MAPLE Seattle's Pop-Up Monastery

07/04/2025

We're about to head into a weekend meditation "retreat", or what we like to call an advance — because we're not retreating from anything!

If you wish, you are welcome to come and go as a partial participant throughout the weekend.

As a partial participant, there are two blocks you can join us for. One in the morning and one in the evening. In the morning, you can come from 6am - 1030am, and in the evening you can come from 530pm - 915pm. You can come for any part or all of those blocks. You can check out the schedule here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P_gR_OjyNE5sgIgwPpfMizyBb3LpzAFRVOaAI41GlrU/edit?usp=sharing

If we don't see you this weekend, then we hope to see you on Monday evening when we will have our next dinner, conversation, talk, and Q&A with our friend Peeyush Kumar and Head Teacher Soryu Forall. It will begin with class and curry at 5:30pm. As usual, there will be dynamic topics ranging from the path to enlightenment to how we might utilize AI for the benefit of all beings.

See you soon! ❤️

Day 0 Schedule (Thu July 3rd) 6:00 Chanting 6:30 Meditation 7:00 Meditation / Interviews 7:45 Movement 8:00 Community Breakfast Noble silence ends after the breakfast meal ceremony 8:30 Co-Working 1:00 Self-Serve Lunch 1:30 Chores 2:00 Co-Working / Exercise / Self-Practice 5:30 - Food avai...

07/02/2025

Honesty: From the Individual to the Global Scale

This morning at the pop up we discussed honesty, integrity, and parenting. Some of the key points we discussed were:

- Individual practice does not save the world. We go from individual practice to community practice to global practice. Each is a new skill, learned by a larger kind of entity. To do this, we let go while maintaining integrity.
- The practice is a matter of being uncompromisingly honest with ourselves, and caring for all beings without exception.
- How can the whole society be honest with itself and care for all without exception?
- Parents at MAPLE are happier than others we've seen. Their children grow up in an environment in which they are the center of a world bigger than themselves. They can go to dozens of adults for help or connection at any time, and they learn to lead from an early age. For this reason, they are more confident than other children.
- To give this gift to children requires us to face our own attachments and go through our own struggle. It's amazing how few adults are willing to do this. But someone has to break the pattern.
- Seeing a leaf fall proves that there is a way out of suffering. It proves that there is a truth larger than we understand. It proves that the truth can be expressed. It proves that the expression of truth is love.

Come to the pop up and help us continue the conversation

Send a message to learn more

06/30/2025

Our dear friend Peeyush Kumar and Head Teacher Soryu Forall will be leading a dynamic discussion on the need for ideological development to resolve the crises of our times. To kickstart the conversation, we will consider their back-and-forth about the topic (attached below).

The evening will begin with curry and whole group conversation at 5:30pm, followed by a dialogue and Q&A with Soryu and Peeyush at 6:30pm. You are then welcome to stay for the meditation and chanting which will ensue.

Drop us a note if you are interested in attending, and let us know if you like the format of posting these kinds of message threads.

We already have a group of people confirmed to participate and we would love to have you join as well!

06/25/2025

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚 f𝐨𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐮ff𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐠𝐞

We're a bit more than a week into our Seattle pop-up. It's been a great joy to share our practice and have such meaningful conversations on 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐬.

As the Buddha once said, "Formerly and now, I teach just suffering and the end of suffering." This is what we're focused on. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐮ff𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐠𝐞?

We explore phenomena like artificial intelligence not because they are inherently significant, but rather because they are a part of what's needed to respond to suffering at this moment in time. For millennia, spiritual communities have offered the medicine needed to overcome our tendency to create suffering. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐨ff𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨f 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. But no one has done this to the degree that's needed in the digital age — either because they lack spiritual realization or because they aren’t able to communicate with the culture.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐲 f𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨f 𝐋𝐢f𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 (𝐌𝐀𝐏𝐋𝐄) 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐨ff𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫 f𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐮𝐦𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐢z𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. We will teach you what we know in hopes that you will teach us what we don’t.

𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 f𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐮ff𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨f 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐠𝐞? Read the one-pager below and join one of our upcoming events to discuss these critical issues and advance our collective capacity to respond to this moment in time.

𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐞f𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐞f𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨f 𝐥𝐢f𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞. 𝐖𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐖𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 f𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577254001121&sk=events

06/18/2025

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐌𝐀𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞'𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐩-𝐔𝐩 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲?

The Monastic Academy for the Preservation of Life on Earth’s (MAPLE) Seattle pop-up is a month-long immersion (June 16 - July 14) in how to build communities that resolve suffering at all scales in the digital age. For more than a decade, MAPLE has been offering world-class Buddhist training in Vermont to develop a collective that resolve the crises of this age.

𝐀 𝐁𝐚𝐝 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐑𝐮𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐈𝐭

Our civilization lives lonely anxious lives without meaning and faces global existential risks because we are enslaved to a misaligned superintelligence. This misaligned superintelligence is trapping us in a global death cult.

For millenia, Buddhists monasteries have been freeing people from mental slavery to misaligned intelligences, and now is the time to scale these methods to the digital age. This requires experimental communities of practice with new ideologies. We will teach you what we know in hopes that you will teach us what we don’t.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐩-𝐔𝐩 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬

MAPLE trainees and Head Teacher Soryu Forall will be running this pop-up monastery consisting of meditation and chanting, community meals and co-working, and talks and discussions on community building that can resolve suffering at all scales in the digital age. Every activity in the schedule is held on a drop-in and donation basis at 13013 31st Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98125, USA.

For years MAPLE has traveled to innovation hubs around the country sharing its teachings. While the speaking engagements, events, and meetings have been fruitful, we have learned that there is only so much that can happen in a few hours together — especially when the gathering is not held within an existing communal field infused with a culture of deep practice.

However, when this kind of spiritual container is created, even a single meal, dialogue, or meditation can have a profound impact, let alone several days or weeks together. We hope you can join us, and if you know others who may be interested, please share the word!