Wat Buddhametta: Tucson Buddhist Meditation Center

Wat Buddhametta is a Buddhist monastery, temple, and meditation center in Tucson serving both Buddhist and non-Buddhist community members. Following the Theravada tradition, it provides a residence for the Buddhist monastic community, a place of worship, a meeting place for laypeople, and facilitie

About Wat Buddhametta: Tucson Buddhist Meditation Center

Wat Buddhametta is a Buddhist monastery, temple, and meditation center in Tucson serving both Buddhist and non-Buddhist community members. Following the Theravada tradition, it provides a residence for the Buddhist monastic community, a place of worship, a meeting place for laypeople, and facilities for Buddhist religious practices. Members, students, and people interested in Buddhism and meditation can participate in classes, ceremonies, meditation sessions, and community services.

The center offers several forms of Buddhist practice and instruction. Its activities include meditation classes, guided and silent meditation, walking meditation, Buddhist study and chanting, ceremonies, and occasional meditation retreats. A monthly, one-day retreat is designed for people who want to deepen their meditation practice and develop insight into the workings of the mind. The center also organizes seminars, conferences, and other special events, with schedules and notices shared through its calendar.

Wat Buddhametta provides services connected to important moments in family and community life. Buddhist ceremonies include birth blessings, Thai Buddhist weddings, funeral services, and memorial services. Monks are also available for hospital and hospice visits upon request. The center offers training for people aspiring to join the monastic community, while its regular programs remain open to people with different levels of experience, including beginners and those with an established meditation practice.

The Tucson center grew from the work of Theravada Buddhist monk Ajahn Sarayut Arnanta, who serves as its abbot. From 2006 through 2010, Ajahn Sarayut led group meditations focused on Vipassana, or mindfulness meditation, in public library meeting rooms. Those gatherings included beginners and experienced meditators, and showed him that many participants were looking for a temple environment where they could continue their practice. In 2009, he brought that vision to Tucson, creating a setting intended for both Asian and non-Asian community members. Wat Buddhametta was established in February 2010 in central Tucson, on the site of a former landscape design school. The property includes a 1950s-era adobe building with 3,500 square feet on 3.5 acres, north of 22nd Street on the east side of Swan Road.

Visitors can come to the center for daily visits and practice, as well as scheduled classes, ceremonies, and community events. The regular Sunday morning ceremony includes the Three Refuges and Five Precepts, along with alms and lunch offerings, and is led by the abbot, the Sangha, and lay community members. Beginner meditation sessions include an introduction, guided sitting meditation, instruction in walking meditation, a walking meditation period, and a closing sitting session. Sessions for more advanced meditators include silent meditation and a Dhamma talk or reflection. The center's website provides current event information and notices, including the announcement that its community Thai food buffet is canceled until further notice. Those wishing to bring alms offerings to the monks are asked to advise the center before visiting.