Serene and beautiful monastery grounds. Happy to discover a hidden gem in the hills. When you first…read moreturn in you'll drive along a small tree-lined road and go up the hill to their gated entrance. You may have to call their intercom to enter through the gate if they are not currently hosting an event. When you first visit, go to the reception office for an intro about the monastery and their activities. You can join their regularly scheduled meditation classes and dharma classes. The building to the left of that is where they hold Buddhist classes and talks. To the left of that is a small hill and walking nature loop to see a Kuan Yin statue placed within a circular, eight petaled lotus mandala. The walk has beautiful views of the surrounding distance. Down towards the right is the temple, which is only open to the public during events. They recently finished some renovations inside their main temple and outside gardens. The gardens behind and below the temple opens to expansive views too, yet is still undergoing construction. You can see a small pagoda with a Kuan Yin statue and a rectangle platform with a statue of the Buddha. Inside the temple, it is common etiquette to remove your shoes, place them in a shoe cabinet along the wall, and wear socks inside (no bare feet allowed here) during events. There are bathrooms and a water station too. I joined a recent Friday meditation gathering and it was nicely organized and run very well. They have a welcoming sangha community too.

Beautiful scenery and grounds. The peace I felt was incredible. I love it here. I highly recommend.read more

WOW! What an experience! I have just returned from a 3 day retreat at Vajrapani led by Scott…read moreSnibbe, author of How to Train a Happy Mind: A Skeptic's Path to Enlightenment. I cannot imagine a better set and setting for such a profound condensation of this amazing book.   Vajrapani (or more formally Vajrapani Institute for Wisdom Culture) is hidden high in the mountains above Santa Cruz at the end of a 4-mile narrow unpaved road that winds up through a coastal redwood forest where the drive feels like a passage to another world. The site is highlighted by a gathering hall decked with Buddhist icons that naturally lends itself to meditation, and the variety to accommodations range from private hillside cabins and inexpensive same-sex dormatories to campsites and campervan parking. A huge prayer wheel anchors the outside meditation areas, and a few short hiking trails on the 70-acre property are well maintained and open to adjacent Castle Rock State Park for the more adventurous.  Vegan meals are provided to all guests and delivered to the cabins for those in private retreat or served in the dining area below the main hall. There is also a large library of books focusing on all things Buddhist.   To this, add any of a variety of teaching retreats on various aspects of Buddhism and you have a phenomenal opportunity to deepen your spiritual awareness regardless of your religious orientation.   I had the great fortune to attend Scott Snibbe's inaugural presentation of How to Train a Happy Mind. Through storytelling, teachings, critical thinking and frequent short meditations, Scott led us through the Tibetan Buddhist lamrin "stages of the path," a series of analytical meditations that steer the mind away from frustration, craving and loneliness to happiness, connection and satisfaction. Scott is an amazingly skillful teacher using humor, anecdotes, personal experiences and years of study to weave together a training that is both dense and accessible on the essence of Buddhist psychology and philosophy without the dogma of ideas like reincarnation and karma that are so off-putting to Western minds. I am not a Buddhist but now have a much deeper understanding of the brilliance of this 2500-year-old tradition and its powerful relevance to creating a life well lived. It especially broadened my understanding of the value and virtue of cultivation compassion, which I can feel is already greatly expanding a loving connection with all that is.   Two big thumbs up for Vajrapani and Scott Snibbe! Both are very special.

The Kopan West Retreat in March was amazing! Staff were super nice and accommodating. Highly…read morerecommend

Recently completed a week long silent meditation retreat. The experience was wonderful, the…read moreteachers were supportive and informative. The grounds are very beautiful with views in every direction. While I didn't complete a long hike, I did take multiple shorter walks into the trials and enjoyed the exercise and beautiful nature. The food provided is healthy and delicious. I highly recommend attending a retreat if you're interested. Pro tip: bring a pair of slip on shoes, the Meditation and residence halls require you to remove your shoes. You'll do this often each day.

So... would you like an update? It's worse. I am not knocking all the amazing teachers that come…read morethrough there, or Kornfield etc... just the elitism in the way its run. I mean, they say in their mission statement they're grounded in Buddha's teachings. I'm sorry, I still don't see it in action. I suppose I have to admit that this exclusiveness approach is serving some people in the community, and so I up my stars to two, but my heart knows this is anything but Buddha like. I don't wish to be negative, but I do feel, especially in times like these, that it's important to be honest and authentic. Small "elitisms" (if you will), are part of a larger dynamic. Its time we started looking at little closer at the reasons behind our choices. Thanks for reading. May all beings know peace.

I have been attending workshops at EBMC sporadically for close to 2 years now. I am not a regular…read moremeditator, despite my intentions, I accept what is for now lol. I value EBMC so much as a learning space. The workshops I have attended always provided information for me, whether about the nature of things or about my inner world that was right on time! I have definitely grown as a result and feel helped along through life's challenges & lessons. I love the gift economics model they use, I just wish we could venmo our donations or some other way online where eventbrite doesn't charge fees. I try to pay cash on site instead when I have it, but yea I hate the fees. Tip: scent free space, and they mean it! I actually love fabric softener (it was a luxury my family did not afford when I was a kid) and now I dump it enthusiastically all over my laundry, so attending events at EBMC requires some extra planning on my part, but I appreciate that they are serious to make it accessible for everyone and it's well worth my effort.

Super welcoming, efficient and kind... Keep trying the various teachers and I find there's someone…read morefor everyone in terms of style and Dharma offerings with the various programs in wide variety of teachers... Improvement could be made with donating one portal easy like IMC Redwood City and I would really appreciate less aggressive dana talks and an easier portal /platform for donating going to each individual teachers platform and having to sign up with the platform is not a solution and I appreciate your kind attention and hope this can be made easier for all beings to donate to East Bay Meditation Center because basically I'm waiting until the teachers come to Insight Meditation Center Redwood City and donating to them at that venue because easier. Also another Meditation Center that even has an easier platform for donation is Flagstaff Meditation Center you go in pull down the teacher's name click in the donation arrives to the teacher and or Center....

Such an honor to be invited for a Sunday event with my family…read more Buddhanusorn Thai Temple Fremont The temple was so beautiful and the vegetarian food for lunch was cooked perfect. It is a must visit.

I love this temple Every time me and my husband went to…read morethis temple always make me feel happy and want to praying. Some temple we attend it make me feel scared and not happy, but this one we always go. I recommends this temple because they are always welcome everyone not like some temple at Stockton and sacramento.

This review is for the farm as well as the Green Gulch hiking trail. All of us were quite impressed…read morewith the beauty of the farm produce, and the flowers- very healthy & vibrant. Seems like a pretty neat place to be for a retreat I'm pleased the hike let us through Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. We started at Muir Beach and stayed on the Green Gulch Trail to the crossroads at the top. Definitely some uphill climbing yet doable- met some nice hikers along the way coming down. The views are incredible even with the fog rising over the valley. There was good signage which we appreciated. Back at the beach there are restrooms which was much needed after 6 miles of hiking.

Unreal slice of Heaven nestled in the valley of marin headlands. We hiked from Tennessee Valley to…read moreMuir Beach and decided to hike through the valley on our way back instead of an out and back. What an incredible stumble upon in the midst of our hike. Pictures don't do this beautiful spot justice. It felt unreal when we walked up to the garden then through the zen center. We merely wandered through the grounds, we didn't take advantage of any services so I can't attest to what is available on the grounds besides the incredible gardens. Our round trip hike was almost 10 miles and worth every step taken. Beach, redwoods, valley rolling hills, gardens filled to capacity with beautiful blooms, veggies, and lovingly sculpted grounds. Truly an incredible experience and what a treat to allow it to be open to the public.

Amazing place. Beautiful grounds, nice accommodations. Attended relaxation/meditation retreatread more

Everything is coming up beautiful if you're planning to stay at the Ratna Ling Retreat Center…read more Joined my daughter for the Radiance Retreat, hosted by the most delightful Yoga and Meditation professionals whose gifts were boundless and generously shared them with us. The Cabin was clean, spacious, and newly renovated with natural light and heavenly views. We were bathed in millions of stars at night, cooled by refreshing fog in the morning, and surrounded by soaring trees and warming sunshine. The staff are volunteers, and delightful without exception. The food was lovingly prepared fresh daily, and absolutely delicious. The Retreat center includes a beautiful lodge, eating area with indoor/outdoor seating and the most enchanting Tibetan Buddhist Temple and we highly recommend the tour and if you are very lucky, George will be your tour guide. Don't hesitate to experience the joy, laughter, and enlightenment of the Ratna Ling Retreat Center. You will remember the experience with reverence.

Ive had some stress syndrome before came to TM and Ive tried many diff approaches such as…read moreexercises, which usually work for me, massage, yoga, seeing a doc etc. Honestly, I came to TM with hesitation since all of those approaches didn't work, how can I trust it and put down so much money. However, Jean and Brett are super friendly and knowledgeable and patiently answer all of my questions and confusion. I started to see my stress syndrome went away after 3 days practice. Now I practice twice a day, it's not easy to keep up when I have a busy schedule, but health is my highest priority. Give it a try and I hope you all find what you are looking for at TM.

I've tried a few meditation practices. I found this one to be flat on my expectations. You're asked…read moreto give a donation based on income. I donated 1k and when I arrived the mediation coach was warm and friendly but she complained to me about the fact that she knows how much people make and that their donations don't reflect that. I found that strange to share. I wouldn't recommend this place - there are so many others in SF that are more effective imo.

From their website... "Center for Spiritual Enlightenment is a meditation center in the spiritual…read moretradition of Kriya Yoga, welcoming people from all backgrounds who are seeking Self- and God-realization--a path to spiritually conscious, fulfilled living." Absolutely love it! I spent some time in the garden, spoke to one of the folks who volunteers here, got a nice tour, and was truly impressed. Can't wait to go back for either a meditation session or a talk. The world would be a much better place if everyone could go to a center like this.

I attended this center for almost 20 years, usually attending weekly Sunday services and the…read moreoccasional retreat. I really appreciated the teachings and guided meditations, as well as the fellowship....but...I can't help but be concerned about a close family member that got more heavily involved and attended seminary there. She started to detach from family to devote herself to the center, moved out of state to start an ashram for CSE, named it beneficiary of a family trust. I want to say she wasn't encouraged or led to do this, but over the years, the devotion to the center and increased detachment from family has me wondering if there's cult-like grooming going on behind the scenes. It's all been very concerning and bewildering for the family. No spiritual teacher there was been able to adequately reassure me that they are not engaging in practices that command total devotion, tithing, and disengagement with family, and sadly, as a result I stopped all contact with this center. This may just be my family member independently practicing an unhealthy excess of devotion to an organization, not something that they outwardly support, but I still have a lingering suspicion about the influence they yield over her. It feels exploitive. Her increased involvement in the center has really negatively impacted family relationships. I've also heard many folks have left this center in the last 10 years because of "toxic political rifts" between employees, volunteers and devotees. Some are choosing to hold independent Kriya study groups now. I'm grateful for the teachings while there but distance from this organization has been necessary for my mental health and continued spiritual development. I feel my family member has been stolen from me. Or driven to shun and neglect those that love her most. And CSE knows it and yet they not intervened.

I didn't realize I could review IMC on Yelp but it's a place after all, so why not. And it's not…read morejust a place, it's a very lovely place. It's the real real. No flash, all substance. Truly, it changed the direction of my life. I am still myself, always will be, but this place and its people transformed and impacted me in ways I couldn't have predicted. My introduction to the practice and teachings from IMC was very important for my personal development and spiritual growth. When I lived in RWC 5 years ago I was located on Main Street near the In-N-out which was walking distance to the meditation center. I ended up going to the center weekly, regularly. I've been living in Arizona since that time and I am still very much connected to this group. I come back yearly to attend silent vipassana meditation retreats at their center in Santa Cruz, simply named Insight Retreat Center. I told you, no flash. It's refreshing to support and be connected to a place that isn't part of the heavily capitalized society we live in, in which everything seems to come down to its monetary value. Not here my friend! IMC has core employees but what it really runs on is the commitment of volunteers. I typically function as a retreat manager when I come to IRC and if I lived closer I would happily give time to this place. In 2017 when I came often, it really helped me with personal challenges I was experiencing. I gained a community of practitioners that are serious about the dharma yet also kind people. I've met some amazing teachers and found my personal teachers of Gil and Max to be wonderful people in the world. 2 of my favorites :D IMC is a Buddhist meditation center that has some very excellent teachers and programs overall. It used to be a former church, turned Buddhist meditation hall. Very peaceful place. It's a place of refuge and to learn about the practice of mindfulness and get your feet wet. Or, be a longtime meditator and get your practice even more in depth. Whatever you are looking for on this path, it's there. I couldn't recommend this place enough. Don't miss it, you could easily walk by it not noticing, and never know the treasures it holds within. If you're unsure how to navigate coming here for a first time, a tip is to go online to their website. They have a robust schedule of classes, guided meditation sits, and general information about the place and people. It's very useful.

Incredible place and teachers, especially Gil who is the pillar of IMC. They hold frequent online…read moreand in person gatherings, kind community, and food for thought. Highly recommend