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SUMMARY:Radiant Awareness: Backpacking Journey to Tassajara\, ZMC 5/30–6/4
DESCRIPTION:The trek to Tassajara Zen Mountain Center is a beloved and time-honored journey. Rather than driving in—careening through the expansive Ventana Wilderness at a pace that inhibits meaningful contact—let us take days to walk to the monastery on foot\, arriving enriched through immersion in the wild. \nWhat does this wilderness immersion open or allow? Steeped in the demands and complexity of modern\, daily life\, it is easy for our attention to become fragmented\, our inner and outer lives constrained by habits of thought\, and our senses dulled. Backpacking in the wild returns us to simple\, natural rhythms: sleeping on the ground\, rising with the sun\, carrying all that we need on our backs\, walking peacefully in contact with the land for the majority of the day. \nOur senses come alive as our bodies\, minds\, and hearts encounter the beauty and wholesomeness of the wild earth: a chorus of birds at dawn\, the taste of cold spring water\, full inhalations of aromatic plants\, deep shade offered by an oak at midday\, starlight filling our eyes at night. In this way\, wilderness immersion mirrors the essence of Zen practice itself: recalibrating us to perceive the true vibrance of the world\, which transmits its own timeless wisdom. \nOur four-day backpacking journey into Tassajara moves through the ancestral lands of the Esselen People and the eastern heart of an expansive\, biodiverse wilderness—grounding us in a rich historical\, cultural\, and ecological context before we enter the gates of Zen Mountain Center. Walking in the spirit of pilgrimage\, our days are shaped by intention: mindful silence on the trail\, group check-ins and Dharma discussions that form us into a sangha (spiritual community)\, and awareness practices (including daily zazen meditation) that attune us with ourselves and this potent landscape. \nDrawing on their engaged\, respective backgrounds in Zen and Eco-Somatics\, leaders Mike Smith and Ariel Johnson guide us across both wild and perceptual thresholds\, offering simple practices and insights that support reconnection with the Earth\, our animal bodies\, our senses\, our hearts\, and our naturally calm and spacious minds. \nBy the time we arrive at the monastery gate\, we have been polished to a shine by our wild wanderings—alert\, radiant\, and ready to enter fully into the depth of practice offered in Tassajara’s enchanted valley. We then spend two nights at Tassajara dedicated to integration\, sinking into the monastery’s offerings of meditation\, serenity\, and community. When it is time to return home\, may we carry this radiant awareness with us\, meeting our ordinary lives and the challenges of our time with more clarity\, presence\, resilience\, and care. \nImportant Notes: \n\nThe full experience takes place over six days\, from Saturday\, May 30th to Thursday\, June 4th\, 2026.\nThe last two nights (June 2 and 3) will require booking accommodations at Tassajara.\nExperience with backpacking or Tassajara/Zen is not required; Wildtender provides support for physical and psychospiritual preparation\, and weaves wilderness skill-building\, Zen instruction\, and orientation to Tassajara into the program.
URL:https://www.sfzc.org/event/radiant-awareness-backpacking-journey-to-tassajara-zmc-5-30-6-4/
CATEGORIES:Workshops and Retreats
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