Directory of Meditation Centers
Meditation teachers, retreats, centers, and online learning across traditions in North America
This is a curated directory of communities & resources we’d feel good about recommending to our friends. We have no financial relationship with any listing and don’t receive commissions or referral fees.
This directory is in process, and at the moment we are adding to it pretty much daily. That said, please do share if you see any glaring omissions. As a living project, it is improved & maintained through community input, so please send send your suggestions, corrections, or additions.
Looking for meditation retreats? We wrote a comprehensive guide to complement this directory. Read it here.
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Tradition
Region
Type
Affinity Group
Abhayagiri Forest Monastery
Ajahn Chah lineage Thai Forest monastery in Northern California; opportunities to practice within monastic schedule and community.
Anam Thubten
Tibetan (Nyingma/Dzogchen) teacher and founder of Dharmata Foundation. Skilled at working with Western audiences emphasis on direct, nonsectarian pointing-out style teachings.
Barre Center for Buddhist Studies (BCBS)
Residential study center in Barre, MA that combines meditation retreats with Buddhist study and themed programs, plus robust online offerings.
Bellingham Insight Meditation Society (BIMS)
Sangha-led Theravada community in Bellingham, WA offering regular practice and multiple retreats each year.
Bhavana Society
Theravada monastery and retreat center founded by Bhante Gunaratana, offering residential retreats and regular teachings.
Big Bear Retreat Center
Retreat venue in the San Bernardino Mountains that hosts meditation retreats and other contemplative programs.
Blue Cliff Monastery (Plum Village)
Plum Village–tradition monastery in upstate New York offering days of mindfulness and seasonal/themed retreats with monastics.
Bodhi Monastery
Theravada monastery in New Jersey offering teachings and periodic retreats, with a strong early Buddhist texts emphasis.
Chanmyay Satipatthana Vihara
Burmese Mahasi-style monastery in Illinois offering an intensive practice environment and retreats.
Cloud Mountain Retreat Center
Non-sectarian Buddhist residential retreat center in southwest Washington hosting retreats year-round.
Common Ground Meditation Center
Minneapolis-based community with a city center and a quiet retreat center, offering regular practice and retreats in a mindfulness/insight stream.
Deer Park Monastery (Plum Village)
Plum Village–tradition monastery in Southern California founded by Thich Nhat Hanh; offers days of mindfulness and residential retreats in a gentle, community-oriented container.
Dharma Zephyr Insight Meditation Community
Coalition of Vipassana (Insight) sitting groups in Northern Nevada offering classes and daylong retreats.
Dharmata Foundation
Community container around Anam Thubten with retreats and an online archive of teachings and guided meditations.
Drikung Rinchen Choling
Arcadia-based Drikung Kagyu Tibetan Buddhist center under H.E. Garchen Rinpoche, founded (2009) by Ven. Lama Thubten Nima; offers teachings, group practice, and short retreats.
Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche
Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, also known as Khyentse Norbu and Thubten Chökyi Gyamtso, is a widely respected Buddhist scholar and teacher from the Rimé (nonsectarian) lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Also an acclaimed filmmaker and author of several books, Rinpoche is…
East Bay Meditation Center (EBMC)
Oakland-based Buddhist meditation center with a strong emphasis on social engagement and belonging; offers wide-ranging programs plus well-known affinity sanghas.
Esalen Institute
Iconic Big Sur retreat venue that hosts contemplative workshops; not Buddhist-specific but sometimes features Buddhist teachers and meditation intensives.
Everyday Zen Foundation
Online/in-person sangha around Norman Fischer with retreats, talks, and practice groups focused on everyday-life Zen.
Forest Dhamma Monastery
Thai Forest monastery in the Luangta Maha Bua lineage in Virginia offering monastery-based practice and teachings.