Individual and collective action for the rebalancing, protection and celebration of a healthy, living world.

earth salon

Equinox lhasangs

book reviews

Book & movie club

As the lords of materialism wreak havoc on our natural world, destroying rich ecosystems and threatening our very existence, Touching the Earth warriors come together with the aspiration to live within our planetary boundaries, retake our seat as good neighbours in the community of life on Earth, and to grieve for what we have already lost.

Join us! 3 ways to engage!

Join our Google Group if you share our Mission, Vision and Values. The Group is a lively virtual community gathering place for sharing upcoming events and actions, pertinent news stories, and is a valued forum for conversation and debate. You can select a digest option once signed up if you prefer. | Sign up for our Newsletter. We promise to only send interesting things. | Become a Touching the Earth Sustaining Member which allows us to deliver a growing range of events and resources, as we work to embed Ecodharma in the heart of Shambhala. Much of our work is delivered by the kindness of volunteers, but we cannot sustain ourselves without the generosity of our Sustaining Members and major donors. Each new Sustaining Member receives the Touching the Earth pin, which embodies our aspiration of elemental harmony. Become a Sustaining Member with a monthly donation of $9/9 Euros per month or $108/108 Euros annually. | Need more info? Send us an email.

Ecodharma Talk Series: Where a Mindful Life and Ecology Meet

Our Mission, Vision, and Values

We are grateful that Gregory Webster has accepted the laureate position of EchoDharma Doula for the Year of the Wood Snake. We look forward to his reflections and guidance, and encourage everyone to explore the rich archive of resources available on our website.

When human beings live in harmony with the principles of heaven and earth, then the four seasons and the elements of the world will also work together harmoniously.
—Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche,
Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior

Why are we doing this work?

To inspire and engage the warriors of the Touching the Earth Collective to uphold the healthy sustainability of the sacred living environment for all beings. Clearly seeing the need for an urgent response to human-caused environmental degradation, Touching the Earth warriors invite individual and collective action for rebalancing, protection, and celebration of a healthy, living world.

Land Acknowledgement

The Shambhala Touching the Earth Collective acknowledges that many of its members live and work on the homelands of Indigenous Peoples across the world that were unceded and subject to colonialization. We honor these original peoples who have long stewarded these lands, and we celebrate their resilience and richness of their languages, traditions and cultures. We recognize their enduring and continuing relationships to the land: past, present and future. We appreciate that the origins of our own Buddhist and Shambhala traditions arose from indigenous Tibetan culture, and we are grateful that these traditions have been able to grow and be nurtured on so many continents. We seek to respect and support Indigenous Peoples sovereignty.

Donate to our Collective

Earth Salon

The Earth Salon is intended to bring us together to explore the greater implications of our bodhisattva vow. We hope to include guided practices, as well as guest speakers to focus on how our daily activities bind us or alienate us from the earth we share with all creatures.

How do we rouse our intention? How do we move from intention to action? How do we build resilience and appreciation? How do we create a pathway for caring activity on this earth?

Together we will investigate these questions and more while looking at food & gardening, housing & construction, travel, clothing, energy, consumption, and many other areas that will undoubtedly arise during our conversations.

Global Equinox Lhasangs

One of the most significant practices passed on to us by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche is lhasang – the ceremony of burning juniper to purify space and invoke the dralas, the enlightened energies of the natural world. Simply offering a stick of incense can be a lhasang.

Many of us in Shambhala are familiar with the drala principle. We understand that by connecting with the dralas we can help restore the health and vitality of the natural world. The purifying smoke of the lhasang carries our aspirations upwards and, at the same time, provides for the blessings of the dralas to flow downwards. Meeting the dralas in this way also creates an opportunity to deepen our personal connection to the earth and all living things. Now, with the earth in extreme peril, what better time to practice a collective, global calling on the dralas.

With this view, we hold global lhasang ceremonies with Shambhala Centers, formal and informal groups, and individuals, so that together, we hold lhasangs in time zones around the globe each each Spring and Autumn Equinox. This creates a continuous smoke offering that circles the earth for 24 hours. Photos of Spring Lhasang 2024

Book Reviews

Touching the Earth Collective publishes regular book reviews on the Shambhala Times website exploring different facets of our uncertain ecological times. Read the current review here. Check out our Reviews Archive here.

Planet A Book & Movie Club

Join us for our next online gathering May 20th for Healing Earth by John Todd. If you would like to join us, please contact Deborah, [email protected]. Planet A is the only one we’ve got!