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Ecodharma Zazenkai with Karen Waconda-Lewis (Daylong Retreat)

Ecodharma Zazenkai (Daylong Retreat) with Karen Waconda-Lewis

Saturday, May 2nd, 2026
We offer in-person and online participation. We will be announcing registration soon! Needs-Based scholarships available. Sign up for registration alerts to be notified when registration opens.

Please join us for a full day of sitting, either online or in our zendo, led by Karen Waconda-Lewis. Devote the entire day to your practice. If you are new to meditation and have never attended a retreat (single or multi-day), a Zazenkai is an excellent way to immerse yourself in longer periods of silent sitting practice. The day includes both sitting and walking meditation, one or two movement sessions, a Dharma talk from Karen, and a Q&A session in the afternoon.

This Ecodharma-themed Zazenkai will be open to all and is part of our 2026 Ecodharma Residency month.

Experienced practitioners also benefit from these daylong retreats, as they deepen their practice. This Zazenkai will be available both online and on-site. If you plan to attend in person, please bring your own lunch; tea will be provided. To attend in person, please read and follow our COVID-19 Protocols for MCZC’s current policies on masks, vaccinations, and testing.

Zazenkai is a term used in Zen Buddhism to refer to a day of intensive meditation practice. The word “Zazenkai” is of Japanese origin, where “za” means sitting, and “zenkai” means gathering. During a Zazenkai, participants engage in periods of sitting meditation (zazen), walking meditation (kinhin), and may also include chanting, dharma talks, and other activities related to Zen practice. Zazenkais provide an opportunity for practitioners to deepen their meditation experience and strengthen their commitment to the path of Zen Buddhism. These events can vary in length, with some lasting a full day.

About The Teacher

Karen Waconda-Lewis is a tribal native of the Isleta and Laguna Pueblos. After her initiation into Native Medicine, she introduced traditional healing practices into an urban American Indian health clinic in Albuquerque, NM. She continues to expand this program into local hospitals, the Indian Health Service, the VA Hospital, and surrounding organizations. Karen integrates Western medicine with Native healing in preventive health, mental health, and overall well-being. She is the founder and director of the Center for Native American Integrative Healing, LLC, located in Albuquerque, where healers from various tribal nations practice their traditional medicine and extend their services to the community.

Karen is a Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leader program graduate and has been practicing mindfulness from a young age, guided by her grandparents in her traditional tribal practices of caring for the land, gardening, cooking and animals. She regularly provides dharma teachings incorporating Native teachings in her community and nationally. She has intertwined Native teachings with Vipassana meditation, incorporating these practices into ceremonies, sweat lodges, and her community at Laguna Pueblo. At Laguna Pueblo, the ancestral teachings of mindfulness have complemented the Buddhist teachings at the Detention Center, providing insight and wellness to inmates and their families. Additionally, Karen co-founded the Annual Indigenous and Native Healers Silent Retreat and the Albuquerque People of Color and Allies Sangha. She has also been appointed volunteer faculty at the University of New Mexico’s School of Medicine, where she guides faculty and staff on tribal health issues and wellness support to medical students and residents.

In her personal life, Karen enjoys spending time with her family, including her daughter and two grandchildren. She manages the family ranch and loves spending time with ancestral lands and caring for its inhabitants.

Participation Fee

We offer in-person and online participation. We will be announcing registration soon! Needs-Based scholarships available.

Zazenkai/Daylong dates in 2026

  1. January 17
  2. February 21
  3. April 18
  4. May 2
  5. July 11
  6. August 8
  7. October 17

 

Date
May 2
Time
6:00 am - 3:30 pm
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