Kadampa Meditation Center Austin — Austin, United States

A Kadampa Buddhist meditation center in Austin, now putting down roots in Mueller

On Thursday evenings in October, the class gathers at Bottega Event Space in Austin's Mueller neighborhood, next door to a coffee shop, with street parking only. From 6:30 to 7:45, resident teacher Kadam Noreen Flack leads a session called Breaking free from Negativity, and a livestream carries it to people at home. Kadampa Meditation Center Austin was started in 2000 by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche and is part of the New Kadampa Tradition, a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit. For now it is a center without a single set of walls. Sunday classes meet at Vessel Offsite on Easy Wind Drive, and branch classes run in the Georgetown public library and the Price Center in San Marcos. A San Antonio class has been held at the Landa Library, and the Dripping Springs branch is paused while the center looks for a suitable room. The center has bought a commercial space in Mueller, and the Je Tsongkhapa Day gathering on October 25 celebrates its development. The teaching comes from Noreen, who has studied Kadam Dharma under Geshe Kelsang Gyatso for more than 30 years, much of it at Kadampa Meditation Center Washington in Seattle. Weekly classes pair a Buddhist teaching with guided meditation and are self-contained, so a visitor can come once or follow a series. For those who want more, the Foundation Program meets Sunday afternoons for systematic study of six texts by Geshe Kelsang. Enrollment is required, and the group is currently working through Joyful Path of Good Fortune. Livestreamed day retreats and series, including a purification retreat and a Powa ceremony for the deceased, round out the calendar. Once a year the center holds its Lotus Ranch retreat, on forty acres in Wimberly, roughly halfway between Austin and San Antonio. Two miles of trails, two ponds and natural gardens surround the retreat buildings. Guests can sleep in shared rooms, camp or bring an RV, and the meals are vegetarian.

Traditions: Kadampa Buddhism, New Kadampa Tradition, Guided Meditation, Lamrim, Powa, Chanted Prayers

Programs: Sunday General Program, Thursday General Program Class, Foundation Program, Georgetown and San Marcos Branch Classes, Heart Jewel with Lamrim, Prayers of Compassion for the Deceased (Powa), Purification & Prayer Day Retreat, Lotus Ranch Retreat