Usually we walk for the sole purpose of getting somewhere. Isolated in our own bubble, we may see others as obstacles to our efficiency.

It’s easy to miss the ordinary miracles that surround us on our journey. We walk by exotic creatures observing us through their own unique senses. We move as continents move with us in their slow dance on the surface of the planet. Every day and every night, the sun, moon, and stars illuminate our journey, touching us with their warm lights.

Rather than rush through life, walking can be an opportunity for reverence. We can learn to step as if we were placing each foot into a sacred temple. By doing so, we discover that a city sidewalk in America is, too, the holy land, where an ancient history and a budding future coexist.

Zen-master Dōgen, a teacher in our lineage, advised his students to study their walking alongside the subtle movement of the green mountains that surround his forest temple in central Japan. “Just because the movement of mountains is not like the movement of human beings, do not doubt that it exists,” he wrote in the year 1240. “You should study the green mountains’ walking and your own walking… Enlightened vision is actualized in the mountains, grasses, trees, earth, rocks, or walls. Do not doubt this…Thoroughly investigate… Then, mountains and waters of themselves become wise persons and sages.” (Mountains and Rivers Sutra, ZCO translation)

Walking with mindfulness, we can learn to experience connectedness, community, even with the flowing streams and immovable mountains. We find that each step can be a new arrival, a moment of council with the land. Walking slowly and without rushing to get anywhere or achieve anything, enlightenment itself might arrive at our footsteps. If we’re truly paying attention, we won’t miss it.

This introduction to walking meditation will be led by Seth Josephson, PhD. Seth is a student of Zen Buddhism with decades of practice and a cofounder of Mud Lotus Sangha, a community dedicated to stillness, belonging, and engagement.

We will meet at ILLIO Studio at 17 E Tulane and, after a dharma talk and a period of sitting meditation, we will move outdoors to practice walking at the nearby Walhalla ravine. The session will close with tea and discussion. All bodies and abilities are welcome. Dress for the Weather. Offered by donation.

Please feel free to RSVP to let us know you are coming!