Wild Compassion: Finding Holy Ground (Hybrid Retreat)

Wild Compassion: Finding Holy Ground is a seven-day Buddhist spiritual retreat led by Lama Liz Monson at Natural Dharma Fellowship in Springfield, New Hampshire. It is offered as a hybrid retreat, so people can take part in person or remotely. It is for anyone carrying grief or uncertainty about a changing world, and who wants to meet it through contemplative practice rather than turn away from it.

What to Expect

The retreat explores the meeting point of grief, compassion, and our interconnection with the living world. Lama Liz Monson works with two strands: contemplative inquiry, in which participants look closely and honestly at what they feel, and ritual practices oriented toward ecological attention, a way of turning toward the living world with care.

The premise is that grief and uncertainty need not be obstacles to get past. In this retreat they are treated as pathways toward healing, reconnection, and renewed possibility. The days are built around that movement, from acknowledging loss, to feeling how deeply we belong to the world, to finding what becomes possible from there.

The format is a retreat held over seven days, with both in-person and remote participation. Teaching is in English.

About Lama Liz Monson

Lama Liz Monson is a lama, the managing teacher, and a spiritual co-director of Natural Dharma Fellowship. She teaches within a community whose approach is described as natural meditation, inspired by the natural world, which is a fitting home for a retreat about ecological grief and connection. She also transmits the teachings of the fellowship's two-year Margha Program at its retreats, alongside visiting lamas. That program draws on meditations adapted from traditional Himalayan Buddhist training and is open to newcomers and seasoned practitioners alike.

The Setting

Natural Dharma Fellowship is a Buddhist community based in Springfield, New Hampshire, in the United States. Its teaching is rooted in the natural world, and this retreat takes place within that spirit of attention to land, season, and place. Those joining remotely will take part through the hybrid format.

Before You Go

No prior experience requirement is stated, and the retreat is not described as being only for experienced practitioners. If you are new to contemplative practice, or to sitting with grief in a group, it is reasonable to contact the fellowship before registering and ask whether the retreat suits you. The retreat is taught in English and follows the Buddhist tradition.