Elizabeth Monson invites us to consider how the natural world can do far more than provide us with a peaceful environment for meditation.
How Buddhist monks are protecting a vulnerable forest from illegal logging in Cambodia
Since 2002, the monks from Samorang Pagoda in Cambodia have protected a 71-square-mile tract of forest from illegal logging and hunting.
Smokey the Bear Sutra
In 1969, poet Gary Snyder wrote his “Smokey the Bear Sutra,” imagining Smokey as the Great Sun Buddha giving a discourse, in the style of a Buddhist sutra. Fifty years later, the message of the sutra continues to resonate.
Look Up
Each Friday, we share three topical longreads in our Weekend Reader newsletter. This week, LionsRoar.com’s Lilly Greenblatt looks at the inspiring sky above us.
Gretel Ehrlich: Struck by Nature
“Cover yourself with the living world. It becomes part of your love life.” Gretel Ehrlich writes about nature with passion and awareness, but twice her love affair with nature turned deadly. Stephen Foehr talks to the author of A Match to the Heart.
Going Outside
When life gets too busy, Kathleen Dean Moore remembers the childhood joy of nature. Stress, she reminds us, is the antonym of gratitude.
Awake in the Wild
Whether we’re in a pristine rainforest or our own backyard, says Mark Coleman, nature is always available to deepen our mindfulness.
Becoming the Mountains and Rivers
When we know something intimately, taught Dogen, it ceases to exist and so do we. John Daido Loori Roshi examines this teaching.
The Tao of Poo
I’ve started going on monthly hikes with the Point Reyes Tracking Club out at Abbott’s Lagoon, a beautiful seashore sanctuary north of San Francisco.
Tree of Wisdom
Oak and maple, palm and pine—trees are our closest neighbors and most patient teachers. Henry Shukman on the common roots of people and trees.