Wendy Johnson & Joan Halifax: Planting Life 2022: Learning from Traditional Ecological Knowledges and Cultivating the Dharma (2 of 10)

Series Description: Upaya Zen Center’s Planting Life is a yearly program grounded in the fields of environmental activism, engaged spiritual practice, and Traditional Ecological Knowledge. Planting Life: Learning from Traditional Ecological Knowledges and Cultivating the Dharma (2022) opens  with an introductory teaching on Dharma and Ecology and Systems Theory by Stephanie Kaza, PhD, author of Green Buddhism and professor of Environmental Studies. Following this, renowned Tewa artist and culture holder Roxanne Swentzell grounds us in the traditional ecological knowledge practices of the ancestral Pueblo foodways. After the Upaya community gathers to sow the seeds of the Three Sisters of antiquity—corn, beans and squash—in the Zen Windmill Garden, there is an immersion in the great wisdom traditions of the Tewa Cultures of the Rio Grande Valley, led by Indigenous scholar and historian, Porter Swentzell. This teaching is followed by a presentation showcasing a range of innovative Native Foodways programs, offered by ASU Professor of Indigenous Sustainability, Melissa Nelson, PhD (Turtle Mountain Chippewa). On the final day of Planting Life (which is the anniversary of the United Nations World Environment Day), the program faculty discuss the intersection of traditional ecological knowledges and socially engaged Buddhism in light of our climate catastrophe and the worldwide pandemic. Episode Description: Roshi Joan Halifax and Sensei Wendy Johnson introduce Upaya’s Planting Life 2022 program. Part 1 of this series was published as episode #1991 titled: Planting Life and Growing the Seeds of Persistent Culture by Wendy Johnson. To access the resources page for this program, please sign up by clicking here. To access the entire series, please click on the link below: Upaya Podcast Series: Planting Life 2022