Overlay of vibrant autumn leaves and a blooming lotus flower.

Study · Practice · Realize · Engage

A Monastery Without Walls

Sacred Mountain Sangha founded by former Buddhist monastics, Kittisaro & Thanissara, is an international Dharma-based community devoted to the path of awakening, collective well-being, and compassionate action in this time of profound global transformation.

As a monastery without walls, we are a living mandala rooted in presence, relationship, and the vow to serve. Drawing from the meditative depth of Theravāda and Mahāyāna, devotional practice, and sacred activism, we bridge inner realization and outer engagement.

Through classes, retreats, and training, we nurture ethical living and spiritual kinship, cultivating a diverse, multi-lineage field of awakening that honors our inter-being within nature’s sacred web of life. Our mission is to embody the Dharma as both refuge and response: rooted in wisdom, expressed through love, and alive in action.

A tabletop altar decorated with religious and spiritual objects, including statues of deities, flowers, candles, stones, and artwork, with a red and black cloth covering the table.

Practice With Us

Regular opportunities for practice • Offered live via Zoom • Dana-based • All are welcome


Three-times a week

Mon, Wed & Fri

​This chanting circle combines sacred chants, protective mantras, and meditative prayers to to uplift our world.

30 minutes • Dana-based

8:30-9am Pacific Time


Every Sunday

Sundays

Sunday Sangha sessions are weekly opportunities to be in community to practice together and receive dharma reflections from SMS core teachers.

80 minutes • Dana-based

9 - 10:20 am Pacific Time


Saturday closest to the full moon

Saturday

Drawing from the Chinese Mahayana tradition, this practice honors the eternal vow of Bodhicitta—offering compassion, healing, and protection to all beings.

80 minutes • Dana-based

11 am - 12:30 pm Pacific Time


Being Dharma:
Monthlong Retreat 2027

Big Bear Retreat Center

A Month-long Residential Retreat for Dedicated and Experienced Practitioners. Taught by Kittisaro, Thanissara, Yong Oh, assisted by Djuna Devereaux.

The overall intention of this retreat, which synthesizes essential teachings and practices from Theravada and Mahayana traditions, is to offer a graduated sequence of complementary and mutually supportive Dharma approaches that guide the practitioner into liberating insight and realignment within the inherent intuitive wisdom of our natural state of being.

Participants of 2025's monthlong retreat gathered outdoors on a wooden deck, smiling and posing for a photo. Trees and a blue sky are visible in the background.