Buddhism resources in West LA?

January 20, 2011 10:51 AM

Can you suggest Buddhist resources - churches, sanghas, gompas, meditation groups, communities - in the Los Angeles Area?

I have practiced mindfulness meditation for quite some time and have been tangentially interested in both Buddhism / Taoism for about the same amount of time. I do not, at the moment, consider myself a Buddhist in any way...but I would be interested to learn more about it in a group environment, or at the very least see if it might be something I want to practice with more than a peripheral interest. To this end I am looking for resources in the Los Angeles area that might accommodate someone like myself who is a curious and open-minded new comer. Ideally this would be a welcoming Buddhist church of some sort that is used to inquiries from curious individuals. I live on the West side of LA - Santa Monica would be an ideal location.

Some of the resources I have found via Google and Google Maps (especially in Santa Monica) tend to describe themselves in terms that sound gimmicky to me. I'm not looking for quick-fix, life-improvement, seminar-style "Buddhism" - but instead actual down to earth real resources...which is why I thought I'd query the hive mind. Thanks!

posted by jnnla to Religion & Philosophy (7 answers total)

You may want to check out this Buddhist directory. :-) Good luck!
posted by fignewton at 11:09 AM on January 20, 2011

There's a Shingon temple in Little Tokyo, if you're interested in the more esoteric side of Buddhism (Shingon is a ritualized tantric form of Buddhism that could be described as being closer to Tibetan than Zen).
posted by infinitywaltz at 11:50 AM on January 20, 2011

Against the Stream Buddhist meditation society has a Santa Monica location.
posted by chicainthecity at 11:55 AM on January 20, 2011

You might like shambhala. They offer classes in meditation, Buddhism and Shambala and you can pick and choose the parts that interest you. The main location is near Pasadena, but they have a westside presence as well.
posted by doctord at 1:07 PM on January 20, 2011

Response by poster: All good info...thanks you guys!
posted by jnnla at 3:37 PM on January 20, 2011

I listen to the Audio Dharma podcast, which is recorded at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, but they have a center in Santa Monica. New to the philosophy, though, so I'm not sure what more practiced folks would think about it.
posted by Thoughtcrime at 6:51 PM on January 20, 2011

Audio Dharma is awesome. Were I in the area, I'd definitely check it out. I guess I'm "more practiced," so consider this my seal of approval. Some of the offerings on their Santa Monica website are not my cup of tea, but this should be a good intro to meditation and this is an appropriate followup.
posted by desjardins at 7:27 PM on January 20, 2011 [1 favorite]