All posts filed under: NYI Sacred Earth Sangha

Sat. 9/6/2025: From Skyline to Soil: A Day of Nature Meditation and Ecology Exploration at Governors Island, with Maho Kawachi

Join us for a joyful day of practice, exploration, connecting, and sharing on the splendid grounds of Governors Island.  Just minutes from Manhattan by ferry, Governors Island is one of New York City’s most treasured green spaces—a vibrant sanctuary crisscrossed with walking paths and expansive lawns, offering breathtaking views of the FiDi skyline and upper harbor. It is home to many environmental restoration projects such as the Teaching Urban Farm, Earth Matters, Billion Oyster Project and more, inviting opportunities to explore and contemplate our relationship as urban dwellers to the natural world. During our time together, we’ll enjoy guided walking, standing, sitting meditation, gentle movement, and inquiries. Along the way, we’ll also learn about the rich history of Governors Island, and tour the Urban Farm —a key site of ecological stewardship on the island. Learn how composting works on a city scale, discover the role of healthy soil in climate resilience, and deepen your awareness of our interdependence with the natural world. Meetup Location: Governors Island Ferry ticket office near Battery Park, Manhattan. Note: All …

Sat. 5/10/2025: Sunset Meditative Walk – Brooklyn Bridge to Brooklyn Bridge Park, 6:15-8:30pm

Date: Saturday, 5/10/2025 Time: 6:15-8:30pm ET Location: Meet at 6:15pm, corner of Chamber St. and Center St. We often think of meditation as an indoor formal sitting practice, but it’s a practice we can integrate anytime and anywhere. Join us for an outdoor meditation as we walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and practice at Brooklyn Bridge Park during sunset. Together, we’ll immerse ourselves in the beauty of a cityscape sunset, fostering a deep connection with our body, mind, and the natural world. Amidst this urban backdrop, we’ll reflect on our interconnectedness with humanity and the environment. We will explore the rich history of Brooklyn Bridge Park, a testament to community activism transforming abandoned industrial space into a sustainable waterfront haven, blending recreation with ecological preservation. The meditative walk will start at the Brooklyn Bridge from the Manhattan side and continue over the bridge to Brooklyn Bridge Park. This experience will proceed rain or shine, barring heavy rain or severe weather threats. To reach the meeting location by Subway: Take 4, 5, and 6 trains to …

Sunset Meditative Walk – Brooklyn Bridge to Brooklyn Bridge Park – Sunday, 8/4/2024

Date: Sunday, 8/4/2024 Time: 6:15-8:30pm ET Location: Meet at 6:15pm, corner of Chamber St. and Center St. We often think of meditation as an indoor formal sitting practice, but it’s a practice we can integrate anytime and anywhere. Join us for an outdoor meditation as we walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and practice at Brooklyn Bridge Park during sunset. Together, we’ll immerse ourselves in the beauty of a cityscape sunset, fostering a deep connection with our body, mind, and the natural world. Amidst this urban backdrop, we’ll reflect on our interconnectedness with humanity and the environment. We will explore the rich history of Brooklyn Bridge Park, a testament to community activism transforming abandoned industrial space into a sustainable waterfront haven, blending recreation with ecological preservation. The meditative walk will start at the Brooklyn Bridge from the Manhattan side and continue over the bridge to Brooklyn Bridge Park. This experience will proceed rain or shine, barring heavy rain or severe weather threats. To reach the meeting location by Subway: Take 4, 5, and 6 trains to …

Sacred Earth Sangha in Central Park – Honoring the Land – Sat. 5/8

Date: Saturday, 5/8/2021 Time: 2-5pm EST Location: Meet at 1:45pm at 100th St., Central Park West Since its beginning, every session of SES has begun with three honorings – honoring native land, honoring Asian lineages, & honoring ancestors. In April, May and June, we are exploring these three honorings and relating them to our commitment to honoring the earth. In April, we explored honoring the Asian lineages of our practice. For May, we will have a special gathering in Central Park to explore Honoring Native Land. What does it mean to honor native land in a city rampant with the destruction and desecration of nature? How do we heed the call of indigenous communities that proclaim that land acknowledgements are not enough? How do we forge a connection to earth that goes beyond ideas of property and ownership to ones of relationship and stewardship? Join us as we use embodied and relational practices to explore these questions and more. “Land is the basis of all independence. Land is the basis of freedom, justice, and equality.”— …

Sacred Earth Sangha: Honoring the Asian Lineage – Mon. 4/12

Date: Monday, 4/12/2021 Time: 7-9pm ET The NYI Sacred Earth Sangha is a community formed around deep practice and conscious engagement of the challenges of the climate crisis. The Sacred Earth Sangha is dedicated to meeting our current global challenges by cultivating a sacred relationship to Earth and all her beings – to honoring life. What does it mean to honor? Since its beginning, every session of SES has begun with three honorings – honoring native land, honoring Asian lineages, & honoring ancestors. For our next few meetings, we will be exploring these three honorings and relating them to our commitment to honoring the earth. In April, we begin with honoring of Asian lineages. In the face of continuing violence towards AAPI people, we will explore the often extractive ways western convert Buddhism has approached Asian dharma practices and how, instead, we can cultivate a wise relationship to lineage and community – one that honors the Asian heritage of these teachings and the lands from which they come. All are welcome. No previous meditation experience …

Sacred Earth Sangha Speaker Series: The Promise and Power of Faith-Led Environmental Movements with Dekila Chungyalpa – 1/11/2021

Join us for a rare evening to learn from acclaimed climate activist, Dekila Chungyalpa, on her breadth and depth of knowledge from the frontline of the climate crisis. Together we will explore our relationship with eco-anxiety and grief, discuss how racial injustice is at the core of the climate crisis, and learn how we can embody compassion as we engage our activism. As the director of the acclaimed conservation program of Sacred Earth at the World Wildlife Fund, Dekila Chungyalpa was charged to work with faith leaders from all around the globe such as those in Amazon, East Africa, Indonesia. For 5 years, she was to work with four very different groups: Evangelicals, Catholics, Southern Baptists, and Tibetan Buddhists. It is through this work that Dekila realized one of the blindspots in the conversation community is the enormous influence of faith leaders around the globe. She then founded the Loka (the Sanskirt word for one or many worlds) Initiative, a new interdisciplinary collaboration program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison dedicated to environmental protection, sustainable development, …

Sacred Earth Sangha Speaker Series: Thanissara – Being a Sacred Warrior: Lessons from Standing Rock – 12/14

The Sacred Earth Sangha at New York Insight Meditation Center is a community formed around deep practice and conscious engagement of the challenges of the climate crisis. Please join hosts Sebene Selassie, Lin Wang Gordon and Jon Aaron, as we invite monthly guest speakers and teachers to explore together what it means to meet our current reality with kindness and clarity, compassion and wisdom. Registration through the event link. Date Speaker Recording Mon. Dec. 14, 2020, 7-8:30pm EST An Evening with Thanissara – RegisterBeing a Sacred Warrior: Lessons from Standing Rock Mon. Jan. 11, 2021, 7-8:30pm EST Dekila Chungyalpa

Sacred Earth Sangha: Meet Up in Central Park – Sun. 10/12/2020, 10am-1pm

Sacred Earth Sangha at New York Insight Meditation Center For the October Sacred Earth Sangha meeting, join us in Central Park to immerse in nature practices to connect with the outdoor environment and your senses. From focusing on a single leaf to the expansive sky, our sense of separateness falls away when we turn our attention toward our experiences intimately. We will practice from 10am-12pm, then share lunch together as a community. For planning purposes, please register in advance so we know to expect you. The event will meet rain or shine. However, in case of cancellation due to particular weather conditions, we will send an email notification at least 24 hours in advance. We look forward to exploring our inner and outer world together with you in nature. Location: Central Park (100th St. and Central Park West)We will remain 6 feet apart in gathering and will wear masks. Please cancel and request a refund if you experience any symptoms listed by the CDC as Covid symptoms. You will be requested to sign a health …

Mon. 9/14/2020, 7pm: Sacred Earth Sangha – Climate, A New Story – Featuring Charles Eisenstein

Sacred Earth Sangha at New York Insight Meditation Center Meets 2nd Monday evening of every month Join us for an online book club exploring the latest book by Charles Eisenstein, Climate: A New Story which you can read online for a donation here. Charles Eisenstein will be joining us at this final meeting on the book “Climate, A New Story.” Please feel free to join us for practice and discussion even if you have not completed the reading. We will still have time during our gathering for meditation, small group checkins and plenty of discussion. More info about the book below as well as Zoom Guidelines for our meetings. We look forward to post quarantine where we will be gather outdoors for safe and profound practices in nature. Climate — A New StoryFlipping the script on climate change, Eisenstein makes a case for a wholesale reimagining of the framing, tactics, and goals we employ in our journey to heal from ecological destructionRead the book online for free here Zoom Guidelines:Please use your video and show your face. Using video allows …