A warm welcome! All of our offerings are open to beginners and first-time visitors with the exception our advanced classes and groups, which are specifically geared toward experienced practitioners or those with specific identities, such as seniors and people of color.

When you arrive at the Dharma Center for a Monday night sit, you will be met by greeters who will invite you to enter our cloakroom where you can store your coat and shoes. We have never had a problem with theft, but we encourage people to bring valuables with them into the hall. (And please silence your cell phone!)

Inside the meditation hall, there is a variety of seating options, and we encourage you to sit where you are comfortable. We offer cushions (zafus) and mats (zabutons), chairs with arms, chairs without arms, and bench seating lining the periphery of the room. There is also plenty of space for wheelchairs or powerchairs.

We have ample restroom facilities and welcome our friends of all gender identities to choose the restroom where they feel most comfortable. There is also an all-gender family restroom available on the main level as well as on the lower level.

We are a community built on kindness and generosity. Chances are you will be sitting next to someone who would be delighted to answer questions and make a new friend. Feel free to introduce yourself!

While we offer the teachings of the Buddha, the practices of meditation, mindfulness, kindness, and generosity are universal. You do not need to believe anything, espouse anything, wear anything, or be anything you’re not. All are welcome here. Come as you are.

Yes, we are ADA compliant. Our entrances have ramps and automatic doors, there is a handicap-accessible restroom facility, and there is plenty of space for wheelchairs in the meditation hall. We do have one room downstairs that is only rarely used for small programs.

If you would like assistance getting to, from, or around the center, please reach out to .

Teachers and leaders use microphones and we provide amplification headsets for those who are hearing impaired. Hearing aids are located in the cupboard in the back corner of the meditation hall. We recommend coming a few minutes early on a Monday night sit or class and asking a greeter—or whoever is leading the sit—to assist you with your headset.

In order to be a welcoming place for all, we ask that you wear scent-free products (or none at all) when coming to the Dharma Center. Some of our sangha members have chemical sensitivities and allergies, and even fragranced essential oils can cause reactions ranging from flu-like symptoms to difficulty breathing. Thank you for being mindful of your fragrances!

We have chairs (with and without arms), cushions, and bench seating on the periphery of the room. Special accommodations can be made for people who need to lie down when meditating. Please reach out to a member of our Dharma Council if you need to make special arrangements.

Coughing and sneezing are no big deal. If you are coughing intensely for a long period, you may wish to get a drink of water or a cough drop. Cough drops are generally available on the counter in the foyer. It’s very common to fall asleep during meditation, and it is no problem. If you are snoring, you might wake up to a fellow meditator ever so gently alerting you!

Pali was the language in which the Buddha taught. From time to time, we use Pali words in dharma talks and on our website. Always feel free to ask whoever is offering the teachings what specific words mean. For a glossary of Pali terms, please click here.

In the Buddhist tradition, the teachings are considered so valuable you can’t put a price on them. For more than 2,600 years, teachers and communities have been supported by the practice of dana, a Pali word that translates as “generosity.” Just as students depend upon teachers, teachers depend upon students. Through a practice of mutual generosity, teachers share the Dharma, and practitioners support the teachings through gifts of money, resources, and service. This system has allowed the teachings of the Buddha to become available to all people, regardless of socioeconomic background, and has supported the spreading of the teachings through countless generations.

The Durango Dharma Center only exists through the generosity of the people who value what we offer. We would not be here without your generous support of our center and leadership.

Dana is not a payment or a fee. It is a gesture of the heart and a beautiful practice of mutual support and sharing. Those who offer teachings at the Dharma Center rely on the generosity of our practitioners to sustain themselves and continue offering their important work in this world. We invite you to participate in this beautiful tradition.

There are many ways to give dana. For more information about offering a gift, please visit our donation page. For information about volunteering, please visit our volunteers’ page. If you would like to read more about the practice of generosity, please refer to “The Gift of Generosity” an article written by Phillip Moffitt.

We very much welcome you! No one is turned away from any program we offer for lack of funds. All of our programs, classes, and retreats provide scholarships.

For off-site residential retreats, which are generally held at inns, we offer an ample but limited number of scholarships and encourage those with financial considerations to sign up early for those offerings.

We very much love and support our yoga teacher friends and other spiritual friends. At this time, we are not able to accommodate programming for non-DDC events.