Annee Littell’s Meditation Group
This meditation group meets in person on Wednesday afternoons from 4pm to 5pm. (time and dates are subject to change: an email list is used to let people know the month’s schedule). We sit for approximately one hour and have a short reading with time for individuals to respond. Our meditation practice is compatible with Vipassana or Zen. All are welcome.
Contact Annee at 479 521-2164 for more information.
Buddhist Meditation and Spiritual Support Group
Announcement:.
Fayetteville’s Buddhist Meditation and Spiritual Support Group (BMSSG) met weekly from 1996 until the beginning of the pandemic. We have discontinued our weekly group practice sessions since the onset of the pandemic,
The group was led by long-time meditators, among them Geoff Oelsner, Scott Mashburn and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction teacher Jon Medders. Our format included meditation instruction, two meditation sessions, short dharma talks, readings and free-ranging discussions based on participants’ questions and interests. Our primary style of meditation was Shamatha (“calm abiding”). Our goal was to create an atmosphere of deep listening and mutual respect. The group was free of charge and open to both interested beginners and experienced meditators.
To receive an update on when and where meetings may resume, or to learn about present opportunities for individualized online meditation instruction and spiritual support, you can contact Geoff Oelsner at oelsnergeoff@gmail.com
Dogwood Blossom Sangha
Anita Purvis enjoys facilitating meditation groups and going on retreats to Magnolia Grove Monastery. She is a Harmony Council member of Dogwood Blossom Sangha, a community of mindfulness practitioners in the tradition of Plum Village which was established by Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.
According to Plumvillage.org, “Mindfulness is a kind of energy that we generate when we bring our mind back to our body and get in touch with what is going on in the present moment, within us and around us. We can be mindful while standing, walking or lying down; while speaking, listening, working, playing and cooking.”
Meeting times: Every Tuesday evening in the Fayetteville Public Library @ 530 pm.For schedule inquiries, see https://www.faylib.org/events
To contact Anita, or to sign up for the monthly newsletter, email mindfulnwa@gmail.com
Website: Dogwood Blossom Sangha Website
Ecumenical Buddhist Society of Little Rock
The purpose of the Ecumenical Buddhist Society of Little Rock (EBS) is to provide a place where anyone can meditate with others on a daily or weekly basis. There are regular times for practitioners and ongoing opportunities to meditate in a tradition taught by an EBS-sponsored practice leader. The Center also sponsors and hosts Buddhist retreats, classes, and social events. EBS brings Buddhist teachers to Little Rock for introductory and advanced teachings and meditation retreats in particular practice lineages. It also offers courses and lectures providing educational opportunities to explore different branches of Buddhist philosophy.
We hope to give all who come to EBS a place to practice, and teachings to begin or expand one’s exploration of Buddhism. Links to schedules and descriptions of our events, regular meditation practice groups, and classes, can be found at www.ebslr.org.
We feature:
Classes such as Introduction to Buddhism & Mindful Hatha Yoga
Daily silent sittings
Buddhism and the 12 Steps: a discussion group based on Buddhist teachings and practices related to recovery from addiction.
Retreats and other events
Theravada practice of Vipassana Meditation
Thich Nhat Hanh Mindfulness Tradition
Tibetan practices of Nyingma, Sakya, and Vajrasattva Purification
Zen practices from the Kwan Um and Soto schools of Zen
Contact: Ecumenical Buddhist Society:
1516 West 3rd Street, Little Rock, AR 72201
501-376-7056
ebs@ebslr.org;
www.ebslr.org
Gyobutsuji Zen Monastery
Gyobutsuji (Japanese; Practice Buddha Monastery) is a small mountain monastery devoted to the practice of zazen (Zen meditation). Located in the Ozark mountains near Kingston, Arkansas, practice at Gyobutsuji aims to realize the spirit of the ancient teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha and Eihei Dogen Zenji.
The inspiration for Gyobutsuji’s name is found in Eihei Dogen Zenji’s Shobogenzo Gyobutsu Igi (True Dharma Eye Treasury: Dignified Behavior of Practice Buddha): All buddhas without exception fully practice dignified conduct: this [practice] is Practice Buddha. […] Sharing one corner of the Buddha’s dignified conduct is done together with the entire universe, the great earth, and with the entire coming-and-going of life-and-death. […] This is nothing other than the dignified conduct of the oneness of Practice and Buddha.
Daily practice at Gyobutsuji consists of zazen, study, liturgy and work practice. Visitors are welcome to join at any point of the daily schedule, and we offer online practice opportunities as well. We also hold a monthly intensive sesshin (meditation retreat) and offer beginners instruction and Dharma teachings. Please see our website for details about our practice and how to join in person or online.
Shoryu Bradley, residing priest at Gyobutsuji, was ordained in the a Soto Zen Buddhist tradition in 2002 by Seirin Barbara Kohn and received Dharma Transmission from Shohaku Okumura Roshi in 2010. He has trained at practice centers such as Austin Zen Center, Tassajara Zen Mountain Monastery, Sanshiji in Bloomington, Indiana, and Shogoji Monastery in Kumamoto prefecture, Japan.
website: www.gyobutsuji.org
email address: shoryu@gyobutsuji.org
phone number: 479-800-5391
Katog Choling Gön (Katog Rit’hröd) Mountain Center
Katog Choling Rit’hröd (Rit’hröd means mountain retreat center), is a serene Tibetan Buddhist retreat center located in Parthenon, Arkansas, near the town of Jasper. The center was established by the highly regarded teacher Khentrul Lodrö Thayé Rinpoche and the non-profit organization, Katog Choling, which supports Tibetan teachings dharma activity in the West.
Khentrul Rinpoche offers Buddhist teachings at Katog Rit’hrod several times a year. At other times he travels to his other centers across the US. Regular practice group are also regularly offered by Khentrul Rinpoche’s resident students and visiting teachers at the center. Please check out our website and Practice Schedule and events calendar or call or email if you would like to plan a visit or learn more.
Contact:
Katog Rit’hrod, 45 NC 8641, Parthenon, AR 72666
870-446-2952 – leave a message if you don’t reach us.
KRContact@katogcholing.com
Online Practices
Morning Star Zen Center
Kwan Um School of Zen
While the Morning Star Zen Center is not currently meeting in person, it hopes to resume regular practice soon. In the meantime, opportunities for remote and hybrid practice can be found on the Kwan Um School of Zen website: www.kwanumzen.org.
We invite you to begin the practice of Zen. The Kwan Um School of Zen supports over 100 Zen centers around the world where you can learn the practices and forms of traditional Zen training.
Tibetan Cultural Institute of Arkansas
The Tibetan Cultural Institute of Arkansas is a non-profit organization founded by Professor Sidney Burris and Geshe Thupten Dorjee in 2007. Its fundamental mission is to familiarize our community with the rich legacy of Tibetan history, culture, cuisine, philosophy, and religion. The Institute serves on a daily basis communities located both on the campus of the University of Arkansas and Fayetteville, but we also offer our services to a larger audience as well. We have worked extensively throughout the state of Arkansas as well as in other parts of the country, and we are happy to provided tailored programs and presentations that would meet the specific needs of any community, regardless of its size.
The institute’s central teacher, Geshe Thupten Dorjee, is an ordained Tibetan Buddhist monk who holds the Geshe Lharampa degree, the highest degree offered by a Buddhist monastic university and a degree obtained by very few. Geshe la was educated at Drepung Loseling Monastery in South India by the greatest living teachers in his tradition, and as a result is able to provide authoritative instruction on a wide range of subjects in Buddhist ethics, philosophy, and psychology. He is equally at home in both the sutra and tantric traditions, and he is able to provide instruction, lectures, and discussions that are relevant to many audiences.
The Institute was proud in 2011 to have assisted the University of Arkansas in bringing His Holiness the Dalai Lama to its campus. As a result of Geshe’s extensive relationship with Drepung Loseling Monastery, the Institute continues to bring to our area Tibetan teachers who expand and diversify our educational mission.
Our website will always have the latest information regarding all of our current activities. You can follow us on Twitter at @tibetspace and find us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/
Class Schedule
Presently, TCIA offers two free and public meditation courses. Both classes have the group follow along a designated book until completion. We have copies available of these books for purchase at both Sunday and Wednesday meditation sessions, with all proceeds benefiting TCIA.
Please sign up to our Newsletter to receive any updates concerning our classes and to know if a class needs to be canceled or rescheduled due to inclement weather, holidays, or our instructors’ absence.
If interested in our Wednesday sessions, please request permission to attend from Geshe Dorjee as the subject matters discussed within are not suited for beginners. You can contact him through his email geshelatd at gmail dot com or his mobile phone 479 790 7950.
Sunday Sessions
11:00am to 12:00pm at 235 W. Louise St, Fayetteville AR
Atisha’s Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment by Geshe Sonam Rinchen.
Wednesday Evening Weekly Meditation
7pm to 8pm at 235 W. Louise St, Fayetteville AR
The current study book for Wednesday meditation is:
A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life (currently reading Chapter 7).
If you need more information please do not hesitate to contact me.
Michael Lynn Jones
14454 Meadowbrook Lane
Prairie Grove, Arkansas 72753
479.422.2665
Wattle Hollow Retreat Center
Wattle Hollow Retreat Center is located in a remote wooded area about a half-hour from Fayetteville, near Devil’s Den State Park. Director and primary teacher Joy Fox and other instructors offer meditation, yoga, and creative arts retreats of many kinds and for all levels of experience. To see a schedule and contact form as well as photographs of the place and some of its wonderful cob temples, see www.wattlehollow.com
A schedule of meditation opportunities was recently posted to the website for 2025.
“Wattle Hollow offers one or two Dharma Days every month. This is an elementary one-day exploration of Vipassana Buddhist meditation: sitting, walking, eating practices. It is suitable for beginners and experienced yogis as well. contact wattlehollow.com <http://wattlehollow.com/> for the current dates.”