Host Centers
The Nashville Buddhist Festival is brought to you by local dharma centers who host weekly practices and periodic retreats. We come together in a spirit of mutual support and harmony to offer the festival to the community, with the wish that it be beneficial to all who attend. You are warmly invited to contact or attend any of our groups.
Jump to:
The Nashville Insight Meditation Group
The Nashville Mindfulness Center
Luminous Mind (non-sectarian)
www.luminousmind.net • 463-2374 • email info@luminousmind.net
Luminous Mind is a resource for those who would like to learn about Buddhist thought and ancient wisdom in a way that transcends religious and cultural barriers. We offer weekly study using audio, video, and printed resources, as well as special events with guest teachers.
We warmly welcome individuals from a broad range of backgrounds:
- Members of any Buddhist tradition who would like to study the fundamental teachings of Buddhism more deeply, particularly teachings on the nature of experience. Many of our studies will apply to all schools of Buddhism. Most will apply to all Mahayana schools of Buddhism – Zen, Tibetan, etc.
- Individuals whose path lies outside of an established institution.
- For those who are interested in Buddhism but haven't yet committed to a particular form of practice, we offer a chance to study broadly and see where you might connect. We would be happy to refer you to a center where you might take refuge and receive specific lineage teachings.
- For those commited to other religions, we offer a no-obligation opportunity to see how the principles of mindfulness-awareness can enrich your own path, with no need to convert.
- From time to time, we also offer special events that can benefit anyone, including those without a spiritual path.
Friday night Dharma Study: 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Location: the home of Rita Frizzell, 1716A Linden Avenue in the Belmont-Hillsboro neighborhood in Nashville
The Nashville Insight Meditation Group (Theravada)
www.thebuddhisttemple.org • 615.271.1711 • email lee@keithcase.com
We are a group meeting together to engage in Buddhist Vipassana (or insight) meditation. You don’t have to know anything about meditation or Buddhism to try meditation – you can start where you are.
Meditation instruction and Dhamma talks are given every Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday morning at 9 a.m., at The Buddhist Temple at 99 Lyle Avenue, Nashville, TN. Sessions are currently being led by Ven. Bhikku Nyanasobhano, who was ordained as a monk in the Theravada tradition in Bangkok, Thailand in 1987.
Ven. Nyanasobhano teaches according to the Buddha’s discourses found in the Pali Canon. He is the author of three books of Buddhist thought: Landscapes of Wonder, Longing for Certainty and Available Truth. Ven. Nyanasobhano teaches Buddhism for everyday living that is based on the three divisions of the eight fold path: ethical conduct, concentration and wisdom. We invite you to come and participate.
Meditation instruction and Dhamma talks:
- Wednesdays 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday mornings 9 a.m.
Location: The Buddhist Temple at 99 Lyle Avenue, Nashville, TN
The Nashville Mindfulness Center (Zen)
nashvillemindfulness.org • 615.673.3366 • email compassion@nashvillemindfulness.org
The Nashville Mindfulness Center is dedicated to the practice of mindful meditation in the tradition of Zen master and Nobel Peace prize nominee Thich Nhat Hanh. Our practice at the NMC is one of touching the wondrous, refreshing, and healing elements inside us and around us, and nourishing the seeds of joy, peace, love, and understanding in ourselves, thus facilitating the work of transformation and healing in our consciousness. Much of what we do is guided meditation immediately accessible to those with little or no experience. Through the teachings of the Buddha’s realization of enlightenment, we cultivate compassion, insight, and awareness. We are aware that life is available only in the present moment and that it is possible to live happily in the here and now . . . We smile often.
A meditation practice center since 2003, the Nashville Mindfulness Center was officially established as a mindfulness center in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh in March of 2006, the center is coordinated by Skip Ewing. Meetings are held at 7618 Buffalo Road Sundays 9:30 a.m.–11 a.m., Wednesdays 6:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m. Orientation both days 30 minutes prior.
Sundays 9:30 a.m.–11 a.m.
Wednesdays 6:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m.
Orientation both days 30 minutes prior
Location: 7618 Buffalo Road, Nashville, TN 37221
The Nashville Zen Center (Zen)
www.nashvillezencenter.org • 615.714.4656 • email info@nashvillezencenter.org
The Nashville Zen Center (Bringing NoThing to Nashville Since 1982) was founded in 1982 by people interested in Zen Buddhist practice. Like each of us, our Center has no fixed Self—and has evolved and undergone many changes over the years. Currently, we offer Zen practice in the Soto tradition (Japanese), in the lineage of Zengaku Soyu Matsuoka, Roshi. We welcome everyone to experience this practice with us—from the merely curious to the serious seeker—we have a cushion just for you!
What we do (or strive for….per Bodhidharma!):
A special transmission outside of the scriptures. No dependence upon words or letters. Direct pointing at the soul of man. Seeing into one’s own nature and the attainment of Buddhahood
For more information contact info@nashvillezencenter.org or call Nat at (615)714- 4656, or just come sit with us at the 12South Dharma Center, 2301 12th Ave. S. Ste. 202, Nashville, TN 37204. We meet Tuesday nights at 7 p.m. and Saturday mornings at 7:00 a.m. The Tuesday evening sit provides orientation for newcomers; newcomers on Saturdays should arrive a few minutes early.
Tuesday nights at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday mornings at 7:00 a.m.
Location: 12South Dharma Center, 2301 12th Ave. S., Ste. 202
One Dharma Nashville (Inclusive of all Traditions)
www.onedharmanashville.com • 615.376.7933 • email onedharmainfo@gmail.com
One Dharma Nashville is a meditation group that embraces all Buddhist traditions and is not affiliated with any one. The three main Buddhist traditions of Zen, Vipassana and Tibetan have in common key elements and practices such as mindfulness, loving-kindness, compassion and non-attachment. These practices took root from Buddha’s strong aspiration that all beings find peace and freedom from suffering. At One Dharma, we put the emphasis on these core practices which can be utilized by anyone, whether Buddhist or not.
One Dharma Nashville meets each Monday night, 7:00–8:30 at the 12South Dharma Center, 2301 12th Ave. S., Ste. 202. Our service consists of meditation, chanting and discussion. Experienced meditators, as well as those who are completely new to Buddhist teachings and practices are welcome to join us. Our Dharma Study Group, which is an open meeting, convenes every second and fourth Saturday from 10 to 11:30 a.m. We also offer a once-monthly practice session for newer mediators with the emphasis on the basics of dharma practice. These meetings are usually the third Wednesday of each month. We offer periodic one- and three-day retreats. For more information on our practice and meeting schedule, please email us or visit our website.
Monday nights, 7:00–8:30 p.m. - Main Meditation Night
Second and Fourth Wednesdays of Each Month, 6:30–7:30 p.m. - Practice Group
2nd and 4th Saturdays 10:00–11:30 a.m. - Dharma Study
Location: 12South Dharma Center, 2301 12th Ave. S., Ste. 202
Padmasambhava Buddhist Center (Tibetan Vajrayana)
www.pbc-tn.org • 292-6219 • email info@pbc-tn.org
Padmasambhava Buddhist Center (PBC) spreads the teachings of Buddhism according to the Nyingma Lineage, the most ancient Buddhist school of Tibet. The Center was established in New York in 1989 by two eminent Tibetan masters, Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche, brother lamas who escaped Tibet in 1959. PBC currently has over 20 centers in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Russia. The Venerable Khenpos established the Tennessee center in 1987, which now includes an urban center in Nashville and a rural retreat center outside Monterey.
In Nashville, meetings are offered five days a week at our dharma center, Yeshe Tsogyal House, 419 East Iris Drive in the Bransford Avenue area near 100 Oaks Mall. All sessions are open to visitors, and Sunday mornings at 11:00 a.m. are introductory in nature and particularly accessible for guests. Retreats with the Venerable Khenpo Rinpoches are offered once or twice a year and are open to all. For our full schedule and more information, please call or visit our website.
Sundays, 11:a.m. - Dharma talk & practice
Tuesdays, 7:00 p.m. - Ngondro practice (Tibetan & English chanting)
Wednesdays, 7:00 - Calm Abiding Meditation
Alternating Thursdays - Dharma Study
Fridays, 11:30 a.m. - Heart Sutra Practice
Location: Yeshe Tsogyal House, 419 East Iris Drive in the Bransford Avenue area near 100 Oaks Mall
Ter-kha (Tibetan Treasure Trove) Store hours are every Sunday from noon until 5 p.m. We carry Dharma books, singing bowls, incense, ritual items, statues, various gift items and a wide range of jewelry. We also carry meditation posters, pashmina shawls, scarves and bags of various sizes.