Opening Deep Meditation Practice to Young Adults
View Upcoming Retreats and Programs
We support people ages 18-35 to explore immersive retreats with experienced teachers across Buddhist lineages.
Summoned by the Earth
Awakening through the Four Immeasurables
Walking the Boundless Way
Staying Resourced in Relationship
Discovering Dzogchen
“[This retreat] deepened my commitment, discipline, and faith in my practice so that I will invest myself in my morning sit even when I'm feeling bad or have tons of stress to contend with. I've internalized that I'm not practicing to "fix my life" or solve problems I identify. It's much deeper, tapping into a truth that transcends my "problems." It's freeing.” - Io, Zen Mountain Monastery Retreat, 2023
“This retreat was illuminating - I realized I've been denying myself love and connection with others. For the first time I can remember, I'm confident I can find love within myself here and now. I learned to practice with ease instead of holding tensely on to a desired goal.” - Zach, Beth Upton Retreat, 2024
“Incredible. Great space-holding from Dharma Gates staff, amazing teachings that were transformative - THANK YOU!!” - Zach, Guo Gu Retreat, 2024
“Seeing how Dharma can be applicable in my life even though I don't consider myself Buddhist. I loved feeling the group energy and power of being together to practice compassion.” - Josie, Megan Mook Retreat, 2024
“Truly magical. Historically, I have practiced sporadically and solo, I never knew how powerful it could be to sit with a community and how close I could feel with others through silence. It was hard at times, but for once I appreciated that challenge and frustration as an important part of the experience -- feeling it and letting go is the practice. I have never felt as peaceful as I did the final morning of the retreat.” - Toni, Being Outside Retreat, 2023
“Being in deep presence for such an extended time opened my heart and allowed much of what I suppress and avoid to rise to the surface to be seen, loved, healed and released. Being in noble silence within a community allowed me to be "alone together," a practice that I will carry with me in my life moving forward.” - Angelina, Bhante Rahula Retreat, 2024
Listen to Participants Share About Their Experience:
Mission
Dharma Gates is a grassroots nonprofit dedicated to opening pathways into formal meditation practice for young adults. We connect young practitioners to a variety of Buddhist teachers and practice centers, working to eliminate conceptual, logistical, and financial barriers to practice. We foster connections through which practitioners can cultivate compassion, resilience, and clarity to meet the unique challenges of our times.
Practice
Dharma Gates offers young adults (18-35) a range of immersive introductory experiences to meditation practice in a variety of Buddhist traditions. We offer in-person and online events in partnership with a wide breadth of facilitators and teachers, emphasizing accessibility, diverse perspectives, and depth of training. We recognize and work to dismantle cultural and economic barriers that inhibit engagement with formal meditation practice. Click here to check out the retreats and offerings we have coming up!
Connect
The purpose of meditation is not just to benefit an individual, nor is it most effective when practiced alone. We offer spaces in which participants can connect both informally and through relational practices (such as Circling). For those that are inspired, we support participants to take these practices further by connecting Dharma Gates community members, Buddhist teachers, and practice centers across the United States and abroad. Tapping into the broader community of practitioners, both peers and teachers, can transform our practice and our lives.
Engage
The younger generation faces unique, urgent, and complex challenges, with long-term consequences that require compassion, clarity, and resilience. Formal meditation training is a powerful method for cultivating these qualities in ourselves and in the world. By supporting each other to engage wholeheartedly with living practice traditions, we seek to inspire a new generation of practitioners to wake up to their innate wisdom and live lives of skillful service.
