Kadampa Meditation Center GA

Beautiful Center in the heart of Atlanta… highly recommended for accessible Buddhist teachings and practical advice for living a peaceful happy life :)

I discovered KMC by reading literature at The World Peace Café. I was at WPC because it’s a veg restaurant & I’m vegan. Little did I know that a stop in for lunch would change my life.
I’ve dabbled in Buddhism for many years, & never found a tradition that spoke to me deeply. KMC has done just that.
The New Kadampa Tradition of Buddhism is very beginner-​friendly. Free meditation classes are offered, & by recommendation, this is where I started. I also did a couple of beginner retreats, where questions were encouraged & I found very helpful answers.
Personally, one of the things that drew me to KMC was the serving of only vegetarian food at the center. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, the spiritual leader of NKT, teaches that all life should be valued equally. You don’t have to be veg to be NKT, but if veg ethics are your values, NKT will fit like a shoe.

Buddhism presents many a conundrum. As far as I understand it, part of Buddhist philosophy espouses that no one is better than anyone else, and that there is no good or evil. Thus, I guess, no better and worse. So, to tell you that this place is fabulous might be a bit anti-​Buddhist. Good thing for you, I’m not far enough along my path to make those judgments.
If you’re looking for a safe and inviting place, that is, nonetheless, serious about Buddhist studies, this is a fantastic place. Sunday morning «classes» (they are not referred to as «services»), are open to anyone, and involve meditation, followed by a lesson offered by Gen Kelsang Mondrub is a close disciple of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. Gen Mondrub is humble, often referencing his own challenges and fallibility, while offering wise, accessible, and inspirational lessons. A childrens’ class is offered next door, offering genuine Buddhist teachings in a manner accessible to little ones (with time for coloring and arts and crafts thrown in, too.) Parents can stay with their children or go to the adult class.
The center also runs the absolutely delightful vegetarian Buddhist café down the street– the World Peace Café.
But, as Buddha said, «Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense. »