A profound resonance with nature has always played a central role in Tibetan Buddhism.
Tibetan masters have developed and encouraged many practices to enhance and deepen a student’s relationship with the five elements and Mother Earth. Making offerings to streams, mountains, springs and local spirits that dwell in natural settings is a daily part of practice for many Tibetans. And many famous Dohas (poems of realization) composed by the great Tibetan Buddhist masters vividly depict the great value of being able to practice in isolated natural settings. They often instruct their students to seek out this sort of setting.
In the same way that fish effortlessly take for granted the water that surrounds them, practitioners of Vajrayana Buddhism in the Himalaya regions naturally connect with nature and the elements.
In the West, however, we have become increasingly disconnected from Nature and its resonance with our minds and bodies.
We are at a point in time when it is critically important for us to develop within ourselves, and to share with others, a profound connection with nature. Developing practices to cultivate this will serve to enhance our meditation and can become foundational to our role in helping to heal the earth.
Teaching and sharing these practices is a central aspiration of Tana Rinpoche.