Kadampa Meditation Center

KMC California Kadampa Meditation Center California offers weekly drop in classes, beginner meditation classes, day courses, classes for kids and families, short and long retreats, and in-depth study programs. The Center also features a fully stocked bookstore and gift shop, and a beautiful Peace Garden. Kadampa Meditation Center California was founded by Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso and is a member of the New Kadampa Tradition – International Kadampa Buddhist Union (NKT-IKBU) a global network of over one thousand Centers and groups around the world. Neighborhood classes are also held at many locations throughout Los Angeles. Check out our welcome video to get a sense of a day in the life of Kadampa Meditation Center California. What is Meditation? Meditation is a simple yet profound method to improve the quality of our lives and develop inner peace. Through following very simple, practical instructions we can learn how to let go of the causes of our pain and dissatisfaction and to gain the happiness and clarity we seek.The meditation practices that we teach are ways to control our mind and to develop a deep and lasting peace from within. The following explanation of meditation is extracted from The New Meditation Handbook by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso: Meditation is a mind that concentrates on a virtuous object, and which is the main cause of mental peace. The practice of meditation is a method for acquainting our mind with virtue. The more familiar our mind is with virtue, the calmer and more peaceful it becomes. When our mind is peaceful, we are free from worries and mental discomfort, and we experience true happiness. The Benefits of Meditation The purpose of meditation is to make our mind calm and peaceful. If our mind is peaceful we shall be free from worries and mental discomfort, and so we shall experience true happiness; but if our mind is not peaceful, we shall find it very difficult to be happy, even if we are living in the very best conditions. If we train in meditation, our mind will gradually become more and more peaceful, and we shall experience a purer and purer form of happiness. Eventually we shall be able to stay happy all the time, even in the most difficult circumstances. Usually we find it difficult to control our mind. It seems as if our mind is like a balloon in the wind - blown here and there by external circumstances. If things go well, our mind is happy, but if they go badly, it immediately becomes unhappy. For example, if we get what we want, such as a new possession, a new position, or a new partner, we become excited and cling to it tightly. However, since we cannot have everything we want, and since we shall inevitably be separated from the friends, position, and possessions we currently enjoy, this mental stickiness, or attachment, serves only to cause us pain.