
Ecodharma at Mountain Cloud
The land is alive. Our relationships are alive. We commit to healing and nurturing both.
Here at Mountain Cloud, we are blessed to reside on 24 acres of high-desert woodland, sharing our space with many boundless beings in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo mountains. Since the beginning of our Center, relationship to this land has been a key support for our practice and our path, and we in turn have tended to the land, something that has long been a part of Zen practice.
Since relationship with the Earth has been such a shaping force at Mountain Cloud, it made sense to bring even more intentionality to this part of our practice. This led us to Ecodharma. While ecology and Dharma are really one in the same, the label of Ecodharma brings a focus that can open doors for deeper embodied experiences which can then lead to more impactful action and a more liberated community.
Scroll through to learn more, or jump to a particular section:
Ecodharma May + Residency

Ecodharma May is a full month of Ecodharma-focused programming that centers the depth of Zen practice. Our regular weekly offerings are infused with Ecodharma themes, such as our talks and Book Group, and various teachers offer retreats with an Ecodharma lens, often involving extended time practicing outdoors. This year’s Ecodharma May includes:
- Orientation Weekend – Friday May 1st – Sunday May 3rd
- Weekend Retreat with Nic Redfern – Friday May 8 – Sunday 10
- Day-long Retreat with Karen Waconda-Lewis – Saturday, May 16th
- 6-Day Sesshin with David Loy – Monday May 18 – Sunday 24
- Book Group Series – Wednesdays in May (public, hybrid) 9-10am MT
- Wisdom Wednesday Series – Wednesdays in May (public, hybrid) 5:30-6:30pm MT
- Dharma Talk Series – Thursdays in May (public, hybrid) 5:30-7pm MT
The core of Ecodharma May is our Ecodharma Residency program. Ecodharma residents (who have onsite lodging and commuter options) experience a special, immersive program that includes all of the events listed above, PLUS a special action-learning project on the land, intentional communal living, co-created activities and visioning circles, workshops with local organizers and educators, daily meditation sits, 1-1 guidance with Zen Teachers, and extended time connecting with the land.
Ecodharma May is a unique opportunity to resource ourselves, dive deep into practice, embrace the transformative power of sangha, and cultivate skillful action in the face of uncertainty and multiple intersecting crises.
Click here to learn about the residency or jump here to learn about non-residency ways to participate.
Land Acknowledgement

Mountain Cloud is based in O’ga P’ogeh Owingeh (White Shell Water Place), the unceded ancestral lands of the Tewa people, colonized as Santa Fe, New Mexico. These buildings were built with the sands and soils of these arroyos. We share this space with the bobcat, coyote, juniper, raven, pinon, cholla, Steller’s Jay, ants, and so many more. O’ga P’ogeh has and continues to be home to many Tribal communities including the Tewa, Keres, and Towa Pueblos, and the Jicarilla Apache. The descendants of these communities live in O’ga P’ogeh and in surrounding present-day Pueblos of Nambe, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, Ohkay Owingeh, Santa Clara and Tesuque (and others!).
Mountain Cloud honors and celebrates the excellence and wisdom of these neighbors, friends, and relatives, both past and present, who have stewarded this land for generations and continue to do so. We recognize the centuries of forced displacement, settler colonialism, violence, and attempted genocide that exist in the land, culture, and peoples here and the continued existence of this legacy in modern colonial systems. Mountain Cloud recognizes that we benefit from this legacy of violence and commit to building trust with our tribal neighbors, repairing harm, learning and unlearning, and centering the knowledge and expertise indigenous to this land, in the spirit of humility, compassion, and liberation.
This land is alive, our relationships are alive, and we acknowledge our connectedness and responsibility to healing and nurturing both. We commit in each moment to put this acknowledgement into action.
One way you can move this acknowledgement into action is by contributing to the O’ga P’ogeh Land Tax. Mountain Cloud is an organizational contributor to the OPLT and encourages sangha members to contribute to the extent they are able as part of our ongoing commitment to action, repairing harm, building trust, and liberating all beings. Learn more here.
Sources:
Ongoing Ecodharma Programs

Turtles Ecodharma Group (hybrid, free):
On the first and third Thursday of the month at 7pm MT, sangha members gather to delve into the question, “How can we, as Zen practitioners, respond to the current ecological crises with open hearts?” Through readings, discussions, and sharing of personal experiences, we support each other in our commitment to the healing of the world and welfare of all beings. New members welcome!
Ecodharma – themed Wisdom Wednesdays (hybrid, free):
Once a month, one of our Wisdom Wednesday events is dedicated to the theme of Ecodharma. The evening includes meditation, a brief talk or practice share, discussion, and Q&A, typically facilitated by a senior sangha member or assistant teacher. Check our calendar for upcoming talks.
Ecodharma Talks (Teisho) (hybrid, free):
Our weekly Thursday evening Dharma talks often have Ecodharma connections, either from guest teachers like David Loy, our Guiding Teacher Valerie Forstman, or another one of our suite of experienced Zen teachers. Stay up to date on each week’s topic through our calendar, or browse past talks here.
Land Stewardship Workshops: Ecodharma Samu (in-person, free):
As part of deepening relationship with our land, we’re learning together as a sangha how to steward the land the best we can. We regularly host free, public land stewardship workshops that bring in a local expert to teach us about an aspect of ecological care and help us apply that learning with our land. Examples include pinyon-juniper care, storm water management and rain planting, erosion control, and trail maintenance. Check our calendar and sign up for our newsletter to be notified when workshops are scheduled.
Further Ecodharma Resources
- Browse our archive to find past talks from David Loy and other teachers relating to the theme of Ecodharma.
- Ecodharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis and other books by David Loy
- Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet by Thich Nhat Hanh (book and online course)
- Work That Reconnects Network
- Robin Wall Kimmerer’s books and teachings
- One Earth Sangha, online Ecodharma community with regular Ecodharma Explorations, essays, and practices
- Earth Holder Community, Ecodharma sangha rooted in the Plum Village tradition