When Soten Lynch laces up his shoes each morning, he isn’t just running. He’s carrying the weight of a vision that began when he was a young man in his early 20s: the dream of a monastery where ordinary people — families, children, longtime practitioners and newcomers alike — could come together for Zen practice rooted in nature.
On Aug. 11, Lynch set out on a pilgrimage run from the U.S.-Mexico border to Battle Ground. By the time he finishes on Oct. 20, he will have logged roughly 1,500 miles. As of Sept. 30, he was in Corvallis, Oregon, preparing for the final stretches of the journey.
Lynch’s journey began two months after the birth of his first child, Sabina, during a retreat in Mexico. His wife, Shinei, is providing support by driving along the highway with Sabina and their dog, Samaya.
“It’s teaching me about what it is to be human,” he said of fatherhood. “These waves of pure joy and love flowing through this innocent human body … have nothing to do with accomplishing anything. Just delighting in existing and being connected with other people.”
The run is both a fundraiser and a ritual, a moving meditation intended to spark support for Bells Mountain Dharma Center, the new Zen retreat building located east of Battle Ground. Lynch hopes the center will become a permanent home for the wilderness retreats he has led over the past decade. He has set a goal of $100,000 for necessary renovations.
His inspiration traces back to Great Vow Zen Monastery north of Clatskanie, Oregon, where he trained for years. It was there, in his early 20s, that he first experienced the power of communal meditation and rigorous daily practice.
“I really just stumbled in there when I was 21, and I had no idea what I was getting myself into,” he recalled. “I was met by people who had dedicated their lives to meditation practice. That felt really compelling to me.”
As most monasteries traditionally prohibit the presence of children, Soten and Shinei will need to plan out how to make Bells Mountain work for their arrangement.
“This will be different by default,” he said. “We’ve got to find a way to make it work, and we’ll find a way to make it work for others, too. We don’t know how yet, but we’ll have to find out.”
The pilgrimage has also reshaped his meditation practice. At the beginning, Lynch said he spent little time in formal meditation, with nearly all of his energy going into the road. But as the rhythm of the journey settled in, he began incorporating morning meditations before each day’s miles.
“Running has been part of my daily practice for basically as long as I’ve been a meditator, but the last 10 years it’s really been a bigger part,” he said. “Meditation is yin, running is more yang. It’s helped me stay energetically balanced as a person.”
The miles have also taught him how to work with his body: how to stretch, open his hips and keep his knees healthy even under strain.
The road itself has been grueling at times. Lynch has run mostly along highways, where the sloped camber can punish ankles and knees, and shoulders are often narrow. Staying safe requires constant awareness.
“I really try and stay tuned to the drivers and reach out to them even before they might be able to see me, just in hopes I can kind of catch their attention with my energy,” he said. “Frankly, the semi-truck drivers are the best. They’re the most attentive drivers on the road. Everybody else is hit or miss.”
Donations have trickled in steadily, from large contributions online to $10 bills handed to him on the roadside. As of last week, Bells Mountain Dharma Center received roughly $32,000 of its $100,000 goal to renovate the area.
“Those real-time donations are really beautiful,” he said. “They mean a lot.”
Part of the beauty of the journey, Lynch says, has been the people he’s met along the way, including strangers who have offered donations and encouragement at unexpected moments.
“It’s a reminder of how generous people can be when they see someone putting their heart into something,” he said.
Currently, five residents live at Bells Mountain, helping prepare the site for retreats and future growth. Over the years, as many as 200 people have joined Lynch’s wilderness meditation programs. The hope now is to create a lasting base where that community can deepen its practice together.
The final leg of his run will begin at Great Vow Zen Monastery in Clatskanie, Oregon, where Lynch trained for years. From there, he plans to cover 70 miles in one push to Bells Mountain. Upon arrival, he and his companions will hold a ceremony, share a communal breakfast, and — he joked — “probably take a nap.”
Along the way, he has endured California’s wildfire smoke, which he chose to run through during peak smoke season, and a bout of COVID-19 that sidelined him for days. Lynch said the pilgrimage has felt fluid, guided by a shared purpose.
“Our teachers always taught: if your aspirations are really in alignment with those of others, then things tend to go fairly harmoniously,” he said. “When what you want starts becoming too personal, that’s when sometimes you find people and things working against you.”
When asked about a lesson he hopes others learn from his journey, Lynch shared a lesson from one of his teachers:
"If you light the way for others, your path will always be lit," he said.
The lesson, he said, describes his run very well.
When Oct. 20 arrives, he isn’t expecting fireworks, just another step in a long path.
“Everything ends up being just one moment at a time,” he said. “I think that the moment itself will have its own ups and downs, just like everything does.”
Readers can learn more about the pilgrimage or donate at bellsmountaindharma.org/pilgrimage, and can stay updated on their journey by visiting @walkingtogetherblog on Instagram.
