At Sacred Mountain Sangha we believe liberation and wellbeing is the birthright of all, and that awakening to our shared belonging within the web of life is a critical component for a sustainable, just, and equitable world.
Sacred Mountain Sangha grew from the work of Kittisaro and Thanissara at Dharmagiri, the small center they founded in 2000 in the Drakensberg-UKhahlamba Mountains on the border of South Africa and Lesotho. It now has a presence in the U.S.A. centered in Sebastopol, California, through the newly formed Sacred Mountain Sangha public charity.
The core orientation of Sacred Mountain Sangha is a Buddhist practice that marries the liberating teachings from the Theravada Forest Tradition with universally compassionate and non-dual teachings from the Mahayana. Our guiding ethos is the bodhisattva ideal and an integrated spiritual life in service of the welfare of all.
Sacred Mountain Sangha provides retreats and trainings that support a community of practitioners and leaders seeking to deepen practice and further understanding through comprehensive guidance in the Dharma, devotional practice, and sacred ceremony that places humans within a cosmology of inter-relationship honoring the Earth, environment, and all species.
Sangha development is grounded in the cultivation of community, refuge, ethics, psychological competency, and an ongoing commitment to serve and support collective wellbeing and foster a widening collaboration within a diverse congregation of kindred spirits. Sangha outreach is guided by open mindedness, practice of inter-faith dialogue, and community engagement that effectively engages the challenges of our times.