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Dharma in Sin City? See the article below!
Las Vegas Dharma / Meditation Groups
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
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109
Located in Central Las Vegas, go to intersection of
Maryland Pkwy and Vegas Valley and go West to guard shack
Tell guard you are here to see David Snyder in #28-B, Regency Towers
Go 0.1 mile and turn left at Bel Air Drive and park in front of Regency Towers
Take elevator to 28th floor (PH) and meet at Penthouse B
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 400 feet (122 meters)
above the ground. 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
Thai Wat (temple)
2920 McLeod Dr., Las Vegas, Nevada
more info coming soon
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
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/
34 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 34
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 62,000 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.
* Caesers Palace 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 Nirvana. The statue has four heads which is just symbolic for the four brahma viharas.
brahmaviharas.com