon.
• Home as fast as possible. Probably a couple of visits in Chicago or Rochester MN, trying to get there about Dec 1. Then I have a talk Dec 7 in Rochester, an online talk Dec 14 in Michigan, and we’ll see. Family visits Cleveland late December, hopefully Green Gulch Farm in January, and I don’t know.

I don’t know what comes next. There are possibilities in the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Southwest. I’m not eager to drive across the country again, so I’ll have to sort that out.

The conversations are amazing, and occasionally I find people who completely resonate with what I’m offering.

Notes

Meanwhile the U.S. slides into fascism, more open every day. A few people in government resist, including judges, including lots of state officials. Millions of ordinary Americans resist, creating public theater at protests, protecting immigrant neighbors, now figuring out how to find food as SNAP benefits are cut by the man who has plenty for Argentina, for genocide in Israel, for a ridiculous ballroom – and is a front for a dangerous cabal that is actually intelligent without a shred of morality. As Malcolm X said, “The chickens are coming home to roost.” The U.S. was founded on land theft, genocide, and slavery; we’ve had some times, and some decades, of doing better, but consequences are arising.

May this be the time of chrysalis, as the caterpillar is reborn as a butterfly by going through internal dissolution. And even though I don’t want my family and friends to be destroyed in that process, I can’t accept that it’s being borne by the people who did not create it – immigrant workers, children in Gaza, journalists and those who speak for justice, all of that.

If you have an election next week, please vote. Turnout will decide those results (especially if the votes are counted honestly). There are places to donate if you can – California’s Prop 50  (Please note that it only goes into effect if Texas and other states succeed in their corrupt and open gerrymandering to rig elections for MAGA victory) , David Hogg’s Leaders We Deserve PAC. Whoever you can and will.

And please nourish yourself, stay calm. Do what you can. It’s still a marathon, even though right now it’s also a sprint.

Love, Shodo

A few pictures here.

Mountains and Waters Alliance event notices Oct 15 2025

Mountains and Waters Alliance: updates, and a news rant 9/11/2025

Dear Friends,

Here are some more upcoming events plus a rant (and some sane thoughts) on the recent news.

Rant:

Today is the 24th anniversary of 9-11, the day when some people flew planes into the World Trade Center and a couple of other places, and when hating Muslims became a thing. (A few people preferred to blame it on Jews.)  All my grandchildren have grown up in the world created by that event and the violent, racist response of waging war on countries that didn’t even have anything to do with it.

About a week ago, a lone shooter killed children praying at a Catholic grade school – which the shooter had attended. That became an excuse to blame trans people for acts of violence – while the overwhelming majority of shooters are still straight white men.

A shooter wounded four people at Evergreen High School in Colorado. A shooter killed Charlie Kirk as he was making a speech – the slanders and the stories are going wild, with no basis in fact. Anyone who points out that he was a source of hate, racism, or misogyny is corrected for unkind speech – heard it twice on public radio – while the right wing openly encourages the same hate that Kirk preached.

There’s also the matter of Russia sending drones to Poland, denying it, and Poland calling for help from NATO allies – just to have a meeting, a very small step. Less drama, but this direction could lead to war.

Many more questions. One thing I wonder is how long people will keep thinking that orange man is the source of the problem rather than its symptom. When will we actually take a good look at our culture and ourselves?

Sane Responses

I want to refer to this beautiful essay, “Reflections on the Death of Charlie Kirk,” in which Qasim Rashid considered why have empathy for someone who had none. How to stay human. How to be connected to our values rather than pushed into knee-jerk retaliation.

In Dispatches from a Collapsing State: “Opportunity in Crisis,” Jared Yates Sexton points out some very uncomfortable things. Read at your own risk; it’s a bit like taking the red pill in The Matrix.

I don’t remember who pointed out that we need to think long term, and getting caught up in revenge doesn’t do that.

What are our values? How large is our embrace? Can we include the whole world in our hearts? And are we willing to act?

Events

Several new recordings are posted on the website, from a 10-minute radio interview to a 2-hour workshop.

Online events coming up (details on this page):

• September 14, Lake Superior Interfaith Community Church, Duluth MN
• September 21, Minnesota Zen Center, morning talk.

Other events (same page):

• This weekend, 9/12-14, in Duluth, MN.
• Next weekend, 9/20-21, Saturday in Red Wing at Fair Trade Books, Sunday at Minnesota Zen Center.

You can see my itinerary after that. I’ll post details for local events, and will send a blog post to update online events.

Please take heart. We are not alone, and the world is still with us. Please love and defend each other. 

Love,

Shodo

Mountains and Waters Alliance: Coming events September 6 and 7, and a blessing

Mountains and Waters Alliance – quick thoughts and August events

Announcements:

Here are a few upcoming events.

August 12 and following Wednesdays, online, 6:30 Central Time:

Zen study group resumes this Wednesday, and continues weekly through September when I leave for the book tour. It will probably continue into the fall, led by senior students, or a new topic may be chosen. Topic is a philosophical text, the Samdhinirmocana, considered a precursor of Yogacara Buddhism. (You don’t have to understand that to join the class.)

Let me add that studying this text was extremely helpful to me in forming what I teach now.

To enroll or to ask questions, email me at shodo@mountainsandwatersalliance.org.

August 17: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Northfield, 10 am Central Time. I’ll be one of three authors giving brief presentations for the Sunday service, which is in Northfield, Minnesota. For local people.

August 17: online interview about the book, 5 pm Central Time, at https://prn.live/. Recording will be available later at https://resistanceradioprn.podbean.com/. Resistance Radio is a weekly show with Derrick Jensen, sometimes known as the poet-philosopher of the environmental movement. He asked great questions, as he always does.

Thoughts: “We understand that these are our last days.”

Remembering Anas Al Sharif, a well-known journalist with Al-Jazeera. I want to note that he is accused of being part of Hamas. I thought this was false; the answer may be more complicated. Taking a deep breath, I offer you his final letter, regardless of his alliance. The letter speaks for itself, of love and faith.

This is my will and my final message. If these words reach you, know that Israel has succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice. First, peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings.

Allah knows I gave every effort and all my strength to be a support and a voice for my people, ever since I opened my eyes to life in the alleys and streets of the Jabalia refugee camp. My hope was that Allah would extend my life so I could return with my family and loved ones to our original town of occupied Asqalan (Al-Majdal). But Allah’s will came first, and His decree is final. I have lived through pain in all its details, tasted suffering and loss many times, yet I never once hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification—so that Allah may bear witness against those who stayed silent, those who accepted our killing, those who choked our breath, and whose hearts were unmoved by the scattered remains of our children and women, doing nothing to stop the massacre that our people have faced for more than a year and a half.

I entrust you with Palestine—the jewel in the crown of the Muslim world, the heartbeat of every free person in this world. I entrust you with its people, with its wronged and innocent children who never had the time to dream or live in safety and peace. Their pure bodies were crushed under thousands of tons of Israeli bombs and missiles, torn apart and scattered across the walls.

I urge you not to let chains silence you, nor borders restrain you. Be bridges toward the liberation of the land and its people, until the sun of dignity and freedom rises over our stolen homeland. I entrust you to take care of my family. I entrust you with my beloved daughter Sham, the light of my eyes, whom I never got the chance to watch grow up as I had dreamed.

I entrust you with my dear son Salah, whom I had wished to support and accompany through life until he grew strong enough to carry my burden and continue the mission.

I entrust you with my beloved mother, whose blessed prayers brought me to where I am, whose supplications were my fortress and whose light guided my path. I pray that Allah grants her strength and rewards her on my behalf with the best of rewards.

I also entrust you with my lifelong companion, my beloved wife, Umm Salah (Bayan), from whom the war separated me for many long days and months. Yet she remained faithful to our bond, steadfast as the trunk of an olive tree that does not bend—patient, trusting in Allah, and carrying the responsibility in my absence with all her strength and faith.

I urge you to stand by them, to be their support after Allah Almighty. If I die, I die steadfast upon my principles. I testify before Allah that I am content with His decree, certain of meeting Him, and assured that what is with Allah is better and everlasting.

O Allah, accept me among the martyrs, forgive my past and future sins, and make my blood a light that illuminates the path of freedom for my people and my family. Forgive me if I have fallen short, and pray for me with mercy, for I kept my promise and never changed or betrayed it.

Do not forget Gaza… And do not forget me in your sincere prayers for forgiveness and acceptance.

Anas Jamal Al-Sharif

I only wish to honor his faith and courage. I will chant for him, in the 49 days of my own tradition.

If you would like to offer something to his people, here are some suggestions:

1. Leonard Education Organization.  education is resistance.  LE.O supports mostly underserved Palestinians in their journey for higher education, wherever they can be placed.  The organization provides basic needs rather than scholarships. LE.O students have attended several colleges in Minnesota, and elsewhere, not only in the U.S.
2. These are all well-known and reliable. I’m trusting you can find them: Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF), Anera, UNRWA, World Central Kitchen, HEAL Palestine, Gaza Soup Kitchen. The most famous of them are not short on money, but on ability to reach the people in need without being killed themselves.

I also share this essay, which proposes that what is happening in Gaza is not very different from what is likely to happen to the rest of us, if we do not stop it. https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/killing-witness-gaza

I have to go. Love and peace to you all.

Shodo

for Mountains and Waters Alliance

Mountains & Waters Alliance July 26, 2025: The time for half-measures is over.

In the world:

These Palestinian journalists are on hunger strike until children in Gaza have food. They ask us to join them. I am joining them today, for one day, because I can do that. If you join them, let me know and tell your friends. There must be a way to tell them too, I’ll learn. (U.S. tax dollars are freely available to fund the genocide – and to kidnap immigrants and activists, drive ordinary Americans into poverty, and enrich the richest – while Israel blocks food deliveries and the U.S. burns food. The last bits of democracy are holding on by a thread.

Like most of us, I feel pretty helpless in the face of an obstinate government. I found this possible action (besides protest and lobbying, of course), and share it with you. My friend Kritee Kanko, Zen teacher and activist, writes:

This is my birthday week and like last year, I am inviting your contributions to beloved sangha member Sarah Habib’s mutual aid effort for sending life affirming food supplies to Gaz@n mothers and children. In spite of the blockade, her friend in Gaz@ has been bringing love and hope to many families. You can see updates on this page.  Last year we sent around $3000 through Sarah to G@za. We have already raised over $2600 this year. You can donate to me directly through this link and I will send the money to Sarah. Please mention “KK Birthday fundraiser” when you send me money. Also you can add your name/initials to this list so that every bit of money feels accounted for.

P.S. World Central Kitchen is functioning again.

Meanwhile, I will pray. That’s what I best know how to do. I will call on the river and the trees, the rocks and grasses, the white pines and cedars, the bald eagle and the pocket gopher, the earth under my feet and the stars and clouds, and every deity I know – I will ask them all for help, during this day of fasting, and after.

Mountains and Waters Alliance

We are at a change time – not exactly matching the enormous transition in the world. In one week, I’ll end my job to give my whole energy to this work. The book tour starts in September. The launch party is Sunday afternoon, September 7, at the farm. People seem to be agreeing with me about the potential of the book; we’ll find out. Online talks will be posted when they’re ready. In the book page, you can read excerpts and endorsements, pre-order the book, ask me to come offer an event or an online talk – whatever fits.  The publisher has discounts for book groups, churches, and several other categories. Email me and I’ll connect you.

There’s a dream, described in the book, of people gathering together in local centers or ritual action and community, in solidarity with earth and all beings. Study groups could evolve into that. And I would support you in any way I can.

Money

We have enough money to do the book tour, if I suspend my stipend for the duration. With the support of the Advisory Council, I’m doing that. I have a safety net that will last several months or cover one disaster. And generosity is coming toward me from people along the way.

The donation button works now. If you’d like to support the trip, or MWA in general, please use it. (If it breaks again, the backup plan is Zelle, which sends money straight into the MWA account.) It’s still possible to support MWA through iGive, which sends a trickle of money to us when you shop online.

The Book Page

The book page tells you where I’ll be, and how to invite me for speaking, teaching, leading – gathering together in ritual and prayer – deep political discussions – whatever fits. I’m going east this fall, west in 2026, and then we’ll see.

Zen Study Group

Zen study group will meet Wednesday evening, August 6, 6:30 pm Central Time. We may have an altered schedule while I’m traveling. If you are interested in joining, please email me now, and I’ll send details.

I welcome your prayers for this work, with all beings.

Love and solidarity,

Shodo

Mountains and Waters Alliance – summer events 2025

Dear Friends,

I’m not writing about the news right now, but I’m paying attention and participating as I can. Right now I just want to get you an update on events that MWA is doing or I’m doing.

Summer events

June 13-15 was planned as an Earth Apprentice retreat. Instead, we’ll be attending the local No Kings rally in Northfield, MN. If you would like to spend some time outdoors with the land, email me and we can have an informal gathering late Saturday afternoon, or Sunday.

Thursday evening June 19, 5:30-7 pm Central Time:  Online Dharma talk based on the book, at Sanshin Zen Community, my home temple. https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/r/day/2025/6/19 

Sunday morning June 22: Online Dharma talk at Hokyoji Zen Community, a country practice place I’ve known and loved for a long time. https://mountainsandwatersalliance.org/event/june-22-hokyoji/

Sunday morning July 13, Online Dharma talk at Hokyoji. https://mountainsandwatersalliance.org/event/july-13-hokyoji/

July 18-20, Friday night to Sunday, Sesshin at the farm.

This is an intensive retreat experience, described here. Registration is required, and you’re invited to talk with me in advance if you haven’t done this before. https://mountainsandwatersalliance.org/event/sesshin-at-farm/

Late summer and fall:

My new book, Open Reality: Meeting the Polycrisis Together With All Beings, will be published September 2.

I’ll be doing a book tour, and event information will be on the book page at www.shodospring.com. Meanwhile, I welcome your invitations to

• give a talk, retreat, or workshop at your sangha or other group,
•  offer a reading at your local bookstore,
• talk to a college class, a study group, an activist group, a church – or
• just take a day off with friends. Or a mini-retreat in the land you call home.

The general plan:

September will include various locations in Minnesota, including Northfield, a retreat in Duluth, a talk at Minnesota Zen Center, and a reading at Fair Trade Books in Red Wing. Plus some online events. Information will be on the book page.

September 26 I go on the road, beginning with a talk and a book table at the Women & Spirituality Conference in Rochester, MN, then going east through Chicago, Cleveland, etc, to New England where I have a few events including a 3-day retreat with Zen Center North Shore, Wenham, Massachusetts.

I’ll travel down the East Coast through New York City, Washington DC, and then head for Atlanta where I have a workshop commitment. There are a lot of places I might stop either before or after Atlanta; afterward I hope to visit Bloomington IN, Columbus OH, and some folks in Michigan and Wisconsin.

If you’re on or near that path, conversation is welcome and a place to stay much appreciated.

If you’re not near that path, there’s always online. Or 2026; I’ve been asked to see some folks in the West and Southwest then.

I had a dream

of small groups of people gathering to call in the spirits and the support of the natural world, each in their own place and their own way. After deciding to do this trip, I realized that this in an opportunity to do that – meet with people and do ceremony, prayer, ritual, everywhere I go. As the Compassionate Earth Walk was a blessing and an embodied prayer, this may be the same. I would rather walk, but I know how long that takes and it won’t happen this fall.

If you would like to send financial support

for this journey, please make a tax-deductible donation to Mountains and Waters Alliance. We appreciate all sorts of support including chanting and prayers.

With love,

Shodo

Mountains and Waters Alliance – Announcements, book news, and gifts

May 3 workday:

Workday at the farm in the magnificent sun and spring blossoms. We have 8 volunteers, welcome more. I know it’s the last minute. Come any time 9:30-3:30. Here’s a description. You can register online or at the farm.

Book:

Resilience.org published my excerpts from the new book. They’re good. And I forgot to include a link for pre-orders. You can read here, and pre-order here. Here are a few words from the excerpts:

All Living Things Speak Us Into Existence
Our bodies are water, moving with the ocean tides. Our bodies are matter, hungering for the feel of the earth underfoot. Each is a cousin of the microbes in the soil and a relative of the burr oaks up the hill.

This body belongs here. The winds blow through, the tides move, the earth holds, and some spark of awareness makes its home in this one body called mine, in these bodies we call ours.

Seeing each other, we create each other. We are no more separate than left hand from right.

Consciousness is who we are and what we are. Everything is mind – not “everything is imagination” but “everything is consciousness. This is about giving up the fight for control and for permanence. When we lose that fight, we can be alive. We are throwing our open and luminous stillness into the creation of everything.

I’m planning a fall book tour, looking for places to connect with people, give readings, have conversations, and do the shared spiritual work I propose in the book. September will be in Minnesota, then Upper Midwest, New England, eastern seaboard, and the middle – Ohio, Michigan, etc.)

Upcoming:

• At the farm, there’s always a welcome for volunteers – but there won’t be a lot of organizing, so call or email.
• Wednesday night study group continues, and will probably be affected by the book tour. To join, email me.
• Sunday evening Fearlessness group continues, likely also affected. We communicate by email.

Retreats:

• June 13-16: “Earth Apprentice Retreat:
• July 18-20: sesshin – silent meditation retreat.
• Fall activities will be on the book page. (It’s not ready yet, on May 2. Soon.)

Gifts:

I’m sharing two half-hour videos offering core teachings.

• Zazen instruction   About this, I will say that the first 5-10 minutes give the core of my teaching.
• Zen Introduction: How To Live.

Begging bowl:

On August 1 I will quit my job, to spend full time working for Mountains and Waters Alliance, beginning with the book tour and other promotion.  Maybe the trip will support itself through book sales and speaking fees. Maybe it won’t. I’m investing 3-4 months and risking all the money I have in this world.

If you would like to support me in this leap of faith:

• Free: Use iGive.com to generate small donations when you shop online. Explanation here.
• Ask your library to buy the book; tell your friends about it; pre-order it (should arrive September 2); share it around; invite me to give a paid talk somewhere, or lead a retreat or workshop. This would be a great book for a discussion group. If you’re in a book club, or if you teach a college class, talk with me about getting a review copy. And I’m available online for talks and such.
• Send money, tax-deductible if that helps.
• Send good thoughts. Include me, include this work in your prayers or chants.
• If you feel called to this way of life, let me know. Sometimes people come here to train; sometimes we work together at a distance.

If the universe says no, I can go back to work; I still have my social work license. My hope, here, is to move into the full force of my vow to free all beings.

Thanks, as always.

Love and commitment,

Shodo

Mountains and Waters Alliance – March 29, 2025 – Announcements

Upcoming events, and the book is ready for pre-order.

Local events:

Land: April 4, 3-7 pm, at the farm. We will dig and move some small pine trees, to a new location for privacy around the future outdoor zendo. If you want to take a tree home, should be easy. Please register.

Activism: Hands Off march, April 5, noon, at your state capitol or Washington DC. (I’ll be at the gathering in Northfield, MN.) For local information look here: https://indivisible.org/.

Land: Saturday, May 3, all day (9:30-3); rain date May 4, at the farm, cosponsored with Clean River Partners. More information and registration here:

In the morning we will make biochar – this involves playing with fire, and a lot of learning, led by Perry Post. After lunch we’ll work with removing invasive species from one area of land we want to restore. Register through Clean River Partners. Also email Shodo, so we can plan food and labor. There’s a chance of finding morels, which would involve staying after the work day. If interested, mention that in the email to Shodo.

Community retreat – Earth Apprentice – June 13-16

Retreats in June, July, and possibly August. Look here for a preview of the year.

Volunteering: Land care or otherwise, please get in touch about specific dates or topics. (We’re still gathering sap and cooking maple syrup.)

Online events:

Sunday March 30, dharma talk at Hokyoji. No registration, but information is here. also May 25, June 22, July 13.

The Book is available for pre-order.

Here’s the link from the publisher; you can pre-order now and receive it probably late August. When/if I see you, I’m happy to sign it. Pre-orders are said to be very important in helping the book get sold.

I’m planning a book tour this fall: Minnesota, Midwest, East Coast. I can give online talks or readings any time, and I’m collecting possibilities for next year – California, Southwest, wherever. Please contact me with any suggestions or requests, including dharma talks, retreats, workshops, bookstore readings, college presentations, churches, environmental and activist groups, and any other groups that might be interested. (I can provide a review copy as needed.)

There will be e-books; I’ll announce when they’re available. Probably September.

Open Reality: Meeting the Polycrisis together with all beings.

Only modern humans have imagined ourselves as gods… And come to the edge of destroying life on earth.

Open Reality speaks to the world behind and beneath our daily collective trauma. It opens practical possibilities for creating a shared, flexible culture that knows the natural world both as family and as a working partner. It invites the reader to a world of possibility. What if industrial civilization isn’t the best that humans can do? What if we weren’t alone in the world, but embedded in a universe of conscious, intentional, powerful beings?

Please remember to breathe, stay close to the ones you love, and let the earth embrace you.

Love,

Shodo

For Mountains and Waters Alliance

Mountains And Waters Alliance February 4, 2025 – Metamorphosis.

This morning I remembered the butterfly story.

Before becoming a butterfly, a being lives as a caterpillar for a few weeks,

then as a pupa for weeks or months, during which period it completely dissolves.

This is called metamorphosis.

It comes out completely new, and it can fly.

We could, very carefully, use this as an analogy.

Before, the caterpillar’s life is to eat, to consume, to grow itself. Our capitalist system has been doing that, to a point of threatening the natural world.

During the chrysalis stage, it self-destructs completely, as a result of things innate in the being from the start. In a nation built on imperialism, colonialism, racism, and capitalism, facing the inherent human nature as connected, loving, and creative, naturally the conflict would appear. (We have been taught to think of human nature as selfish and bad, but there are thousands of years of evidence showing otherwise.)

We’re watching the destruction of what we had thought was us, but was just a stage.

Don’t think I am casting Trump and Musk as intentional carriers of a new age. For the purposes of this story, they are the last gasp of the old way. We carry the new, and we must embody it as well as we can.

This thought is just a few hours old in me. It’s too new to elaborate, to give details, to defend itself. I share it as a question. What if this disaster, this coup, might be a natural process? This idea doesn’t mean the lives of those deported, killed, or exploited are any less valuable or that the pain is any less. It does call for us to be ready to give up everything so something can be born. And it requires us to drop all our expectations of how that new way manifests. Except that it be more kind.

Personally

I took a 10-day media fast after the US Inauguration, finally ended with regret because things need to be done. There was an idea that as a Zen teacher I should be a source of calm for others. I didn’t notice I was frozen. But last Saturday, listening to a song, the tears burst loose. Then for two days I read too much news, posted madly on Facebook, and began referring to February 1 as “the coup” because that’s when Musk’s people took over the U.S. Treasury. I won’t continue the story here; it keeps moving, and there is some resistance.

It would be great to have so little attachment to my life that I could just stay calm. But I’m in the middle of it, looking for ways to be useful and calm.I find the new story helpful.

Please continue your life.

Get sleep, go outdoors, exercise, eat sensibly, avoid intoxicants. See the people you love, continue spiritual practices, play, be kind, enjoy the children and youth, appreciate the joys in life as much as you can. The reality of our lives is the core of the solution.

Watch less news, and avoid hysterical analyses.

Know whether you, your family, or your loved ones are likely at risk, and take appropriate steps. National Center for Immigrant Rights has practical information for safety.  Or this Youtube: There are many, many organizations doing the same for various groups.

If you are not at immediate risk, consider how to resist the attempt at dictatorship. I’m choosing not to make a list here, but feel free to ask me. This is a time of showing what we will accept – and not. And the slaughter continues in the Middle East; we are in crisis but it’s not only us.

Sanity Resources

I am getting ready to make two supportive offerings, one online and one local, and will post here when they’re ready. Online, I imagine offering guided visualizations offering grounding and support in the natural world, including our ancestors and our own bodies, followed by brief discussion. In Northfield, it would be an in-person support/discussion group with some of the same resourcing plus more discussion time. I’m seeking co-leaders.

At home, life continues with the earth and sky. Soon we’ll tap maple trees, start the garden, sit in meditation, and appeal to the trees, waters, and stars for support through this transition.

Another resource is an hour online Monday evenings, by Patrice Koelsch, a Buddhist and a psychotherapist. She writes,

“The format is 15 minutes of a lightly guided mindfulness meditation so that we can all arrive and settle in. Then I make some remarks related to integrating Lovingkindess and the other Brahma Viharas of Compassion, Appreciative Joy, and Equanimity and invite responses. We finish with a formal Lovingkindness practice. And it is always perfectly fine to join the Zoom room whenever you arrive during the hour. If someone wants to practice generosity, I encourage them to donate to a cause that is in alignment with their highest aspiration.”

6 pm Central Time, 12 Mondays into April, passcode metta.

Practical

We have a new mailing address, particularly for donations but everything else too. We’ll check mail at least once a week.

Mountains and Waters Alliance, 204 7th St. West, PMB 147, Northfield, MN 55057.

I’ll be updating events regularly, for a preview see this page. A few changes: informal retreat/land work time; February 23. June 13-16 community retreat is now open. Online dharma talks are not yet posted, but the first is March 1.

Closing Thoughts

These words from Ram Dass, Nov 23, 2024:

“Whether this is the first day of the Apocalypse or the first day of the Golden Age,

the work remains the same… love each other and ease as much suffering as possible.”

With love,

Shodo

MWA – Return of the Light

Writing just after winter solstice, I’m aware of the winter light slowly growing – and I call to the light on every level. There’s an image of a crust breaking open as the life inside grows and grows. May it be so with each of us, and with all of us.

Zen teaching and practice:

I begin by offering two gifts.

First is a new talk introducing the practice of zazen, also known as sitting meditation. This talk begins with my understanding of what zazen is, in connection with my understanding of the Buddhist teaching of the way we belong to the earth. The first six or seven minutes are about this, and then the talk moves into practical matters of posture, breath, and mental awareness.

Second, I’m asking what Buddha offers to us in a difficult time. This talk begins with some current thoughts, includes readings from the Sutta Nipata, and concludes with an amazing discussion with the people online. They have given permission to include them in this post. (The talk begins a few minutes in, lasts about half an hour, and is followed by discussion.)

Upcoming study opportunities

Our Wednesday evening online study group will be focusing on the sixteen Zen precepts during the next few months. If you would like to join us, please do. More information is at the link, and you will want to email me to make sure you have all details. You can also make an appointment to talk, and I can share useful recordings from the past.

I will be offering the precepts to a few people after our basic study is complete. If you have interest in this, you can talk with me about it. (If you don’t know what this phrase means, wait until you’re more familiar with Zen.)

Calendar:

Here is a link to the 2025 calendar. It offers a general sense of what we do here, plus some specific dates. Things always evolve.

Consulting the Oracle:

This is a personal note. A year ago I threw all my energy into a fundraising campaign, and you responded beyond my wildest dreams. For the first time I received a stipend from MWA, and I began to dream of doing this work full time. Then shoulder surgery took more out of me than I could have imagined. I cancelled events to focus on recovery, and wondered what I was doing. I kept the basics going. And I finished editing the manuscript of The Shape of Reality Is Open: Walking Together Through the Polycrisis. It’s now at several publishers, and early responses have been encouraging. Meanwhile, I’ve been living what you might call a “normal” life. I’m starting to recover from the medical exhaustion, getting in touch with my meditation practice, exercising, and relaxing a bit.

I’ve come to look at these last few months as consulting an oracle. I wrote a thoughtful fundraising letter and sent it to as many people as I could, but didn’t start a GoFundMe or vigorously pursue possible donors as I did last year. It felt like putting a question out to the universe, and seeing what answer came back. The answer was “Don’t quit your day job.” I’ve accepted new therapy clients, and let go of my wish to retire, to go on long retreats, and so forth.

Sending the book to publishers is like that too: I make my offering, of six years’ work and struggle, and wait for the response. Will it be welcome? Of course, the answer to that will come in stages: first, finding a publisher, second, book sales, third, whether it becomes a vehicle for my teaching.

Last, I’m allowing my health (kidney issues) to rely on my own knowledge rather than doctors, even alternative ones. I can change course if needed, based on lab tests; intuition says I’ll be fine.

So here we are, going into a new year with a great many unknowns, some of them frightening. That’s why I gave the talk above, about the Buddha and difficult times. I’m watching too much news but mostly calm. This is a time for steady practice – including meditation, exercise, good social relationships, and remembering that we are in the care of the universe at all times.

Love and blessings,

Shodo

Mountains and Waters Alliance year-end report and donation request

Dear Friends,

I write to you after a year of growth and transformation supported by your love and care for Mountains and Waters Alliance. 

Also, let me mention two events. In December we’ll outline the full calendar.

• The Wednesday evening online Zen class will be focusing on the precepts for a while. If you’re interested in studying with us, this would be a good time to begin, December 11.
• Locally, we’re hosting a winter solstice celebration on December 21.

Last year, in addition to long-time supporters and volunteers, people responded to our fundraiser in an amazing way, creating a quiet revolution. Even though I named this work, dreamed it and poured my heart into it, you let me know that it was bigger than I imagined. I’ve been digging the roots in deeply, and need to follow through.

The Roots: 2024 in Review

Here’s a brief summary of what we did this year.

Teaching and Discussion:   weekly online Zen class with 4-6 people, plus individual meetings with students. “The Gift of Fearlessness” group continues to meet twice a month online, now five of us, supporting each other in dealing with events of the world. Newcomers are welcome.
“Earth Apprenticeship” – weekend retreats on becoming an apprentice to the earth – listening, learning, acting – was born in fall 2023. A grant proposal for a two-week program almost got funded. ZCNS plans to visit for an Earth Apprentice Retreat in June 2025.
Retreats: We had four retreats here at the farm, plus some volunteer days and community events.
Guest teaching: Leading Zen retreats in Duluth, MN, and in Atlanta, GA, dharma talks at various Zen communities, and co-teaching an 8-week class at Zen Center North Shore (Massachusetts).
Study and retreat time is essential for doing this work. In 2024, I attended two online ten-day study intensives with my teacher, and a 4-day retreat at Hokyoji (southern Minnesota) plus some solo retreats here.
Networking and building community: This includes participating with other groups, speaking at conferences, informal events at the farm such as the winter solstice bonfire, and lots of phone and email conversations, hosting visitors, and the like. The direction includes strong organizational relationships plus a small residential community and a strong group of people for whom this is a spiritual home.
Administration:  Thanks to generous donations in 2023-24, we were able to pay for some website upgrades and administrative help.

The book: The Shape of Reality is Open: Walking Together Through the Polycrisis

For the last six years, I have been writing the essence of Mountains and Waters Alliance. Originally, I imagined a book about asking for help from beyond-human beings, to address climate change in a different way. As I was writing, the covid epidemic began, and then extensive tumult culturally and politically. Studying and writing, I became engrossed in learning who humans are and how we can play our part in the universe – and am profoundly encouraged by what I’ve learned. The book is now out for consideration by likely publishers. If you’d like to read a short excerpt plus some endorsements, look at: https://mountainsandwatersalliance.org/the-shape-of-reality-is-open/. 

Future Unfolding: Visions for 2025-6

Building community here at home. After ten years here, the time is ripe. People know us. Our small farm hosts MWA activities. I could fruitfully spend a third of my time on active local outreach including community education, schools and colleges, churches and civic groups, and news resources, plus welcoming volunteers, offering more workshops and retreats, and personal connections. We’re also ready to add two or three more residents to the current two.

Reach out nationally and internationally, using the book launch as a vehicle for education and inspiration on the ideals that MWA was founded on. We hope for publication next fall/winter including a book tour. (Note: If your group would like a presentation as part of the book launch, please email me.)

Administration and maintenance: It’s time for both a website overhaul and a truly functional communication system so we can take better care of our people. We have found the (free) software and know what to do; we just need time for a one-time push consolidating everything, with easier upkeep later.

Requesting your financial support

In order to continue the momentum we have achieved this year, we need to execute on the plan above full-time. Applying a frugal approach, including money on hand plus anticipated income for a $35,000 budget, this year’s fundraising goal is $20,000.

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation through this link, or mailing a check to Mountains and Waters Alliance, 16922 Cabot Avenue, Faribault, MN 55021, or learn how to get us free support through online shopping that you were already doing.  If your employer has a charity program, you might ask them to match your donation.

If you gave either money or time in 2024, thank you so much. 

Questions?

I’m happy to send additional information, including a tentative 2025 calendar, more numbers, a more detailed report on 2024, and personal thoughts, if you would like. Email me here.

With love and commitment,

Shodo Spring

For Mountains and Waters Alliance

Mountains and Waters Alliance – October 2024 – Fall events and news

Online study group

• Wednesday October 23, 6:30 pm Central Time, through Oct 30, Nov 6, 13, and 20. Focus will be on engaged Buddhism, based on a dharma talk “Trauma, Suffering, and Liberation” by Beth Kanji Goldring. I’ll send a copy of the talk to participants, and we’ll listen to it in class, piece by piece. Please register through the link above. If you have difficulty, email shodo@mountainsandwatersalliance.org.
• December 11 and 18 IF four people commit. Otherwise we will take a break for December.
• In 2025, study group will be January 8, 15, and 22 if four people commit.  Same for February 5, 12, and 19, March 5, 12, 19, and so forth. Topics and texts are not yet determined.

On-site events:

November work weekend

will be November 15, 16, and/or 17. If interested in coming for any part of this, email Shodo for more information and to make arrangements. We have several small projects, outdoors or indoors, depending on weather. Average temperatures would be in the low 40’s, which suggests short outdoor work alternating with indoor work or rest. Outdoor possibilities include adding a railing to the stairs, creating a better landing for those stairs, other small repairs, and firewood in its many aspects.

Rohatsu sesshin, Dec 1-8,

silent long days of sitting meditation, minimal shared work, staying onsite encouraged. We’ll gather Saturday evening Nov 30, and close Sunday morning December 8, Buddha’s Enlightenment Day. Please register soon. Ask questions now, ask about partial participation and whatever you need to know.

Winter solstice gathering, Saturday December 21 –

three parts. Register by emailing Shodo. Mention plans, number of children and adults, and rides offered/needed.

• • • The shortest day: Come any time to join us in preparing food and fire. If you come at sunrise (7 am) or the night before, you can join us for meditation and breakfast.
    • Bonfire, and potluck, arrive about 4 (sunset is 4:34 pm), sharing circle around the fire, and potluck when we’re ready – probably indoors. (Moon rises 11:44 pm, but stars will be out.) In case of terrible weather, the fire will be indoors.
    • Longest night: If you love sitting meditation, please join us for an all-night sit or a sleepover and greet the morning together.  Indoors or out depending on weather.

Looking ahead in 2025:

Each month has a different kind of farm work, including tapping sugar maples, planting pines, garden prep, garden planting, foraging, and so forth through the season. Sesshins and retreats will be announced, beginning in early February in Atlanta.

2025 calendar will appear in November. Also, that will be an invitation to membership and fundraising appeal, with plenty of information.

Book tour:

In fall 2025, I expect to be doing a book tour. If you think your group might like me to offer a talk, a reading, or a workshop, in person or online, now would be a great time to talk with me about how to make that happen. Of course, you’ll wonder what the book is about. Working title is The Shape of Reality Is Open: Walking Together Through the Polycrisis.  I can send information.

And news:

We currently have room for two more residents. If you’re attracted to the thought of living collectively, shared work, spiritual community, good conversation, activism in its various forms – and stars, trees, grasses, creeks and rivers – we’re interested in talking with you. It’s a gradual process. We also accept short-term and long-term guests as interns or while considering residency.

The job posting:

We’ve hired someone part-time, and it’s looking good. If you know someone who has professional-level experience with a marketing program called Hubspot, who would be interested in a few hours per week, send them to me.

Mountains and Waters Alliance – September Updates and Job Posting

This is a brief update plus announcement of a part-time job opportunity with Mountains and Waters Alliance.

UPCOMING

The Zen study group is returning to Wednesday evenings, 6:30-8 Central Time. You are welcome to join or to visit. We are just finishing “Instructions for the Cook.” In late September or early October, we’ll start a new study topic. We’re planning to work with a recording; I won’t post it until  we actually have it. We meet the first, second, and third Wednesdays each month, except for holidays and such. There’s an email list for notices, sharing of class recordings, and so forth. When there is a fifth Wednesday, we decide by group consensus.

There is no wild rice trip as previously hoped.

October 19-20 Shodo leads a retreat in Atlanta.

Rohatsu sesshin will be December 1-8, here at the farm.

Work days or work weekends are not yet scheduled, but things happen along the way. Email Shodo to be in touch.

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

Part time, flexible. Primary purpose is office support, so I can focus on other tasks. Up to $800 per month, depending on how things evolve.

• Monitor event postings on website and social media. Make sure everything is functional (e.g. registration pages) and that postings are timely and informative.
• Monitor human interactions and create records accessible to me, to help things run more smoothly. This includes using Hubspot (a marketing software) to store information.

Qualifications:

Well-organized, thinks clearly, creative, good at coordinating.

Comfortable with social media and able to do minor website updates.

Communicates well, verbally and in writing. Is willing to use email.

Ideal:

• already skilled with Hubspot.
• Local (southern Minnesota).
• Wants a long-term part-time job.
• Supports our ideals.

If interested, send an email telling me about yourself, including expected salary range, time availability, goals for working with us, and a resume or equivalent.

Thank you all.

With love,

Shodo Spring

Mountains and Waters Alliance – staying steady

Since I last wrote, the United States has changed. The Democrats have a new presidential candidate, a vice-presidential candidate (my Minnesota governor), and enthusiasm abounds. It’s a relief.

Buddhist practice is to keep going, whatever seems to be happening.

Also war, killing, starvation and sickness continue in Gaza; Israeli media report literal torture within Israeli prisons, but U.S. mainstream media says nothing. In Bethlehem, Combatants for Peace resists illegal settlers taking their homes – and some foreigners join them in the old tradition called accompaniment – but this time they’re shooting Americans too. https://www.dropsitenews.com/

Some voters imagine that Harris/Walz will do it differently, others don’t. Some refuse to participate in an election with no peaceful alternative, others plan to organize after the election. I don’t know how many just don’t care.

Buddhist practice is to keep going, whatever seems to be happening.

Climate catastrophe is in our faces – floods, droughts, wildfires – and it’s getting a tiny bit more attention, but most people aren’t yet ready to consider giving up their conveniences. Even when driven from their homes by floods, storms, or fires, they try to resume normalcy as much as possible.

What does practice mean, in such a situation?

I ask because I don’t know the answer. Today, even though I have a list of what practice means to me now, I’m leaving this space blank.

What does practice mean to you, now?

UPDATES

We just keep going here. We continue at the slower pace required by Shodo’s medical situation, still expecting full recovery. Summer retreats included a weekend Earth Apprentice retreat, in which we spent time with the white pine grove and developed a plan to turn an old shed into a small, screened zendo.

Summer classes included our regular weekly class plus a joint class at Zen Center North Shore (Massachusetts) co-taught with Joan Amaral and Catherine Gammon, both dharma sisters from Shodo’s time at San Francisco Zen Center.

Summer is in full abundance, flowers and green plants, the first tomatoes, more flowers.

UPCOMING

August sesshin will be August 16-18, almost here.

September (dates unknown) there will be a trip for wild ricing with the Honor the Earth camp at Palisade, Minnesota. October 19-20 Shodo leads a retreat in Atlanta, and Rohatsu sesshin will be here December 1-8.

Work days or weekends are not yet scheduled, but things happen along the way.

ALWAYS

We have two rooms available for residents, short or long term, please ask. (You will need outside income.)

I’ll tell you when the book finds a publisher.