The Whole Earth is Medicine
A Daylong Retreat in LA
Saturday October 25, 2025
10am-4pm
Los Angeles, CA
Santa Monica Bay Woman’s Club
In-person
Note from Henry
‘The Whole Earth is Medicine’ — this great teaching comes from Yunmen, a Zen master who lived in China from 864 to 949. The full koan runs: “Medicine and sickness heal one another. The whole earth is medicine. What is your real self?”
If being in this world is the medicine, then what is the disease? If this world is our healing, what are we healing from, especially when the world is so manifestly on fire with suffering, with the “three fires” of greed, violence and ignorance? Is it possible that somehow our experience of this world — with all its turmoil, troubles, and its beauty — could offer some kind of healing we urgently need?
Join me for a day of exploration of this extraordinary teaching from the early days of Zen, and learn how it can support and deepen our practice and our life.
What to expect on a daylong retreat?
Henry will lead guided meditations exploring the koan of the world as medicine, and see how it can open us up to unexpected healing, at different levels. He will offer his teachings that combine ancient wisdom, modern understandings of meditation, and poetry, as well as the wisdom of silent practice together.
There will be an extended Q&A with Henry to have your practice questions answered. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, there will be plenty of chances to connect with others on a similar path, sharing personal experiences and insights with each other.
By immersing in shared stillness, we open to a deeper sense of rest and ease, allowing a more profound connection with our true nature to emerge. Through practice, reflection, and community, retreats support a more wholehearted and awakened way of being.
How can this koan benefit our practice?
Unique among wisdom traditions, Zen sees this world as our greatest teacher. Like other approaches, Zen is all about exploring consciousness, the nature of self and of experience, yet at the same time, its deepest teaching, and perhaps the core of Zen itself, is a new understanding of our true relationship to this world – one in which we are not separate from the world.
Rather than viewing the world as a place we have to navigate in our solitary ways, trying to get what we want and avoid what we don’t want, what if our experience of the world, in every ordinary moment, were in fact a great invitation, a potential opening – one in which we recognize our suffering as a source of healing and growth?
This challenges not just the dualistic view of sickness and health, but the conditioned sense that we and the world are separate. It suggests that even in difficult circumstances, there is inherent “medicine” available. And this is because the world is, on a deep level, our very self.
Finding Medicine in the World
What if the entire world, including even negative experiences, and the polycrisis we collectively face, could be a source of healing and wisdom? During these troubled times, a Zen koan can offer a way to actively seek the medicine present in all things, rather than solely focusing on perceived ailments or problems.
We will approach these deep possibilities using the four zones of practice — Mindfulness, Connection, Flow, and Awakening — found in The Way app and Henry’s book, Original Love. These foundational aspects of meditation offer explorations from the heart, and help us develop a wholesome practice. We will also explore ways of softening and breaking down rigid categories of “good” and “bad,” “pleasant” and “unpleasant,” allowing for a more nuanced understanding of experience.
Self-inquiry and engagement
The koan’s question “What is your real self?” prompts exploration of our true nature and identity. Practicing with this koan can help us look beyond superficial labels and societal conditioning, toward a process of self-inquiry that can turn our search for freedom from suffering on its head.
But the koan is not just an intellectual exercise; it is an invitation to actively engage with the world and become an agent of healing within it. It encourages practitioners to embody the teachings in daily life, seeking opportunities for growth and healing in all situations.
This might involve taking action to address social or environmental problems, practice self-care, or simply approach life with a more open and compassionate heart.
What to expect on a daylong retreat?
We’ll explore how this koan helps us engage with the four main zones of practice — Mindfulness, Connectedness, Flow, and Awakening — found in The Way app and Henry’s book, Original Love. These foundational aspects of meditation offer explorations from the heart, and help us develop a wholesome meditation practice.
During this retreat, by immersing ourselves in shared stillness, we open to a deeper sense of rest and ease, allowing a more profound connection with our true nature to emerge. Through practice, reflection, and community, these retreats accelerate our journey toward a more wholehearted and awakened way of being.
About the Santa Monica Bay Woman’s Club
The Santa Monica Bay Woman’s Club is a historic community organization dedicated to fostering social, cultural, and philanthropic initiatives. Established in 1905, it serves as a vibrant hub for events, programs, and community engagement.
Student feedback after Henry’s
recent retreats
I loved listening to Henry, the guided meditation and meditating with this Sangha. I enjoyed the atmosphere with its lightness and depths and still feel it inside.
The way Henry Shukman ‘landed’ us into deeper levels of consciousness — often using poetry as a vehicle for getting us there. And allowing us collectively to notice and sit with that shift without saying a word.
The immersive nature of the day. The sense of community. Henry’s teaching was real and helpful. The meditation was powerful.
A Daylong Retreat in Los Angeles
- Guided meditations, talks, and poetry to help deepen your practice
- Live Q&A time with Henry
- Subscribe to The Way app to enjoy a 20% discount on all live events. Book through the app’s Events page to claim your discounted price. Click here from your mobile phone to go the Events page. For any questions, email info@thewayapp.com.
Event Details
Cost: $155
When: Saturday October 25, 10am–4pm
Where: Santa Monica Bay Woman’s Club, Los Angeles, CA
Subscribe to The Way app to enjoy a 20% discount on all live events. Book through the app’s Events page to claim your discounted price. Click here from your mobile phone to go the Events page. For any questions, email info@thewayapp.com.
Questions?
If you have any questions about this retreat, please contact our programs manager, Jeremy. We’re happy to answer any questions and look forward to having you join us!
Refreshments
During our ample mid-day break, participants can go out for lunch at one of the many nearby restaurants, or bring your own lunch. Coffee, tea, and water will be provided throughout the day.
Scholarships
We warmly welcome you to contact us if a scholarship would allow you to attend this retreat. Please contact our Courses & Retreats Manager Jeremy for details about how to apply.
About your teacher
Henry Shukman
Henry is an authorized Zen Master in the Sanbo Zen lineage, the co-founder of The Way meditation app, and the Spiritual Director Emeritus of Mountain Cloud Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In addition to teaching meditation, Henry is an award-winning author and poet. His struggles and traumatic experiences as a youth, combined with a spontaneous awakening experience at 19, paved the way for Henry to develop a well-rounded approach to healing and awakening through meditation.
