Spirit Rock Meditation Center is dedicated to the teachings of the Buddha. We provide silent meditation retreats, as well as classes, trainings, and Dharma study.
The Sky River
The annual pilgrimage of Monarch butterflies

October wind crosses the world. The last tattered Monarch butterflies of the season sip nectar from ragged vermilion Tithonia flowers at the base of the farm. Practice period began a few weeks ago, the harvest gathered, the fields almost empty. At nightfall, exhausted Monarchs ride the updraft to shelter at the crown of the dark cypress windbreak nearest to the ocean, in trees that mark the edge of raw and cultivated ground.
Share with a Friend
Member Supported Content
Please login or join to continue.
Become a Supporting Member
*With Autorenew
- You Get
- Tricycle | The Magazine - a one-year subscription to premier Buddhist quarterly
- Tricycle Retreats - a new online video teaching every every week by a contemporary Buddhist teacher
- Tricycle | The Digital Edition - web based edition of the magazine
- The Wisdom Collection - nearly two decades of teachings by the world's most compelling teachers, from the pages of Tricycle
- Tricycle Gallery - the best in Buddhist art to download and share with friends
- Tricycle Book Club - online discussions with leading Buddhist authors
- Tricycle Discussions - teacher-led explorations of dharma in daily life
- The Tricycle Blog - our diary of the global Buddhist movement
- Daily Dharma - heart advice delivered direct to your inbox
- The Tricycle Newsletter - the latest news, teachings, events, and more, every Monday
Become a Supporting Member
Become a Sustaining Member
*With Autorenew
- You Get
- Tricycle | The Magazine - a one-year subscription to premier Buddhist quarterly
- Tricycle Retreats - a new online video teaching every every week by a contemporary Buddhist teacher
- Tricycle | The Digital Edition - web based edition of the magazine
- The Wisdom Collection - nearly two decades of teachings by the world's most compelling teachers, from the pages of Tricycle
- Tricycle Gallery - the best in Buddhist art to download and share with friends
- Tricycle Book Club - online discussions with leading Buddhist authors
- Tricycle Discussions - teacher-led explorations of dharma in daily life
- The Tricycle Blog - our diary of the global Buddhist movement
- Daily Dharma - heart advice delivered direct to your inbox
- The Tricycle Newsletter - the latest news, teachings, events, and more, every Monday









Latest Magazine Comments
Good point, although grand scale subversions of such "poisoned" worlds (i.e. revolutions) have been attempted many...
Tom: Wow, I think your essay on full-strength anatman is fascinating, brilliant even. Perhaps the Tricycle editors...
Hi bobseng,
Welcome! At the moment there is not, but we're working on it!
Cheers,
Emma V.
...
You can, but it's not skillful because it doesn't engage the three poisons as they are institutionalized and...