Colleen Morton Busch

Author of Fire Monks

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Fire Monks don’t stop

July 11, 2021 By Colleen Morton Busch

It’s been ten years since Fire Monks was published! With Tassajara facing another wildfire threat just last month and the drought-dry west bracing for another relentless fire season, this story of a Zen community’s wisdom, humility, and grit continues to inspire. NowThis interviewed me for this short video about the natural affinities between Zen and firefighting: https://www.facebook.com/NowThisPolitics/videos/1443536685998814 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: fire monks Tagged With: Fire Monks

Willow Fire & Next Generation Fire Monks

June 23, 2021 By Colleen Morton Busch

The Willow Fire burning in the Los Padres National Forest is a long day hike away from Tassajara. The good news is that a professionally trained resident crew of fire monks is in place, ready for whatever comes. A silver lining to the pandemic is that it offered time to step up fire training and preparations: no guests had to be evacuated, only residents not on the fire crew. The Dharma Rain sprinkler system from 2008 is fortified and on duty. Forest Service and Cal Fire engines have been in the valley assisting with training and prep. Please keep these monks and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Fire Monks, Tassajara, Willow Fire

Patience, Playfulness, & the Practice of Care

May 8, 2020 By Colleen Morton Busch

A Q&A with fire monk Mako Voelkel Mako Voelkel. All photos by Melissa Brisko. It’s been nearly a dozen years since Mako Voelkel stood on the Overlook Trail above Tassajara Zen Mountain Center and saw the Basin Complex Fire pouring into the valley.  These days, Mako is head teacher at Austin Zen Center. When I caught up with her one recent afternoon on FaceTime, I reminded her that she once told me she just might leave the monastery to go to medical school. Clearly that didn’t happen. “Not yet!” she pointed out, laughing in dappled sunlight in her … [Read more...]

Filed Under: fire monks, pandemic, shelter-in-place, Zen Tagged With: Austin Zen Center, Fire Monks, pandemic, shelter-in-place, Zen

Op-ed in the Monterey Herald

August 20, 2016 By colleenmbusch

Read my August 20 opinion piece in The Monterey Herald about why history doesn't have to repeat itself as the Soberanes Fire burns towards Tassajara. Photo by Mako Voelkel … [Read more...]

Filed Under: fire, fire monks, Uncategorized Tagged With: California wildfire, Fire Monks, San Francisco Zen Center, soberanes fire, wildfire, Zen

Soberanes Fire, August 6, 2016 Update

August 6, 2016 By colleenmbusch

Please follow my … [Read more...]

Filed Under: fire, fire monks, Uncategorized, Zen Tagged With: Fire Monks, San Francisco Zen Center, soberanes fire, tassajara zen mountain center, wildfire, Zen

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