Dharmata Foundation — Richmond, United States

A volunteer-run Buddhist sangha and temple hall in Point Richmond, California

Dharmata Foundation was formed in 2005 as a 501(c)3 non-profit under the direction of the Buddhist teacher Anam Thubten. It describes itself as a container for spiritual community, following what it calls the pathless path through the essential teachings of the Buddha and the lineage of great Buddhist masters. Anam Thubten grew up in Tibet intent on entering a monastery, where he received extensive academic and spiritual training through much of his childhood and young adulthood. He remains the foundation's spiritual advisor. His more recent book, The Citadel of Awareness, is a commentary on Jigme Lingpa's Dzogchen Aspiration Prayer. The foundation's headquarters and main community are at Dhumatala (Dhyana Hall), at 235 Washington Avenue in Point Richmond. The town sits on the east shore of San Francisco Bay, twenty miles from the San Francisco airport and directly across the bay from San Rafael and Marin County. Its pages note that it was the commercial hub of Richmond 110 years ago and is now a quiet small town amid the busy Bay Area. Visitors are asked to park in the nearby commercial area, since the surrounding streets are residential, and to walk the short distance to the temple. From this base the foundation fosters meditation groups in multiple locations internationally. It offers daylong, weekend and residential retreats alongside regular meditation practice. Its Sweetwater Hermitage, a members' directory, a fellowship and a Vajra Sangha are listed among its offerings, and video teachings and guided meditations are archived for members. The organization is entirely volunteer-run, and it says it holds an attitude of blossoming as a practice community without attachment to any ultimate outcome, and a willingness to change its structure where that serves the inner evolution of practitioners.

Traditions: Tibetan Buddhism, Dzogchen, Meditation, Buddhist Dharma teachings

Programs: Daylong retreats, Weekend retreats, Residential retreats, Regular meditation practice, Video teachings and guided meditations, Sweetwater Hermitage, Dharmata Fellowship, Vajra Sangha