Las Vegas Dharma / Meditation Groups

Dharma in Sin City? See the article below!

Meditation Groups in Las Vegas for almost everyday!

Saturday                      Diamond Way Buddhist group
Sunday morning       Boulder City Tibetan Buddhist Center
Sunday afternoon   Lotus in the Desert Sangha
Monday                        Special events sometimes by various groups
Tuesday                        Great Brightness Zen Center
Wednesday                  Las Vegas Shambhala Meditation Group
Thursday                    The Red Rock Vipassana Sangha
Friday                             Las Vegas Mindfulness, Blue Lotus Insight
                                                Meditaton, occasional weekend retreats

Vipassana Foundation
Non-sectarian Buddhist and vipassana
Meditation, talk, discussion, and tea
One meeting per month, e-mail for schedule
Located at 3111 Bel Air Dr. #28-B (Penthouse B)
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109
Located in Central Las Vegas
RSVP required due to guard gated entrance to LVCC Estates
Photo above left is the main meditation room with room for 20 meditators, additional adjacent area with room for another 50 meditators.
Photo above right is Regency Towers. Meditate at 326 feet (100 meters) above the ground, 2354 ft. above sea level (718 meters), the same elevation as Vulture Peak. The regular meditation programs were not going on while the main gate to the community was being renovated. It just got completed and we expect to start the regular meditation and Dhamma programs soon. Send us an e-mail to be notified when we resume the programs.
Contact and RSVP to David or Woini via e-mail at david@vipassanafoundation.com

Nevada Buddhist Vihara
2040 Abels Lane
Las Vegas, Nevada 89115
Contact Bhante Subuthi (702) 457-7938
Bhante Subuthi and Nevada Buddhist Vihara maintain a close spiritual and friendly alliance with Vipassana Foundation. Bhante Subuthi is one of the members of the board of directors for
Vipassana Foundation.

Lotus in the Desert Sangha
Sundays in the afternoons
Check their website below for current meeting place.
Contact (702) 571-1820
e-mail at sangha@lotusinthedesert.org
web site: lotusinthedesert.org

Great Brightness Zen Center
Intro. to Zen, check their website for dates and times.
Meditation and service Sundays 8:40 am
Meditation and service Tues.-Thurs. 5:30 p.m.
5115 S. Dean Martin Dr., Suite 903, Las Vegas, Nevada
Contact Karen at (702) 232-6317
web site: greatbrightness.org

Boulder City Tibetan Buddhist Center
Meditation and service Sundays 9:30 am
515 Cayuga Ct., Boulder City, Nevada 89005
(702) 294-5108 & (702) 293-1685
web site: www.tibetanbuddhistcenter.org

The Five Buddha Shrine
3043 Garnet Ct., Las Vegas, Nevada
(702) 641-0522
web site: www.five-buddha.org

The Red Rock Vipassana Sangha
Meditation Thursdays 7:30 pm
10311 Birch Bluff Lane, Las Vegas, Nevada 89145
Contact Ed Coppola (702) 228-3873

Las Vegas Mindfulness Group
Meditation in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh
Tuesday evenings meditation
Contact Brian Kimmel (702) 461-8422
web site: www.lvmindful.blogspot.com/

True Dharma Assembly Las Vegas
Meditation and study groups in Chinese and English
Second Saturday of each month
and last Sunday of each month
Contact Katie (702) 292-4341
Lin Zhang (for Chinese speakers) (702) 835-2832

Vajrarupini Buddhist Center
Ven. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
Kadampa (Vajrayana-Tibetan) Buddhism
web site: meditateinlasvegas.com

Wat Thai
2920 McLeod Dr., Las Vegas, Nevada
alittlebuddha.com

Vast Awakenings
Sundays in the afternoons
2220 E. WigWam, Las Vegas, NV 89123
Check their website below for all their programs.
Contact Jon Spiel at (702) 616-0690

Las Vegas Shambhala Meditation Group
Wednesdays, 7 pm
2nd Sunday of each month, 9 am
221 View Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada
Contact: Carol Colmus (702) 877-9336

Las Vegas Diamond Way Center
Thursdays 7:45 pm and Saturdays 10:30 am
2715 Duck Pond Court
Henderson, Nevada 89074
Contact: Sara Finnerty (702) 260-4426
web site: diamondway.org

Tibetan Buddhist Sangha of America
4350 W. Spring Mountain Rd.
Ste. 111-113
Las Vegas, Nevada 89102
Contact: Mark Chen (702) 321-0917

Buddhaya Nandharam Temple
5320 Kell Lane, Las Vegas, Nevada 89156
(702) 437-3320

Nevada Buddhist Association
(Mahayana, Pure Land)
4189 S. Jones Blvd., Las Vegas, Nevada 89103 (702) 252-7339
Instruction in English including meditation, Sundays at 1 pm
web site: www.buddhism.meetup.com/541/

Wat Bodhiyana
1221 N. Mallard St., Las Vegas, Nevada 89108
Contact: Ajahn Mai (702) 646-7590

Wat Buddhaphavana
2959 W. Gowan Rd., N. Las Vegas, Nevada 89030 (702) 648-9975

Thai Temple of Nevada
3604 N. Torrey Pines Dr.,Las Vegas, Nevada 89148 (702) 395-7596

SGI-USA
(Nichiren) Las Vegas Community Center, 1201 S. Jones Blvd., Ste. A
Las Vegas, Nevada 89102 (702) 258-6489

Wat Lao Buddhamixay Association of Las Vegas
360 N. 14th St., Las Vegas, Nevada 89101 (702) 598-0903

Wat Lao
Another Lao temple in NE Las Vegas, contact (702) 598-0903

Wat Thai Las Vegas
2117 Alta Drive, Las Vegas,, Nevada 89106 (702) 384-2264

Lohan School of Shaolin
3844-3850 Schiff Dr.
Las Vegas, Nevada
(702) 364-5875
web site: lvlohans.com

Korean Buddhist Un Joo SA
5586 W. Viking Rd.
Las Vegas, Nevada 89103
(702) 873-1894

Dzogchen Shri Singha of Las Vegas
Spiritual Head: H. E. Dzogchen Khenpo Choga Rinpoche
meets at Lohan Temple, Wednesdays 8 pm, Sundays 1:30 pm
contact Betsi Drayman 219-1191, Justin Armour 610-2016
or Edgar 204-1331
spiritualseeker17@yahoo.com
web site: groups.yahoo.com/group/dzogchenlasvegas/

Quan Am Buddhist Temple
2611 S. Buffalo Ave.
Las Vegas, Nevada 89117
(702) 220-3463

Amitabha Society of Las Vegas
3375 S. Decatur
Las Vegas, Nevada
(702) 252-3042

Chaiya Meditation Monastery
7772 Rathburn Ave.
Las Vegas, Nevada 89147
(702) 247-4519

Online Dharma Groups based out of Las Vegas

Blue Lotus Insight Meditation Group, occasional weekend retreats

buddhism.meetup.com/423/

groups.yahoo.com/group/VegasBuddha

groups.yahoo.com/group/bcDharma/

groups.yahoo.com/group/lvmeditation/

35 Dharma Groups in Las Vegas and more will be included here once we get that information.

Sin City Dharma

Las Vegas, also known as, "Sin City" is home to an incredibly high 35 Buddhist Dharma groups. The 2008 population of the Greater Las Vegas area, which includes all areas of Clark County is 2.1 million. This puts Las Vegas at a ratio of one Dharma group for every 60,000 residents. The typical American city has about one Dharma group for every 200,000 residents.

Why is Las Vegas so open to Buddha-Dharma?

One reason could be that there is no "sin" in Buddhism. Gambling, per se, and other Las Vegas activities are not forbidden in Buddhism. The Buddha's teachings assist us in overcoming greed and attachments to things such as ego and extreme viewpoints. Addictions are to be avoided of any kind. While it is certainly possible to become addicted to gambling, it can be just as easy to become addicted to many other things, including compulsive behaviors and viewpoints.

In the Buddha's teachings, there is no "sin." Negative or unwholesome things might happen because of attachment (or greed), aversion (or hatred), and delusion (or ignorance). Participating in entertainment activities is not forbidden and can be done in moderation, especially without extreme attachment and greed. Studies show that the vast majority of all tourists and locals who do gamble, do so with a strict budget.

It is specifically mentioned in the discourses of Buddha, Digha Nikaya, Sigalaka Sutta, number 31, that lay people should not waste their money and one way of wasting money is described as addiction to gambling. The discourse does not prohibit gambling or entertainment, just the addiction to it.

There are some who believe that it is inappropriate to live in Las Vegas or especially to work in casino establishments. Such a viewpoint fails to understand the intentions of our actions. The Buddha only was opposed to livelihoods that directly harmed others with violence, including trading in weapons, poisons, and animal flesh. A casino black jack dealer has no intention of creating a gambling addict anymore than a TV cable installer wants to create a TV watching addict. Working at a casino is not a wrong livelihood.

The viewpoint against living or working in Vegas fails to understand the interconnectedness of all life, people, and economies. A tourist may come to Las Vegas, win some money, take it back to his home in Cleveland and buy some lunch at a cafe in Cleveland. The cafe owner is then receiving gambling money (indirectly) which he then uses to pay his employees. One of the employees uses the wages to buy some products at a store in Cleveland, which pays another owner which pays another employee, who then might use the wages to make a trip to Las Vegas. The cycle goes round and round, it is all inter-connected, just like Indra's Net and the circle of life. To say that you can not live or work in Las Vegas so that you do not touch gambling money is foolish, it is all connected no matter where you live.

Las Vegas Buddhist facts and trivia:

* A large percentage of international tourists are from Asia and predominantly Buddhist.

* There is a non-stop daily flight from Tokyo to Las Vegas due to demand.

* The mega-casino Mandalay Bay has a Buddhist theme and is filled with Buddhist statues and Asian gardens and decorations.

* The restaurant at the top of the Palms Hotel & Casino is called Little Buddha.

* MGM Grand paid $10 million to change their entrance from a walkway entering a Lion's mouth to a different Lion away from the entrance to please the Asian market.

* The Tao nightclub at the Venetian features several Buddha statues, one very large 20 foot Buddha statue floating over a pond and their billboard advertising features a Buddha with the words, Religious Nightlife, Spiritual Dining, and Your prayers have been answered.

* Steve Wynn, owner of Wynn Hotel and Casino has been involved with most of the mega-casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, either in development, ownership, or management. He was born Jewish but states that he is a Buddhist and that the Dalai Lama is his teacher.

* Caesar's Palace Hotel and Casino has a large shrine to the Buddhist god, Brahma who like other gods in the Buddhist cosmology is impermanent and subject to rebirth like the rest of us until one attains nibbana (nirvana). The statue has four heads which is just symbolic for the four brahma viharas.

brahmaviharas.com

Landmark Buddhist sites not in Las Vegas,
but worth the flight or drive!

HSI-LAI Temple
3456 S. Glenmark Dr.
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745 (Los Angeles Area)
(626) 961-9697
Over 15 acres and over 100,000 square feet of temple area
LARGEST BUDDHIST TEMPLE IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE
Built in an architecture the style of the forbidden city in Beijing, China
Numerous courses and meditation programs in both Chinese and English
Fabulous daily vegetarian buffet for $7 per person.
web site: hsilai.org

Shambhala Mountain
4921 County Road 68C
Red Feather Lakes, CO 80545
Over 600 acres of land and many buidlings
A mini Buddhist city in the Colorado Rockies
108 foot high stupa finished year 2001 at a cost of over $2 million
Numerous courses and retreats offered
(888) STUPA-21
web site: shambhalamountain.org