On the night of his awakening, the Buddha was challenged: by what right do you sit here? He did not answer with words. He reached down and touched the ground, and the earth itself bore witness.
At Boundless Ground Zen, we take that gesture as the heart of our practice. We sit on the earth, with the earth, and for the earth.
Why “Boundless Ground”
The ground beneath us is where practice happens. It holds the cushion, the forest, the town, and every being that lives there. In zazen we discover that there is no clear line where we end and the world begins. The ground is boundless, and so is our responsibility to it.
The burned land in our seal
Inside the ensō of our logo is a burned landscape: blackened trunks standing in scorched ground. It is there on purpose.
I grew up in East Tennessee, and as a child I went to Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains many times. In November 2016, the Chimney Tops 2 fire swept out of the national park and into Gatlinburg. Fourteen people died, and thousands of homes and buildings were lost in places I had known all my life.
Years later, here in New Mexico, the Hermits Peak–Calf Canyon fire of 2022 became the largest wildfire in the state’s history. It burned more than 341,000 acres across Mora, San Miguel, and neighboring counties, and took homes, forests, watersheds, and ways of life that had been handed down for generations.
Two fires, two homes, one wounded earth. The burn scar in our seal is a reminder not to look away. Zen practice asks us to sit with what is, including grief and loss, and to let that sitting become care.
Rooted in Sōtō Zen
We practice in the Sōtō Zen tradition. Its founder in Japan, Eihei Dōgen, wrote the Mountains and Waters Sūtra, teaching that mountains and rivers are not scenery but the living expression of the Way: the mountains themselves are practicing, and the waters themselves are teaching.
Our central practice is shikantaza, “just sitting.” Simply sitting on the earth, breathing, and paying attention is already an act of intimacy with the world.
How we practice
As our sangha grows, we hope to offer:
- Zazen together, in person and online
- Outdoor and walking meditation on the land, including in places recovering from fire
- Retreats that bring together zazen, the natural world, and ecological grief
- Service and restoration days with local communities
- Dharma talks and courses on Zen, ecology, and bearing witness
An invitation
You do not need any background in Buddhism to sit with us. If you love a place that has been hurt, if you are carrying grief for the land, or if you simply want to learn to sit still, you are welcome here.
Come and touch the earth with us.