About the Bhavana Society Meditation Center

The Bhavana Society Meditation Center is a forest monastery and retreat center in the Theravada Buddhist tradition.  It was created in 1982 to preserve the Theravada meditation tradition within the context of Western culture.

The center is staffed by an international community of Buddhist monastics and lay volunteers. The founder and president of the Society is Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, a Sri Lankan who has been a monk since the age of 12 and came to the United States in 1968 as general secretary of the Washington Buddhist Vihara, itself the first Theravada Buddhist Vihara (or monks' dwelling) in the United States. Bhante Gunaratana is an internationally recognized author and meditation instructor who blends life-long meditation practice with in-depth knowledge of Buddhist teaching and its practical application. He has a Ph.D. in philosophy from the American University in Washington, where he has served as chaplain, and down through the years has taught courses in Buddhist thought and practice throughout the U.S.A. and the world. This combination of background and experience makes Bhante Gunaratana ideally suited for presenting living Buddha Dhamma to the West.

The vision of the Bhavana Society is:

• To provide a forest monastery where ordained monks and nuns can live while cultivating Sila (morality), Samadhi (concentration) and Panna (wisdom)
• To provide training to suitable lay candidates who are seeking ordination and to ordain those candidates at the end of the training period.
• To provide opportunities for monks and nuns to become future Dhamma and meditation teachers.
• To offer organized meditation retreats on a regular basis to members of the society and to the general public.
• To provide space for a limited number of lay people, who will assist in the running of the center, to live as long-term residents.
• To provide facilities for a limited number of lay people to undergo private long-term retreats.

To learn more please visit the The Bhavana Society Meditation Center web site.