Welcome Home!
A place to awaken, belong, and serve.
Redwood Vihara is a living experiment in what humanity can become. Nestled among the ancient redwoods beside Silicon Valley, we draw on the Buddha’s timeless teachings to cultivate wisdom, compassion, and noble friendship for a rapidly changing world. At the heart of our community is the Buddhist monastic lifestyle of simplicity, meditation, integrity, and joyful service.
At the heart of our community is a simple aspiration:
Cultivating unconditional well-being in service to all.
We practice this in three ways of being together.
Monastery: Listening Deeply
In a noisy world, the monastery brings us into a contemplative space where we can listen and hear what is truly in our hearts, to one another, and to nature. Through stillness and silence, we can welcome ourselves back to who we truly are.
What is our deeper calling?
Redwood: Growing Together
Like the redwoods, we grow together. Just as their roots intertwine to support and nourish one another, we cultivate a community grounded in noble friendship. Through unconditional care, we help one another grow into our fullest potential, both individually and collectively.
We may go faster alone, but we go further together.
Brahma Viharas: Serving Infinitely
Redwood Vihara is short for “Redwood Brahma Vihara.” In Buddhism, the Brahma Viharas (a.k.a. the four boundless hearts) are loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. They are called boundless because they are offered without limits or expectations. In the same spirit, we aspire to cultivate a life of service that arises naturally from the heart, not from obligation or the desire for recognition. We serve not for an outcome, but because we love to serve, for deep transformation.
We serve in the beginning, in the middle, and in the end… to infinity.
Our Roots
Redwood Vihara is part of the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association (DRBA). The Dharma Realm is the universe in its deepest sense, where everything belongs, everything is connected, and every life matters. With this vision, we take the Bodhisattva Path of infinite service as our calling. DRBA was founded by Master Hua who received Dharma transmission in the Guiyang Chan lineage from the Chan Master Xu Yun (Empty Cloud).
The Thai Forest tradition has deeply shaped Redwood Vihara. Their authentic embodiment of the monastic path in the West has been a source of guidance and inspiration. We aspire that both the traditions: northern (Mahayana in East Asia) and southern (Theravada in Southeast Asia) can meet in the center, and grow together.
We are inspired by ServiceSpace who is able to reach across religious, cultural, and generational barriers through selfless generosity. Through small acts of kindness that ripple out infinitely, they attune to what is emerging in the greater field of coherence.