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Forest Bathing as a Shamanic Practice: Rewilding Your Spirit Through Nature’s Medicine

Forest Bathing as a Shamanic Practice: Rewilding Your Spirit Through Nature’s Medicine

Engagement with the Element of Nature at BEZA’s Zen Academy in Cape Town, Western Cape, highlighting mindfulness and spiritual growth through outdoor meditation practices and natural connection.

Nature - Way of Medicine

– Composed by Letitia Webber, and edited by Ekan Nangaku Leisching

Part 2 of a 4-Part Journey

This is an invitation to awaken the medicine within you, to listen deeply to the voice of Nature, and to discover what it means to live in harmony with your truest authentic self.

In recent years, forest bathing—known as shinrin-yoku in Japan—has captured global attention as a powerful way to reconnect with nature and restore wellbeing. Rooted in mindful immersion in the forest, it offers profound health benefits such as stress reduction, immune support, and mental clarity. But beyond these physical and psychological effects lies a deeper, spiritual dimension that shamanism has long embraced.

At Born as the Earth Zen Academy, we invite you to explore forest bathing as a shamanic practice—a sacred journey into the living world where nature spirits, ancient wisdom, and the medicine wheel guide your path. This practice is not just about being in the forest; it’s about rewilding your spirit, awakening authentic connection, and discovering the transformative power of nature’s medicine.

Across Europe and beyond, seekers are turning to ancient woods—like the Black Forest in Germany or the Caledonian Forest in Scotland—not only for their beauty but for their spiritual potency. Join us as we dive into this rich tradition and offer practical ways to deepen your own forest bathing experience through shamanism.

What is Forest Bathing?

Forest bathing originated in Japan in the 1980s as a nature therapy practice designed to encourage people to slow down and immerse themselves fully in the forest environment. The term shinrin-yoku literally means “taking in the forest atmosphere” or “forest bathing.”

The Science Behind Forest Bathing

Numerous studies show that spending time in forests can:

  • Lower cortisol (stress hormone) levels
  • Boost immune function through exposure to phytoncides (natural chemicals released by trees)
  • Improve mood and reduce anxiety
  • Enhance focus and creativity

These benefits have led to forest bathing’s popularity worldwide, especially in urbanized societies craving nature connection.

Forest Bathing vs. Shamanic Forest Bathing

While modern forest bathing emphasizes health and mindfulness, shamanic forest bathing goes deeper. It recognizes forests as conscious, living beings inhabited by nature spirits—guardians of the earth’s wisdom. The forest becomes a sacred teacher and healer, inviting you into a relationship rather than just a place to visit.

forest bathing

Shamanic Forest Bathing: A Deeper Connection

In shamanism, the forest is not a backdrop but a vibrant, sentient realm. Trees, plants, animals, stones, and waters are all alive with spirit and intelligence. Shamans journey into these realms to communicate with nature spirits, seeking guidance, healing, and transformation.

The Medicine Wheel and the Forest

As you walk through the forest, you are invited to connect with the elements:

  • Fire: The sun’s warmth on your skin, the energy of transformation and passion that stirs within the forest’s heart.

  • Water: Streams, dew, and rainfall—cleansing, flowing, and carrying the wisdom of renewal through every living thing.

  • Earth: The rich soil beneath your feet, the roots grounding you in stability, nourishment, and belonging.

  • Nature: The living tapestry of plants, animals, fungi, and the wild unpredictability that brings the forest to life.

  • Stone: Ancient rocks and boulders, silent witnesses to time, holding memory, strength, and the deep wisdom of the land.

This elemental awareness deepens your immersion and aligns you with the unique rhythms and teachings of the forest.

The Academy Medicine Wheel at BEZA’s Zen Academy in Cape Town, South Africa, used for spiritual growth and healing, integrating mindfulness, Zen meditation, and Shamanic practices.

Ancient Woods and Modern Seekers

Europe is home to some of the world’s oldest and most sacred forests, such as:

These forests have long been places of spiritual significance, where indigenous peoples and modern seekers alike find connection and healing. Today, many are rediscovering these landscapes through forest bathing, shamanic retreats, and nature spirituality practices.

Caledonian Forest

Rewilding the Spirit

Forest bathing as shamanic practice is about rewilding—returning to your natural, authentic self. It’s a process of shedding societal conditioning and reconnecting with your primal essence. The forest’s unpredictability teaches surrender and trust, inviting you to embrace change and transformation.

Practical Shamanic Forest Bathing Techniques

1. Setting Your Intention

Before entering the forest, take a moment to set a clear intention. What do you seek? Healing, guidance, presence? Speak or silently hold this intention as a sacred invitation.

2. Grounding and Creating Sacred Space

Stand barefoot if possible, feeling the earth’s energy (Read: Earth’s Deep Hum – The Schumann Resonance). Visualize roots extending from your feet deep into the soil. You may call in your spirit guides or nature allies for protection and support.

3. Mindful Walking and Sensory Awareness

Walk slowly and attentively. Engage all senses:
Listen deeply to bird songs, rustling leaves, and the forest’s hum.
Touch bark, leaves, and stones, feeling their textures and energies.
Smell the earth, flowers, and pine.
Observe colors, shapes, and light patterns.

Allow yourself to be fully present.

4. Listening and Communicating with Nature Spirits

Pause to sit or stand quietly. Open your heart and mind to receive messages—through images, feelings, or intuitive knowing. You might sense the presence of a tree spirit, an animal guide, or the spirit of the stream (Read: Since The Beginning, Water Announces Life).

5. Rituals and Offerings

Offer gratitude by leaving small gifts—water, herbs, or natural objects—respectfully and without harm. You can also sing, drum, or speak prayers to honor the forest’s spirit.

6. Reflection and Journaling

After your forest bath, take time to journal your experiences, insights, and any messages received. This deepens your integration and awareness.

Amazonian Shamanism- Forest Spirits and Plant Guardians

Forest Bathing and Authenticity: Lessons from Nature’s Unpredictability

The forest is a living teacher of authenticity. Its cycles of growth, decay, and renewal mirror our own spiritual journeys. Nature’s unpredictability invites us to let go of control, embrace vulnerability, and trust our inner wisdom.

Shapeshifting—the ability to embody animal or elemental spirits—is a powerful metaphor in shamanism for transformation. As you bathe in the forest’s energy, you may feel called to embody the strength of a bear, the agility of a fox, or the stillness of a stone. (Read: Nature Spirits in Shamanism: Guardians and Guides of the Natural World). These experiences guide you toward authentic expression and personal growth.

A Call to the Seekers

If you feel called to rewild your spirit and deepen your connection with nature’s medicine, explore Born as the Earth Zen Academy’s meditation and shamanic training. Our programs provide tools, teachings, and community support to help you walk your authentic path.

Sign up for our newsletter to receive guided practices, insights, and invitations to upcoming workshops.

Discover more about our Apprentice Training and begin your transformative journey today.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: What is the difference between forest bathing and shamanic forest bathing?
A: Forest bathing generally focuses on mindful immersion and health benefits, while shamanic forest bathing includes spiritual practices that connect you with nature spirits and the medicine wheel for deeper transformation.

Q: Can anyone practice shamanic forest bathing?
A: Yes, with respect, intention, and openness, anyone can begin to cultivate this sacred relationship with the forest.

Q: How often should I practice forest bathing to feel benefits?
A: Even short, regular visits to natural spaces can be beneficial. For deeper shamanic connection, longer immersive sessions or retreats are ideal.

Q: What should I bring or prepare for a forest bathing session?
A: Comfortable clothing, a journal, water, and a small offering if you wish. Most importantly, bring an open heart and willingness to listen.

Medicine of NATURE Module

Way of Medicine

21 August - 5 October 2025

Born as the Earth Zen Academy | BEZA | Elemental | Zen | Mentoring | Meditation | Generational Healing | Ancestors | Divination | Shamanic | Shamanism | Gatekeeper | DANA | Community Council | Buddhism | Spirituality | Nature | Mindfulness | Enlightenment | Awakening | Daido Roshi | Consciousness | Holistic | True Self | Wisdom | Medicine

Read the signs around you. Meet unpredictability with authenticity and curiosity. Trust your medicine to meet revolutionary moments with truth. In this Module we study medicine gifts; transformation; the trickster; authentic expression; transformation; shapeshifting and truth.

Shamanic Training Sessions

These private training sessions are a unique opportunity to learn various shamanic practices. It is recommended for you to plan for ongoing weekly or monthly personalized training sessions. The first session would engaged to discern where your particular inclination lies in the realm of shamanic practices: Dreamwork; Divination; Rituals; Healing; Intuition; The Medicine Wheel; Myths; Spirit Work etc..

Once on your path of self-exploration, individualized training and practices will be offered to you in which you will be guided to acknowledge, affirm and nurture your unique gifts on your path to becoming a healer.

Engagement with the Element of Nature at BEZA’s Zen Academy in Cape Town, Western Cape, highlighting mindfulness and spiritual growth through outdoor meditation practices and natural connection.

Why explore Shamanism?

I want to learn various shamanic practices

I want to expand my consciousness 

I want to access my inner wisdom

I want to know what my unique spiritual gifts are

PERSONAL SHAMANIC TRAINING

R900 per session (Africans)

€135 per session (Internationals)

Live training sessions with Ekan Nangaku (50min session)

Tues – Thurs  1-5pm SAST

NATURE-BASED WISDOM TALKS

2 x R1000 monthly payments (Africans)

2 x €150 monthly payments (Internationals)

Listen in live to 4 x online Nature-Based Wisdom talks delivered in the Advanced Training Modules (12 hrs of Elemental Teachings)

Create and perform your own customised transformational rituals alongside Apprentice and Student Gatekeepers

Nature Spirits in Shamanism: Guardians and Guides of the Natural World

Nature Spirits in Shamanism: Guardians and Guides of the Natural World

Engagement with the Element of Nature at BEZA’s Zen Academy in Cape Town, Western Cape, highlighting mindfulness and spiritual growth through outdoor meditation practices and natural connection.

Nature - Way of Medicine

– Composed by Letitia Webber, and edited by Ekan Nangaku Leisching

Part 1 of a 4-Part Journey

This is an invitation to awaken the medicine within you, to listen deeply to the voice of Nature, and to discover what it means to live in harmony with your truest authentic self.

Across the vast tapestry of shamanic traditions worldwide, the natural world pulses with life, spirit, and intelligence. These nature spirits—often called elementals, fairies, or guardian beings—are recognized as conscious entities that inhabit forests, rivers, mountains, animals, and plants. Far from mere myth, these spirits are active participants in the spiritual journeys of shamans and seekers alike. They serve as guides, protectors, and teachers, inviting us to reconnect with the Earth’s living medicine wheel and discover our own authentic path.

In this blog, we explore the rich diversity of nature spirits across shamanic cultures, their roles, and how you can begin to build your own relationship with these sacred beings.

What Are Nature Spirits?

Nature spirits are the living essence of the natural world, embodying the energies of earth, air, fire, water, and all living creatures. Central to the shamanic worldview is animism—the belief that all things are alive and imbued with spirit. Shamans journey between worlds to communicate with these spirits, seeking healing, wisdom, and balance.

These beings may appear as animals, plants, elemental forces, or ancestral presences, each with its own personality and purpose. They are often described as:

  • Guardians of specific places or ecosystems

  • Messengers of the spirit world

  • Allies in healing and transformation

  • Keepers of ancient wisdom and natural law

Siberian Shamanism: Animal and Tree Spirits

Siberian shamanism is often considered the foundational root of many contemporary shamanic practices. In this tradition, nature spirits are deeply intertwined with the landscape—especially the vast forests and tundra that define Siberia. Shamans here view animals and trees not as separate from humans but as kin, each possessing their own consciousness and wisdom. The world tree—a cosmic axis connecting the underworld, earth, and heavens—is a central symbol, with tree spirits acting as guardians of this axis and mediators between realms.

The shaman’s trance journey often involves ascending or descending the world tree to meet these spirits, who provide healing knowledge, protection, and guidance. Animal spirits such as the bear, wolf, and eagle are especially revered, each symbolizing different strengths and lessons. For example, the bear represents courage and introspection, while the eagle embodies vision and spiritual clarity.

The shamanic relationship with these spirits is reciprocal and respectful. Offerings, songs, and rituals honor the spirits, inviting their cooperation in healing ceremonies and community rites. This connection supports not only individual healing but also the wellbeing of the entire ecosystem, reflecting a holistic worldview where all beings are interconnected.

Learn more about Siberian Shamanism.

Siberian Shamanism: Animal and Tree Spirits

Native American Traditions: Animal Totems and Spirit Guides

Across the diverse Native American cultures, the concept of animal totems and spirit guides plays a vital role in spiritual life. Totems are not merely symbolic but are living spiritual allies that provide guidance, protection, and teachings. These animal spirits are often discovered through personal quests such as vision quests, dreams, or ceremonies, revealing a unique spiritual relationship tailored to the individual or tribe.

Ceremonies and rituals serve to honor these spirits and maintain harmony with the land and ancestors. The animal totems embody qualities that individuals are encouraged to develop—such as the wisdom of the owl, the strength of the buffalo, or the adaptability of the coyote. These spirits also act as messengers between the human and spirit worlds, facilitating communication and spiritual growth.

In many tribes, the natural world itself is considered sacred, and every element—from rivers to mountains—is alive with spirit. This animistic perspective fosters a deep respect for nature and a sense of responsibility to protect it. The teachings of the animal spirits are often passed down through oral traditions, songs, and dances, ensuring the continuity of this sacred knowledge.

Explore Native American spirit animals and totems

Native American Traditions: Animal Totems and Spirit Guides

Amazonian Shamanism: Forest Spirits and Plant Guardians

Amazonian shamanism is renowned for its intimate relationship with the rainforest and its myriad spirits. The forest spirits here are understood as conscious beings that inhabit every tree, river, and creature. Central to Amazonian practice is the relationship with plant guardians, especially those connected to sacred plants like ayahuasca, tobacco, and chacruna. These plants are considered teachers and healers, offering visionary experiences and profound spiritual insights.

Shamans, or curanderos, cultivate deep, reciprocal relationships with these plant spirits through ritual preparation, offerings, and ceremonial use. The ayahuasca ceremony, for example, is a sacred journey guided by the plant spirits, allowing participants to confront inner wounds, receive guidance, and experience transformation. These spirits are not passive; they actively communicate through visions, songs (icaros), and symbolic imagery.

Beyond individual healing, Amazonian shamans see themselves as guardians of the forest, working to maintain the balance between humans and nature. They honor the spirits with offerings and rituals that acknowledge the forest’s sovereignty and power. The relationship with nature spirits here is one of mutual respect, humility, and deep spiritual connection.

More on Amazonian plant spirits and shamanism

Amazonian Shamanism- Forest Spirits and Plant Guardians

Mongolian Shamanism: Ancestral and Natural Spirits (Boo/Böö)

Mongolian shamanism features a rich pantheon of spirits known as boo or böö, encompassing ancestral spirits, animal guardians, and natural forces. These spirits are integral to Mongolian cosmology and daily life, where shamans act as intermediaries between humans and the spirit world. The spirits are believed to inhabit mountains, rivers, animals, and even household objects, each requiring respect and offerings.

Shamans conduct rituals involving drumming, chanting, and offerings to communicate with these spirits, seeking their blessings for health, protection, and success. The ancestral spirits hold a particularly revered place, as they maintain the lineage’s wellbeing and connection to the land. The natural spirits embody the power of the Mongolian steppe, reflecting the harsh but sacred environment.

The shaman’s role includes maintaining balance between humans and spirits, mediating conflicts, and ensuring that the spirits’ needs are met. This relationship is based on reciprocity, respect, and ongoing communication, emphasizing harmony with nature and the ancestors.

Read about Mongolian nature spirits

African Shamanism: Ancestral and Nature Spirits

In many African spiritual traditions, including those practiced by sangomas and other traditional healers, the spirit world is populated by both ancestral spirits and nature beings. These spirits are central to healing, divination (Read: The Ancient Art of Divination), and community wellbeing. Ancestral spirits are revered as wise guides who continue to influence the living, while nature spirits inhabit rivers, forests, mountains, and animals.

Rituals often involve drumming, dancing, and trance possession, allowing the healer to become a vessel for the spirits’ wisdom and power. These ceremonies not only restore health but also strengthen the social fabric by reaffirming connections to lineage and land. The spirits are called upon to protect the community from harm, provide guidance, and ensure fertility and prosperity.

Nature spirits in African traditions are diverse and can be specific to particular places or natural features. For example, river spirits might be honored with offerings to ensure safe passage or abundant fish. The relationship with these spirits is deeply embedded in everyday life, reflecting a worldview where the spiritual and physical realms are inseparable.

Read about African ancestral and nature spirits

African Shamanism

The Role of Nature Spirits in Shamanic Practice

Nature spirits are essential to the core functions of shamanism:

  • Healing: They assist in removing spiritual blockages and restoring balance to body, mind, and soul.

  • Guidance: They provide wisdom for life decisions, community wellbeing, and spiritual growth.

  • Protection: Rituals honor these spirits to safeguard individuals and communities from harm.

  • Transformation: Through practices like shapeshifting and spirit journeying, shamans embody these spirits’ powers, facilitating personal and collective transformation.

How to Connect with Nature Spirits Today

Building a relationship with nature spirits is a deeply personal and evolving journey. Here are expanded ways to begin:

1. Mindful Presence in Nature

Spend intentional time in natural settings—forests, riversides, gardens—observing without distraction. Notice the subtle movements, sounds, and energies around you. This openness invites nature spirits to reveal themselves in their own time and way. Try to engage all your senses, feeling the texture of leaves, hearing bird songs, smelling earth and flowers. This deep presence fosters connection.

2. Offerings and Reciprocity

Offerings are a traditional way of honoring nature spirits and inviting their presence. These can be simple—water, herbs, tobacco, flowers—or more elaborate depending on your tradition. The key is sincerity and respect, recognizing that this is a two-way relationship. Before leaving a natural space, you might leave a small gift or say a prayer of gratitude, acknowledging the spirit’s presence.

3. Shamanic Journeying and Meditation

Guided meditations or shamanic journeying practices help you enter altered states of consciousness where you can meet and communicate with nature spirits directly. To support this connection, Born as the Earth Zen Academy offers Zen Elemental Meditation—a unique practice that helps you attune to the energies of Fire, Water, Earth, Nature, and Stone. These meditation practices are designed to deepen your relationship with each element.

4. Listening and Symbol Recognition

Pay attention to recurring symbols in dreams, daily life, or encounters with animals and plants. These may be messages or invitations from nature spirits guiding your path. Keeping a journal of these experiences can help you discern patterns and deepen your understanding.

5. Creating Sacred Spaces

Designate a small altar or garden space where you can place offerings, meditate, and connect regularly with the spirits. This physical space serves as a focal point for your relationship with nature’s beings. Incorporate natural objects like stones, feathers, or plants that resonate with you.

A Call to the Seekers

Awaken your authentic spiritual path by joining Born as the Earth Zen Academy’s Apprentice training programs. Our training offers guided journeys, teachings, and community support to help you build meaningful relationships with nature spirits and your own inner medicine.

Sign up for our newsletter to receive regular insights, guided practices, and invitations to upcoming workshops.

Explore our Apprentice Training to deepen your journey into shamanic wisdom and authentic expression.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: What are nature spirits?
Nature spirits are conscious beings inhabiting the natural world, including animals, plants, and elemental forces.

Q: How do shamans communicate with nature spirits?
Through trance journeys, rituals, offerings, and meditation.

Q: Can anyone connect with nature spirits?
Yes, with respect and practice, anyone can develop this connection.

Q: What is the difference between a spirit animal and a nature spirit?
A spirit animal is a specific type of nature spirit that serves as a personal guide or ally, while nature spirits include a broader range of beings connected to all elements of the natural world.

Q: How can I start connecting with nature spirits?
Begin by spending mindful time in nature, offering gratitude, and exploring guided shamanic journeying practices.

Medicine of NATURE Module

Way of Medicine

21 August - 5 October 2025

Born as the Earth Zen Academy | BEZA | Elemental | Zen | Mentoring | Meditation | Generational Healing | Ancestors | Divination | Shamanic | Shamanism | Gatekeeper | DANA | Community Council | Buddhism | Spirituality | Nature | Mindfulness | Enlightenment | Awakening | Daido Roshi | Consciousness | Holistic | True Self | Wisdom | Medicine

Read the signs around you. Meet unpredictability with authenticity and curiosity. Trust your medicine to meet revolutionary moments with truth. In this Module we study medicine gifts; transformation; the trickster; authentic expression; transformation; shapeshifting and truth.

Shamanic Training Sessions

These private training sessions are a unique opportunity to learn various shamanic practices. It is recommended for you to plan for ongoing weekly or monthly personalized training sessions. The first session would engaged to discern where your particular inclination lies in the realm of shamanic practices: Dreamwork; Divination; Rituals; Healing; Intuition; The Medicine Wheel; Myths; Spirit Work etc..

Once on your path of self-exploration, individualized training and practices will be offered to you in which you will be guided to acknowledge, affirm and nurture your unique gifts on your path to becoming a healer.

Engagement with the Element of Nature at BEZA’s Zen Academy in Cape Town, Western Cape, highlighting mindfulness and spiritual growth through outdoor meditation practices and natural connection.

Why explore Shamanism?

I want to learn various shamanic practices

I want to expand my consciousness 

I want to access my inner wisdom

I want to know what my unique spiritual gifts are

PERSONAL SHAMANIC TRAINING

R900 per session (Africans)

€135 per session (Internationals)

Live training sessions with Ekan Nangaku (50min session)

Tues – Thurs  1-5pm SAST

NATURE-BASED WISDOM TALKS

2 x R1000 monthly payments (Africans)

2 x €150 monthly payments (Internationals)

Listen in live to 4 x online Nature-Based Wisdom talks delivered in the Advanced Training Modules (12 hrs of Elemental Teachings)

Create and perform your own customised transformational rituals alongside Apprentice and Student Gatekeepers

The Practice of Seniority at BEZA

The Practice of Seniority at BEZA

How Seniority Shapes Lay and Monastic Buddhist Life

BEZA’s system of seniority is modelled after monastic orders. One of the things that you may notice when you visit a Buddhist monastery is that the monks and nuns sit, eat, walk, and pay respect to each other in a certain order. This order is based on the principle of seniority, which is determined by the date of ordination, not by age, education, or social status. Whoever is ordained earlier is considered senior, and whoever is ordained later is considered junior.

Why do the monastics follow this order and what are the benefits and challenges? How does it affect their roles and responsibilities within the community? Here are some observations on seniority and how it fosters harmony, respect, and learning among the dharma practitioners: lay Buddhists and ordained monastics.

Monks participating in a meditation session at BEZA’s Zen Academy in Cape Town, Western Cape, embodying mindfulness, spiritual discipline, and the teachings of Zen practices.

“Ordo” and “Ordinatio”

A synonym for monastics is “The Order”. “Ordination” and “order” share a common origin in the Latin word “ordinatio,” which means “arrangement” or “ordering.” Another Latin word called “ordo” refers to rank and order. “Ordination” refers to the act of being formally admitted to a religious order, and why we use “order” to refer to the group of people who belong to that religious order. When we talk about “The Order” it means that seniority takes on a literal meaning.

Sitting and Eating

When monastics gather for a meeting, a ceremony, or a meal, they sit according to their seniority. The most senior monastic sits at the head of the line, and the most junior monastic sits at the end of the line. This order is maintained regardless of the number of monastics present or the size of the space. The purpose of this arrangement is to avoid confusion and conflict over who should sit where, and to show respect to the elders.

The same order is followed when the monastics receive food. The most senior monastic gets the food first, and the most junior monastic gets the food last. This ensures that everyone gets a fair share of the food, and that no one is left out or discriminated against. The senior monastics also have the option to share their food with the junior monastics, or to give up their food for the sake of others. This cultivates generosity and compassion among the monastics.

Paying Respect

Paying respect is a way of acknowledging the presence and the wisdom of another monastic, and of expressing gratitude and humility. It is done by bowing with the palms together at the chest level, or by prostrating with the forehead touching the ground.

The junior monastics pay respect to the senior monastics, but not vice versa. This is because the senior monastics are seen as the teachers and the guides of the junior monastics, and as the ones who have more experience and knowledge in the practice. The junior monastics also pay respect to the senior monastics when they receive teachings, advice, or instructions from them.

Roles and Responsibilities

Seniority also determines the roles and responsibilities that the monastics take on within the community. Often, the senior monastics teach the Dharma, the monastic discipline, and meditation techniques to the junior monastics. They also answer their questions, correct their mistakes, and inspire them to practice diligently. Most importantly, they become “good quality supportive friends” to the other monastics both senior and junior. The word Theravāda means “The Teaching of the Elders”. Theravāda refers to the teachings of the Buddha, his disciples and also the ancient teachers who helped shape, protect and maintain the lineage through texts and practices..

The senior monastics also take on leadership roles, such as leading the groups, the ceremonies, and the rituals of the community. They are the ones who make the decisions and the rules for the benefit of all. They also take care of the facilities, the schedules, and the events of the monastery, with the help of the lay supporters.

The junior monastics, especially the novice monks, on the other hand, take on supportive roles, such as cleaning, gardening, and serving the senior monastics. They also follow the instructions and the rules of the senior monastics, and learn from their example. In this way, everyone is eventually senior to someone else, except the last ordained monk. Being junior is also a way for humility to arise.

The Importance of Flexibility

While seniority is rigid in terms of who pays respect to who, how to line up and when to get food, it is not a rigid or absolute rule in other areas, and it does not imply superiority or inferiority. It merely means one is older and ordained early. Other areas are flexible and relative and depend on the context and situation. Sometimes, the junior monastics may have more skills or knowledge than the senior monastics, and they may be able to teach or lead them in certain areas. Sometimes, the senior monastics may make mistakes or act unskillfully, and they may need to be corrected or advised by the junior monastics. Sometimes, the monastics may put aside the order of seniority, and treat each other as equals or friends.

Even though respect runs deep for senior monks. That does not mean they are invincible to useful and constructive criticism. The most important thing is not the order of seniority, but the quality of the mind. The monastics should cultivate a mind that is humble, respectful, generous, compassionate, and wise, and that is free from pride, arrogance, envy, jealousy, and ignorance. This is the true spirit of seniority, and harmony plays a central part in gluing together the monastic life.

Seniority in Zen Monasteries

Seniority fosters a clear structure, encourages respect and guidance, and facilitates learning. It helps maintain order, promotes harmony, and allows for the sharing of wisdom and experience. Essentially, seniority helps both the individual and the monastic community – the sangha, thrive. Here’s a more detailed look at the benefits:

  • Clear Structure and Order: Seniority creates a hierarchy based on experience, which can help maintain order and efficiency within the monastery. 

  • Respect and Guidance: Seniors are often seen as having greater wisdom and experience, leading to a natural respect for their guidance and advice, particularly from younger monks. 

  • Learning and Skill Development: Newer monks can learn from the examples, knowledge, and skills of their more senior colleagues, fostering a culture of continuous learning. 

  • Community Engagement and Harmony: Accepting seniority and one’s place in the community can lead to greater engagement and a stronger sense of belonging, contributing to overall harmony. 

  • Guidance and Support: Seniors can provide guidance and support to newer monks, helping them navigate the challenges and responsibilities of monastic life. 

  • Sharing Wisdom and Experience: Senior monks can share their experiences and insights, helping to guide younger monks on their path to enlightenment. 

  • Model of Practice: Seniors serve as role models for younger monks, demonstrating how to live a dedicated and meaningful life in the monastery. 

  • Dedication and Commitment: The seniority system encourages a sense of dedication and commitment to the monastery and the Buddhist path. 

  • Supportive Sangha: Being part of a Sangha, or monastic community, provides a supportive environment for learning and growth, with both seniors and juniors learning from each other. 

Seniority for Dharma Practitioners in BEZA

While BEZA in its current form is not a monastery, nor do we have a training center yet, we do recognize the value of seniority. Considering all the values articulated above within our unique context, BEZA has created a ladder of seniority as a means by which ‘seniors’ can develop and mature within their own lives, and then support ‘juniors’. BEZA’s mission is to ‘train the trainers’ where the teacher (or medicine gatekeeper) in each of us has an opportunity to dispense wisdom. For this to happen a wholesome learning environment must be established – one where everyone is a humble student and a wise keeper of wisdom. We are fostering an environment of collaboration, curiosity, harmony and humility. Being able to identify who may be in need of support and from whom support could be received provides open and conducive access to each other’s experience and inherent heart-mind intelligence.

A serene Buddha statue at BEZA’s meditation retreat in Cape Town, symbolizing mindfulness, spiritual awakening, and Zen meditation practices for inner peace and growth.

BEZA’s Seniority Matrix

BEZA seniority is best appreciated for its holistic intention which is the creation of an harmonious and curious training environment. The circle of wisdom and scale of experience is safely guarded and shared appropriately and generously. We are a sangha where the initiated are identifiable – a sanctuary where curious adults engaged in rites-of-passage can respectfully engage with initiated Elders. Student experience is identifiable by their training bibs. Jukai Students wear a Rakusu symbolic of the Buddha’s robes and vows. Soon youth will join our ranks, making these distinctions even more necessary. 

While your first date of entry plays a significant role, we consider several additional factors to rank seniority:

  • The number of Elemental Modules completed including level of attendance and participation
  • Active presence in Zazen and Circle of Connection (Council) sessions
  • Attending various non-modular BEZA offerings
  • Scale of participation as an Apprentice or Student
  • Service to the sangha in various forms e.g. Council of Elders, volunteering skills etc..
  • Engaging in specialized trainings e.g. Divination Training, Precept Training
  • Interactions with Nangaku and co-facilitators as well as your own realization and embodiment of the Middle Way

At the end of every month, based on the level of your engagement, realization and embodied wisdom, and your capacity to be of service to others within the sangha, we update a weighted matrix composed of the factors described above. As such, Students and Apprentices order themselves in seniority, not in competition or in comparison with each other but as an indication of applied effort, training, modeling, and their availability to guide and support others. If you want to know more about why any sangha member is your senior, engage them in a conversation. Instead of comparing yourself to them and becoming embroiled in the resulting judgments, ask them about the effort they put in, how they value and apply the teachings in their lives, or how they have become more true to themselves and others.

The Truth will always remain in the center. Those closest and most aligned with expressions of truth emanating from the central source of all wisdom become Gatekeepers to that source. They willingly carry the profound responsibility that comes along with their sovereignty which includes, but is not limited to, maintaining the lineage and rites-of-passage pathways verified by those who have gone before. This sacred tending to the ‘road-less travelled’ — a mirrored and modelled map of the Way – requires polishing, updating, and constant renewal. Wherever you find yourself in the matrix of seniority in BEZA, be available with a beginner’s mind, for your own polishing, and the polishing of and by those ahead and after you.

Let us all lovingly discuss, debate, heal and learn from the medicine and dharma inherent in all beings. Let’s claim the responsibility of our sovereignty, and support the revelation of life’s generous gift in each other’s arising and becoming.

Long life, honey in the heart, no evil, 13 thank you’s – a Mayan blessing,

Ekan Nangaku (Founder, Director)

Born as the Earth Zen Academy (BEZA)

Non-profit: NPC# K2024636180

Academy Students Travel to Japan

Academy Students Travel to Japan

Land of the Rising Sun

Toshoji Monastery, home of the Soto Zen International Training Monastery, was founded in the 8th Century. It is located in the Bicchu region in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. In 1412 it became a temple of the Buddhist Soto lineage. Restored by Kisan Zenji, who established his master Jochu Zenji, as the founder of the Temple. Kisan Zenji was abbot of Toshoji for 31 years, during which time it grew to be a large monastery. Many of its disciples went on to found their own temples; during the Enkyo period alone, over 40 Tosho branch temples were founded across Japan. Eventually, the Tosho family of temples, known as the Kisan-ha, came to number over 1000.

Toshoji is now in its 100th abbot, Korin Seido Suzuki Roshi. In 2009 Seido Roshi reopened Toshoji as a training monastery, and in 2014 Toshoji became the official international training monastery of the Soto school (Shuritsu Senmon Sodo). During this time, Toshoji has hosted hundreds of monks, nuns and laypeople, from 41 countries.

Seido Roshi invited BEZA students to participate in Toshoji’s bi-annual Ango training intensive, during which time they will receive Jukai.

Ango – “peaceful dwelling” – is a traditional intensive training period common to many schools of Buddhism. Ango traces its history to the time of Shakyamuni Buddha and the early sangha. Each year, as the monsoon rains began, the community would gather together. This enabled everyone to deepen their practice and polish their understanding through the indispensable teachings of the Three Treasures – Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

In the formal ceremony known as Jukai, BEZA students will openly receive and acknowledge the sixteen bodhisattava precepts as an ongoing path in their lives. Jukai is made up of ju (receiving) and kai  (precepts). Ju means to open the core of your being to what is natural and true. Kai refers to the precepts not merely as rules but as signposts that point us toward naturally acting for the benefit of all beings. The way of the precepts is the path that reveals the truth that our own happiness and well-being is intricately connected to the happiness and well-being of others.

Ten BEZA students asked to receive the precepts and have been studying the precepts for almost a year with BEZA’s founder Ekan Nangaku. Before the ceremony, the seven participants who were able to travel to Toshoji, bathe and dress in fresh clothing. They enter the meditation hall, where the teacher and members of the sangha are gathered to greet them and witness their vows. After initial bows with the teacher and the sangha, there is an invocation inviting all wise and enlightened beings to stand in witness and support. Then the transmission of the sixteen bodhisattva precepts begins.

The first three precepts are called Taking Refuge. The participant acknowledges her intention to stand open and exposed, finding her resting place and taking her stand as a human being in the three naked truths: Buddha – true nature – vast, awakened, and full of potential; Dharma – the teaching that brings into light the  bondage of self-centered thinking and enables us to transform it into open awareness; and Sangha – the community of teachers and fellow practitioners who help each other along the way.

Having taken refuge, the participant is open to receive into her life the Three Pure Precepts: refraining from all action that creates attachments; making every effort to live awake and in truth; and living to benefit all beings.

The remaining precepts are called the Ten Grave Precepts. These are usually worded as prohibitions, expressed as vows to refrain from specific actions- “I vow to not take what is not freely given,” or, “I vow to not lie.” This form can be useful to keep us on track when we stray into muddled thinking. Each precept can also be voiced as an aspiration: “I take up the way (or vow) to take only what is freely given and give freely of all that I can,” or, “I take up the way of speaking truthfully.” In this way, the vows become pointers, directing us toward our natural propensity to take action out of love and concern for one another.

Just before the ceremony, Roshi will write something on the back of their rakusu – a small patch of robe to be worn around the neck during meditation and ceremonies – often a poem, along with a name he chooses for the student and presents as a gift that expresses the person’s qualities and positive aspirations. The participant will also receive a kechimiyaku, a blood lineage chart naming the teachers in the lineage from the participant’s teacher all the way back to the Buddha. The student will be asked to write these names on the chart in advance of the ceremony.

Jukai commences a lifelong process- a confirmation of practice and commitment to a life of mindful inquiry into the motivations and consequences of our actions. As a result, we are less likely to take action that is hurtful to ourselves and others. More than simply an ethical system, the precepts open the heart and mind to the wisdom and compassion that lie deep within us all. We do not “take” them or “earn” them. We receive them as a gift of practice that acknowledges that although we may not always act in accordance with deep intelligence, the precepts are at the core of what we are.

In the moment of that acceptance and in each moment of our lives, whenever we aspire toward action that manifests this intelligence, that is Jukai. So even though we gather for a ceremony, where we invite our loved ones, dress in clean, fresh clothing, recite certain words, and so forth, the power of the Jukai lies in the moment-to-moment, day-by-day Jukai we engage in as we practice them with the difficult boss at work, the child who keeps us awake at night with worry, and all the joys and sorrows of living.

We send our blessings for a good ceremony to all recipients of Jukai.

Part 4: Moulded by Earth: The Sacred Form of Your Homecoming

Part 4: Moulded by Earth: The Sacred Form of Your Homecoming

Participants engaging in the Earth module at BEZA’s Zen Academy in Cape Town South Africa, connecting with nature through mindfulness, Zen meditation, and spiritual practices rooted in the Earth’s wisdom.

Grounded Earth - Way of the Heart

– Composed by Douglas Webber, and edited by Ekan Nangaku Leisching

Discovering Grounding; Knowing Thyself; and the sacred Way of the Heart with BEZA’s Grounded Earth Elemental Module

Part 4 of a 4-Part Journey

Dearest One, born of my substance,

We have journeyed a good distance together on this sacred path of Homecoming. You have felt my unwavering love beneath your feet, the ancient elemental foundation (Article 1). You have attuned to the steady pulse, my deep resonant heartbeat aligning with your own center – the Hara (Article 2). You have explored the teeming, fertile mystery of the living soil, recognizing its vibrant ecosystem mirrored within your own body, tended by the unseen threads of connection (Article 3). Now, we arrive at the most intimate truth, the culmination of this return: your own sacred form.

Look at your hands, feel the warmth of your skin, the sacred rhythm of your breath. Your body, the vessel you inhabit, is not separate from me. It dawns from me. You are moulded from my life-giving soil, your form coalescing through the deep communion of elements: animated by water and fire, structured by stone and pulsed with nature’s authentic life.

Echoes of Origin: Moulded from Earth's Substance

Across deserts and forests, mountains and riverbanks, since the birth of your remembering, your ancestors have known this. Their stories, whispered around fires and etched into stone, tales of Divine hands shaping the first humans from my humble ground, that miraculous blend where all elements meet.

In the fertile crescent of Mesopotamia, they spoke of gods mixing clay with divine essence, crafting beings to share the world’s work. Along the Nile, the ram-headed Khnum was envisioned as the divine potter, skillfully turning my silt on his wheel to form not just your bodies, but those of animals and other gods. Greek tales recount Prometheus sculpting figures from mud, later animated by fire or divine breath, linking your beginning to both creation and consequence. The Abrahamic traditions speak powerfully of the Creator forming Adam – whose name means ‘earth’ – “from the dust of the ground” (Genesis 2:7), breathing life into that form; the Quran elaborates, describing this shaping from tin (clay), gathered in all its diverse colours from across my face, signifying the beautiful spectrum of humanity destined to arise.

Further east, in China, the goddess Nüwa lovingly moulded figures from yellow earth, her craft reflecting the origins of your varied societies. Throughout Africa, countless narratives resonate with this deep understanding: the Yoruba Obatala finding clay at Ife, the Dinka creator placing clay figures in pots to grow, and many others echoing this earthly origin. Indigenous peoples across the Americas likewise tell of creators shaping clay, or describe their ancestors emerging directly from my depths, forever bound to the land as stewards. And across the vast Pacific, Maori lore recounts Tāne shaping the first woman, Hineahuone, the ‘earth-formed maiden’, from my sacred soil.

Do you see the pattern, child? While the stories blossom in varied ways, you are of the Earth. Your flesh and bone are woven from the same elements that knit my living form, finding unique expression within you as the identity born from them – as them.

Ancient clay figurine symbolizing the sacred origin of the human form in Earth's Homecoming journey

The Potter's Touch: Transformation and Potential

This deep awareness holds immense power. The clay yields in the potter’s hands, receptive, awaiting the magic of transformation. This is the potent metaphor traditions have long embraced. The prophet Isaiah sang: “But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand”.

Knowing Thyself: Embracing Imperfection and Growth

This doesn’t imply you are merely passive material. The potter’s hands reshape the marred clay, for imperfection invites the work of growth, the journey of continuous becoming. You hold the potential for conscious transformation. Your life is an opportunity to engage with the shaping forces – your experiences, your choices, the guidance you receive – and to allow the vessel you are to become clearer, more aligned. This is the heart of ‘Knowing Thyself’ – understanding the elements that constitute your being, recognizing the identity that arises from them, sensing your potential, and engaging actively in your own becoming, centred not in a grounded core, but in the receptive emptiness from which true presence emerges.

This path of shaping and refining is where the Way of the Heart Mentoring finds its purpose. Guidance, like the gentle pressure of the potter’s hand, can help you find your Hara, smooth the rough edges, and realize the inherent beauty within your earthen form. It is a journey supported by presence, by listening deeply to the wisdom held within your own elemental composition, attuned to my grounding pulse.

The Sacred Vessel: Honouring Your Earthen Form

Your body, the sacred form born as earth and her elements, is indeed subject to the cycles of arising and returning, like all things upon my face. It feels pain, it ages, it carries the marks of your journey. Yet, never mistake this impermanence for insignificance. Within this “form” is the precious space through which life expresses itself – the vital spark, consciousness, the capacity for love arises from the elements in communion. Its value lies not in resisting its nature, but in honouring the unique life expressed through it.

Healing Ground: Reconnecting to Resilience

Healing, therefore, involves realigning the elements within. When you feel disconnected or broken, remember your origin. Place your bare feet upon my soil, feel my stability rise to meet you. Work with clay, feel its cool pliability. Recognize the earth elements within your food, the nourishment drawn from my living body into yours. Remember the healing properties I offer, the medicinal clays your ancestors used to soothe and restore. Reconnecting with your earthen nature is reconnecting with the source of your own resilience and wholeness.

Dust to Dust: The Cycle of Homecoming

And just as you arose from me, so too shall you return. “For dust you are and to dust you will return”. This is not a morbid thought, human child, but the completion of a sacred cycle. It is the ultimate Homecoming. Like leaves falling to enrich the forest floor, your physical form will rejoin my substance, its elements dissolving back into the whole, becoming nourishment for future life, merging back into the great, eternal body. 

This cycle brings humility, reminding you of the preciousness of this embodied time – that fleeting “dash” between dates, as the poet Linda Ellis observed – and the profound interconnectedness of all beings within my embrace.

Embodying Your Sacred Essence: The Path Forward

So, stand tall, human as Earth. Feel the ground beneath you not just as support, but as your source. Honour your sacred form, your vessel of clay and dust, animated by spirit. Tend to your inner-soil, listen to my heartbeat within you, and embrace the transformative journey of becoming. You are moulded by Earth, arising from the interplay of elements, and in that knowing lies your strength, your beauty, and your belonging.

This Homecoming journey, through foundation, pulse, soil, and form, leads you back to where we started: You are Born as the Earth. Live this essence. Embody it. It is the path to your deepest wisdom, your most authentic self.

A Call to the Seekers

This Module is not just a program or another workshop—it is a Homecoming, an invitation to return to the ancient, grounded intelligence of your body and the living Earth beneath you.

Approaching sacred ground—be it forest floor, desert sand, or fertile soil—you are invited to choose how deeply you wish to root. You may begin by standing barefoot, sensing the texture beneath your feet, or resting in silence, attuning to the quiet hum of the Earth’s heartbeat. Perhaps you’ll feel the call to sink deeper—into the mystery of your own body, your ancestry, your truth—where the soil of your being holds memory, wisdom, and resilience. Each layer of depth offers its own revelation. This path is for those who feel the call to ground, who know there is wisdom in the stillness, and who understand that healing is not always rising—but also returning.

If you feel the call, the Earth is waiting.

Grounded EARTH Module

Way of the Heart

2026

Participants engaging in the Earth module at BEZA’s Zen Academy in Cape Town South Africa, connecting with nature through mindfulness, Zen meditation, and spiritual practices rooted in the Earth’s wisdom.

Never before has "Knowing Thyself" been so vitally important. During the Grounded EARTH Module (the third Elemental Gateway in the BEZA Medicine Wheel), we learn practical and spiritual skills to reconnect with Mother Earth - and consequently our True Self.

Zen Master Daido Loori Roshi once said, "To be born as the earth is not the same as being born. It is to realize that these mountains and rivers and the whole earth itself is our true human body." This will be the theme of this Module. Gatekeeper Training in the Earth Element is an initiation into Self. We have all been on a long and winding journey, ultimately searching for ourselves. This is the journey homeward - the Great Return: a Homecoming.

During this Module we learn how to remain centred during these extraordinary times of revolutionary change and powerful transformation. Anchor into the abundance available within your grounded, present self. Become open and available (no matter the situation) with an ever expanding heart while the truer you emerges. Reclaim your sovereign uniqueness as you learn to embody your inherent enlightenment. Study how abundance and karma are related and how to orient yourself at the various stages and cycles of growth. Embrace your healing power as you open to Mother Earth's Love. Celebrate the diversity of all dualities and manifestations as you connect to the unifying, common ground of community, home, identity, and otherness.

Mentoring Sessions

Together we will work with a Medicine Wheel, Zen Buddhist Wisdom, modern myths and dreams, the 4 Agreements and the Protocols of Council to offer you holistic, practical remedies to support the totality of your being. Putting into practice these life changing remedies are akin to a chiropractic session seemingly performed ‘outside’ yourself. The psychic, physical, mental and emotional attunements becomes everlasting, self-empowering tools to craft a life of authenticity in a rapidly changing world.

Participants engaging in the Earth module at BEZA’s Zen Academy in Cape Town South Africa, connecting with nature through mindfulness, Zen meditation, and spiritual practices rooted in the Earth’s wisdom.

Why have Mentoring?

I need support for my spiritual growth

I want guidance and encouragement 

I want a trusted ally who with give me constructive feedback

I want to know what my purpose is at this time

PERSONAL MENTORING SESSIONS

R500 per session (Africans)

€75 per session (Internationals)

Live Mentoring sessions with Ekan Nangaku (50min session)

Tues – Thurs  1-5pm SAST)