“Protecting oneself, one protects others. Protecting others, one protects oneself“
Sedakasutta SN 47.19
NBM is a dedicated center for mindfulness based Vipassana meditation. It propagates Buddha’s teachings, promotes and facilitates monastic practices, organizes meditation retreats and supports the forest monastics (Sangha) by providing essential monastic requisites, fostering a serene and contemplative environment for profound spiritual growth for everyone. It aims to assist the public in reducing dissatisfaction and stress, liberate the mind from all defilements, and to promote non-violence, as well as racial, religious, and ethnic harmony in society.
NBM USA is registered as a non-profit in the US and dedicated to freely offering the Buddha’s message to the world. We are a group of volunteers who come from various backgrounds and operate under the guidance of our spiritual advisor Venerable Panadure Chandaratana Thero
Mission
Nissarana Buddhist Monastery USA is a dedicated center for mindfulness based Vipassanā meditation. We organize meditation retreats and support the forest Sangha by providing essential monastic requisites, fostering a serene and contemplative environment for profound spiritual growth for everyone.
The Role of the Monastery
The role of the monastery is to support a way of life rooted in meditative and spiritual practice. This includes:
- Vipassanā Meditation Training: Individual and group instruction in mindfulness-based meditation techniques.
- Dhamma Teaching: In-depth teachings rooted in canonical scriptures and guided by the principles of renunciation and realization.
- Monastic Support: establishing a community that offers the four requisites (food, shelter, clothing, and medicine) to the Sangha.
- Retreats and Practice Days: Regular weekend, week-long, and long-term retreats, both onsite (once land is acquired) and offsite.
- Spiritual Simplicity: Activities are strictly limited to meditative and spiritual practice, excluding cultural, ceremonial, or social rituals.
The Monastery’s Commitment to Buddhist teachings
At NBM USA, we are inspired by the early Buddhist teaching that awakening is possible here and now—not in some distant future, but in this very life. Rooted in the Dhamma, our programs support the cultivation of virtue, mindfulness, and wisdom as a direct path to inner freedom. We emphasize lived practice, encouraging individuals to realize the fruits of the path through their own experience, in daily life, moment by moment.
Contributing to Buddhist Teachings and Practice
Nissarana Buddhist Monastery (NBM) is dedicated to preserving and sharing the Buddha’s teachings as recorded in the original Pali texts. This initiative is inspired by the renowned Nissarana Vanaya Forest Monastery in Sri Lanka, established in 1967, which has guided generations in the practice of mindfulness-based Vipassanā meditation.
NBM aims to continue this spiritual legacy in the United States by establishing a meditation center grounded in the same core values: discipline, seclusion, and insight.
Guided by Wisdom and Experience
Our programs and retreats are led by Venerable Chandaratana Thero, a respected scholar and meditation teacher with over 17 years of experience at the Nissarana Vanaya Forest Monastery and NaUyana Forest Monastery in Sri Lanka. His guidance reflects deep scholarship, lived practice, and compassionate instruction.
Whether you’re new to meditation or an experienced practitioner, we welcome you to be part of this noble endeavor. Together, let us support the flourishing of the Dhamma and help bring the Buddha’s liberating teachings to those seeking inner peace and wisdom.