SACRED ACTIVISM
Dharma for These Times
At Sacred Mountain Sangha, we are deeply committed to building an activist Dharma culture as central to our vision for meeting these times.
Over the last three years, the world has shifted beneath our feet. Many of the frameworks through which we understood the world, and imagined its future, no longer exist nor meet the great needs of this time. The world we’ve known is moving into free fall, and we, with it, are moving into uncharted territory. In response, it’s natural to feel lost, frozen, overwhelmed, and beset by paralyzing anxiety and fear for the future. At such times–these times–we must take courage and hold a line that is ethical and knows nature’s great web of life as sacred and interconnected.
“They are as children, playing with their toys in a house on fire.”
– The Buddha
In this time, we are called to move beyond silos across traditions, lands, and struggles to co-create a Dharma that speaks not only to personal awakening, but to systemic transformation.
Amid genocide, ecological and social unraveling, and an alarming removal of hard won rights, many Dharma communities are struggling to form respond to the moral crises of our time. And yet, the teachings themselves point toward a deeper liberation that is collective and grounded in justice, equity, and care. This path honors the Buddha not only as a contemplative sage, but as a revolutionary who challenged the dominant structures of his era.
We are working to shift dominant narratives that frame practices like mindfulness as forms of private self help, now widely adapted to fit corporate culture. Together we re-orient our understanding of spiritual practice from coping strategies to catalysts for confronting the systems that cause harm. Moving us from means of comfort towards connecting us with the courage that this moment demands.
The “flood stopper”
The Buddha called mindfulness the “flood stopper,” meaning it has the potential to stop the flood of greed, hatred, and delusion at the core of our dystopic descent, and instead, enable a fuller emergence of a new story forged by love and dedication to humane values for each other.
Our Growing Vision
The story we are midwifing is one of sacred solidarity rooted in Gaian belonging, ancestral remembrance, and embodied ways of knowing. These are not abstract ideals; they are the living cultural code of a regenerative future, seeded within us all, grounded in reverence, humility, and collective well-being.
An essential priority is to undertake a core shift to realign with Nature’s Sacred Web of Life. This includes developing a culture of degrowth to reduce consumption while transitioning from the economy of extraction for profit and power that perpetuates a deeply unjust, violent, and unsustainable economic system.
Our work in sacred activism has covered a range of territories over the last decade; from climate engagement and healing our connection to the planet, inquiring into how Dharma can meet systemic injustice and intersecting crises, and responding to genocide.
We continue our work by offering ongoing sangha spaces for gathering and co-visioning ways of engaging with ongoing polycrises. We connect through practice, conversation and inquiry on how our spiritual practice can creatively respond and serve the work of collective liberation in this time.
Upcoming Offering
After the World We Knew
with Alnoor Ladha, Lubna Masarwa, Rima Vesely-Flad and Thanissara
Sunday, December 6th, 2026
Resources
From Patriarchy to Pachamama
Dharma Reflection with Thanissara
In this talk, Thanissara emphasizes the urgent need to confront and dismantle patriarchal systems amid escalating climate crises and rising authoritarianism. She advocates for a shift towards love, cooperation, and ecological stewardship.
Dharma Climate Council
In our first Climate Council, Thanissara, Yong Oh, and SMS teachers lead an open discussion on the climate crisis. The session invites personal and communal reflections, exploring collective responses to the urgent environmental challenges we face as a community.
Mother Nature's Message
Interview with Baba Mandaza & Thanissara
In this interview healer Baba Mandaza Augustine Kandemwa discusses the profound connection between humanity and Mother Earth. He advocates for a return to nature, seeing this reconnection as essential for both personal and global healing.