Located in South Devon, UK Gaia House offers a sanctuary of contemplative calm open to all. Gaia House is the only non-affiliated retreat centre in Britain which offers guidance in different meditative disciplines from the Buddhist traditions. Our retreats are designed for both experienced meditators and beginners, of any faith or none, who seek to cultivate a path of wisdom and compassion. All retreats (with the exception of the Family and Friends retreat) are held in silence and explore the essential themes of calm attentiveness, equanimity, insight, peace and freedom.

Surrounded by the stillness and seclusion of nature, the Forest Refuge is specifically designed to support the practice of more experienced meditators. Its program encourages the exploration of sustained, longer-term personal retreats – a key component in the transmission of Buddhism from Asia to the West. Within its harmonious environment, vipassana meditators can nurture the highest aspiration for liberation. In consultation with visting insight meditation teachers, a program of training in one or more Theravada Buddhist practices is created for each participant, allowing the continuing unfolding of deeper and deeper levels of wisdom and compassion.

Participants are welcome to apply for personal retreat periods ranging from one week to stays of a year or more.

Classes in San Francisco are organized around a core six-root curriculum that can be entered at any root.

* Root I: Buddha's Life and Early Texts
* Root II: Buddhist Psychology
* Root III: Buddhist Wisdom
* Root IV: Ethics and Compassion
* Root V: Zen
* Root VI: Contemporary Buddhism

Information:

The ZCLA Curriculum follows the Center’s Circle of Life (Mandala). The Circle of Life is the teaching of the Five Buddha Families, which presents the wholeness of a mature human life. The Five Buddha Families (also called Spheres) are Source, Study, Resources, Relationships, and Service. The essential practices of each Family are zazen (Source); study (Study); lineage, precepts, and health (Resource); relationships, liturgy, art, ritual, and sexuality (Relationships); and everyday acts of kindness, service, livelihood, and world learning (Service). ZCLA is creating a curriculum that addresses your development in each of these areas and in collective awakening and wisdom.

Programs and retreats in Santa Fe

Teachings online

The Maezumi Institute is the major study/practice center of the Zen Peacemakers, offering training paths, study programs, and hands-on internships. The major areas of programming are: Zen, Socially Engaged Buddhism, Multi-faith and Sacred Arts.

Retreats (Mt. Tremper, NY)

Online teachings

Tibet House US aims to promote and preserve Tibetan culture by serving as both a cultural center in NewYork City and an online global resource for those interested in Tibetan civilization.

Tibet House's New York City Educational programs – evening lectures, weekend workshops, and conferences – provide direct access to leading scholars and exemplars of various Tibetan Buddhist traditions.

Menla Mountain Retreat & Conference Center in the Catskill Mountains offers workshops on Tibetan Buddhism by noted teachers, as well as yoga and meditation retreats, and combined hiking/mindfulness weekend gatherings.

Nalandabodhi is a network of meditation centers, study groups, and individual members committed to exploring the wisdom teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, under the spiritual guidance of The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche.

Nalandabodhi offers a graduated and complete Buddhist study and practice curriculum that members of Nalandabodhi follow as their main journey of study and meditation practice. Nalandabodhi Study and Meditation Centers offer a comprehensive curriculum in Buddhist studies, which adapts the traditional curriculum taught in Tibetan Buddhist educational academies for Western audiences. Students progress sequentially through basic Buddhist introductory topics, the increasingly complex topics of the Hinayana and Mahayana studies, and conclude with the subtleties of the Vajrayana.

Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition offers a wide range of study programs, fulfilling the needs of beginners to advanced practitioners. From introductory meditation programs to beginning courses, from lam-rim to the five great philosophical texts, FPMT centers and Homestudy Programs provide everything needed to learn, practice, and fully realize the Buddha’s teachings.

Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche has been active in preserving the Buddhist teachings, establishing centres of learning and practice, supporting practitioners, publishing books, and teaching all over the world. Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche supervises his traditional seat of Dzongsar Monastery and its retreat centres in Eastern Tibet, as well as his new colleges in India and Bhutan. He has also has established centres in Australia, North America, and the Far East. These are gathered under Siddhartha's Intent..

IMS offers meditation retreats rooted in the Theravada Buddhist teachings of ethics, concentration and wisdom. While the context is the Buddha’s teachings, the practices are universal.

The Retreat Center offers a full yearly schedule of over 25 meditation courses, ranging in duration from a weekend to three months. Most retreats run for 7-9 days.

All Retreat Center courses provide instruction and practice in insight (vipassana) and/or lovingkindness (metta) meditations.

All courses are led by recognized insight meditation teachers from around the world.

Spirit Rock Meditation Center is dedicated to the teachings of the Buddha as presented in the vipassana tradition. The practice of mindful awareness, called Insight or Vipassana Meditation, is at the heart of all the activities at Spirit Rock.

Spirit Rock hosts a year-round schedule of residential retreats, daylongetreats, workshops, and weekly classes. Daylongs are suitable for beginning and experienced meditators (unless otherwise noted) and include basic meditation instructions.

At Amaravati offers formal meditation retreats, taught by members of the monastic community. Weekend retreats are of an introductory nature, while longer retreats provide an occasion for deeper investigation and practise of meditation. Broadly speaking, the teaching is from the vipassana or ‘insight’ meditation tradition; on some retreats a particular theme or approach to practice is emphasised.

Online audio teachings

New York Insight is an urban center for the practice of mindful awareness, called Insight or Vipassana meditation. NYI programs include talks, weekly sittings and courses as well as daylong and weekend retreats and workshops for the integration of meditation teachings into daily life. NYI strives to be a center that reflects the vivid diversity of the city in which we live.

Dharma Drum Mountain offers an online introduction to Chan meditation, including The Principles of Chan,Methods, Three Stages of Chan Meditation, Chan Practice in the Daily Life, Chan Practice and Faith, and In the Spirit of Chan.

Located in the UK, Western Chan Fellowship retreats and other activities are open equally to both Buddhists and non-Buddhists. UK Zen Retreat, Buddhist Retreat, Meditation Retreat, Silent Retreat, Solitary Retreat They lead intensive meditation retreats at their main retreat centre in Wales, and also at other meditation centres in England and Scotland. Some of their Zen meditation retreats follow closely the traditional methods of teaching and practice, and others such as our 'Western Zen Retreat' include adaptations to match the needs of Westerners. They also use some Tibetan Buddhist meditation practices such as Mahamudra.

The Venerable Master Hsuan Hua founded the Sangha and Laity Training Programs in 1982. The Sangha Training Program provides left-home people with a solid foundation in Buddhist studies and practice, training them in the practical affairs of Buddhism and giving them a conception of Sangha management. After graduation, students will be able to assume various responsibilities related to Buddhism in monasteries, institutions, and other settings. Emphasis is placed on students' thorough knowledge of Buddhism, understanding of the scriptures, development of virtuous character, earnest cultivation, and strict observance of precepts, so that they will be able to propagate the orthodox Dharma and continue the Buddha's legacy.

The Laity Training Program offers courses appropriate to laypeople, allowing them to develop proper knowledge and proper views, advance together in cultivation, and gain an understanding of the regulations of the monastery and the essentials of cultivation. After completing the Program, they will be able to serve humanity by contributing their abilities in Buddhist organizations.

Buddhist Churches of America Center for Buddhist Education provides diverse learning opportunities to deepen the understanding and appreciation of Buddha's wisdom and compassion among Sangha leaders. The BCA Center for Buddhist Education is located at the BCA Jodo Shinshu Center in Berkeley, CA.

Jodo Shinshu Education Centers' 2-year computer-based correspondence course, allows students to gain basic knowledge of Jodo Shinshu and Buddhism in general. Students download text materials, submit assignments and receive feedback from instructors. Students deepen their understanding through correspondence with instructors as well as benefit from reference materials such as video lectures, Dharma Talks and sutra chanting. Students can also enjoy free discussion with other participants through the course chat room.

This course is non-accredited and is offered as a new and developing program without academic regulations. A certificate will be issued upon completion of all subjects.

Dr. Alfred Bloom's online course enables the reader to explore Shin Buddhism, also known as Jodo Shinshu, historically and in modern context. Readers may respond to the content as they desire. Hopefully, it will stimulate thought and enrich their understanding of the teaching. Self study questions are provided for personal use to check understanding of the material.

The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies is dedicated to exploring Buddhist thought and practice as a living tradition, faithful to its origins, yet adaptable to the current world. The center provides a bridge between study and practice, between scholarly understanding and meditative insight. It encourages engagement with the tradition in a spirit of genuine inquiry.

Located on 90 acres of wooded land in rural, central Massachusetts, just a half mile from the Insight Meditation Society, BCBS provides a peaceful and contemplative setting for the study and investigation of the Buddha’s teachings.

BCBS's programming is rooted in the classical Buddhist tradition of the earliest teachings and practices, but calls for dialogue with other schools of Buddhism and with other academic fields. All courses support both silent meditation practice and conscious investigation of the teachings.

A seminary and graduate school affiliated with the Graduate Theological Union and associated with the Buddhist Churches of America. The IBS offers a systematic educational program specializing in Contemporary Shin Buddhist Studies and culminating in a fully accredited Master of Arts degree which is jointly administered with the GTU. The Institute of Buddhist Studies is dedicated to preparing women and men for lives of ministry in the tradition of the Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha, and to fostering the understanding and development of Shin Buddhist thought in engagement with the issues and perspectives of contemporary life.

Offers a broad education in traditional Buddhist values critically applied to contemporary needs. The nature of this education is meditative, transformative and creative. It is non-religious and non-sectarian in nature.

The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Center for Buddhist Studies at Stanford University (HCBSS) is dedicated to the promotion of both the academic study and public understanding of the Buddhist tradition. The Center serves to coordinate, support, and develop the university’s resources for Buddhist Studies in four general areas: academic resources, research, scholarly communication, and public outreach. HCBSS works closely with the Department of Religious Studies and other academic units of the university in the training of undergraduate and graduate students. It provides research support for individual and team projects, and networks with individuals and institutions around the world to foster scholarly communication in Buddhist Studies.

The University of Toronto's programs in Buddhist Studies facilitate study of the history, thought, and practice of Buddhist traditions around the world. We focus on methods and issues that characterize the contemporary academic study of religion, and on new directions of interdisciplinary research that join Buddhist traditions with other realms of thought and practice.

The Buddhism and Contemporary Society Program at UBC covers research and teaching activities, special lectures and conference delivered through collaboration between the Institute of Asian Research and the Department of Asian Studies. The Program, which is housed in the Institute of Asian Research, supports interdisciplinary teaching and research about the intersections between Buddhism and contemporary socio-economic and political life.

University of the West (formerly known as Hsi Lai University) is a private, nonprofit, co-educational university offering undergraduate, graduate, certificate and continuing education programs consistent with the educational mission of California higher education degree-granting institutions. A highly qualified faculty and a supportive and physically attractive learning environment are provided so that students can master a body of knowledge, acquire analytical and creative problem-solving and learning skills, cultivate moral and cultural discernment and develop personal and social responsibility.

Naropa University is a private, non-profit liberal arts college characterized by its unique Buddhist educational heritage. Naropa offers an MA in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, so they have rich course offerings in Buddhism in the areas of history, culture, philosophy and basic texts as well as meditation intensives offered by masters of major Buddhist practice traditions. The university also offers a comprehensive one-year program in Buddhist Studies for visiting upper-division students from other undergraduate institutions with majors in religious studies, anthropology or philosophy.

The Center for Buddhist Studies oversees a variety of research programs, scholarly events, and outreach activities, often in collaboration with units on and off campus. The Group in Buddhist Studies, which is comprised of faculty from the Departments of East Asian Languages and Cultures, South and Southeast Asian Studies, History of Art, and Psychology offers an interdisciplinary program of study and research leading to a Ph.D. degree in Buddhist Studies