Workshops Explore Deep Ecology, Council of All Beings

SINSINAWA, WI – Paula Hirschboeck, a Soto Zen Buddhist teacher and priest from Madison, Wis., will lead two virtual workshops for Sinsinawa Mound Center. Participants will gain appreciation of our connection with Earth and nonhuman beings. Attendance is required at the first session to participate in the second one or choose to attend just the first workshop.

The first is Buddhist Teachings for Deep Ecology from 7 to 8:15 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18. Hirshboeck asks participants to acknowledge that it is painfully evident that the life support systems of planet Earth are in crisis. The web of life for all species, including humans, is in peril. Buddhist teachings and Deep Ecology agree that we humans will not change the behaviors causing such suffering unless we transform the sense of our identity. Such transformation brings the capacity to act with wise compassion; we now realize we are Earth protecting itself. During this webinar, we will explore this Buddhist wisdom and its overlap with Deep Ecology. The awakening of humanity to liberate our planetary suffering depends on our personal awakening. The fee is $15 per person, and the registration deadline is Nov. 17 at 4 p.m.

The second session is A Council of All Beings from 7 to 8:15 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 2. Those who choose to participate in the Council of All Beings enter the experience to personally deepen the teachings offered in Buddhist Teaching for Deep Ecology. This ritual invites you to step beyond your human self and assume the identity of another member of the Earth Community. We gather in Council to speak as a specific being—an earthworm, a polar bear, the rainforest—or whichever being chooses you as its voice. Those in the Council of All Beings have the opportunity to open the eye of their hearts to see beyond human concerns. Deep gratitude and the commitment to enact one’s personal transformation are renewed. The fee is $15 per person, and the registration deadline is Dec. 1 at 4 p.m.

Please register for the workshops by contacting Guest Services at 608-748-4411 or visiting our website at www.sinsinawa.org/moundcenter.