Meditation in Westchester
Vajra Light Kadampa Buddhist Center is a non-profit Buddhist meditation center in Westchester, NY, marking 25 years of offering meditation instruction and Buddhist spiritual practice. We provide meditation classes, retreats, and special events taught by qualified Western teachers. Vajra Light’s classes are easy to understand and apply to daily life, and are suitable for both beginners and more experienced meditation practitioners.
Everyone welcome!
Where to Start
All of the classes listed below are a great place to start for both beginners and experienced meditators.
Classes are especially designed to help busy, modern people find more inner peace and happiness. No prior experience with Buddhism or meditation is necessary. Everyone is welcome! Please follow the links to individual class pages for more details about the current topics and pricing.
New Series!
Sunday Mornings
10:30am -12:00pm
The Path to Lasting Happiness
with kadam donna campanelli
Vajra Light kadampa Buddhist Center
875 Mamaroneck Avenue
Suite 205
Mamaroneck, NY 10543
The meditation on renunciation is one of the essential meditations in the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. What is it we are renouncing? Not our family, friends, enjoyments, etc., rather, we are learning to renounce the painful deluded minds of ignorance, uncontrolled desire, anger, etc., which are the actual sources of all the suffering we experience in our lives.
The first step toward attaining authentic lasting happiness is to develop the actual wish to do so, which means we need to discover how our current deluded approach to life keeps binding us ever more tightly to suffering. It is this profound and revolutionary recognition, renunciation, that will ignite within us the powerful wisdom-based desire to seek out real happiness.
Everyone welcome; suitable for both beginners and experienced meditators.
Wednesday Evenings
7:00pm -8:30pm
A Peaceful Mind in an Uncertain World
Vajra Light kadampa Buddhist Center
875 Mamaroneck Avenue
Suite 205
Mamaroneck, NY 10543
We live in a world where suffering can feel overwhelming. Faced with so much uncertainty and pain, it is easy to respond with denial, distraction, or despair.
By understanding the inner causes of suffering, we can begin to change our own minds and develop the wisdom, compassion, and positive energy to respond to life’s challenges.
Rather than becoming overwhelmed by the suffering around us, we can use it to deepen our compassion and strengthen our determination to make a difference. Buddha’s extraordinary insight shows us how to respond to a world in crisis with courage, wisdom, and meaningful action.
Everyone welcome; suitable for both beginners and experienced meditators.
Prayers For World Peace
Sunday Mornings
9:45am -10:15am
Vajra Light kadampa Buddhist Center
875 Mamaroneck Avenue
Suite 205
Mamaroneck, NY 10543
Join us for Prayers for World Peace, beautiful prayers set to music, that give us the opportunity to develop a warm and loving heart and to help create both inner and outer peace.
Through contemplating these prayers compiled by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, we learn to cherish all living beings. If everyone sincerely prays to be able to cherish others, then gradually through the power of this prayer, everyone will actually cherish each other. The world will then be permanently at peace, and pure and everlasting happiness will pervade the entire world.
Everyone welcome!
SPECIAL EVENTS
The Science of Happiness
Applying the Four Noble Truths to Our Daily Life - Weekend Retreat
October 2 - 4, 2026
with kadam donna campanelli
Kadampa Meditation Center New York
47 Sweeney Rd
Glen Spey, NY 12737
The Four Noble Truths is the essence of Buddhist thought and is a clear, precise way to understand our life and how to move forward in it. Understanding the Four Noble Truths helps us accept the pain and problems in our life, understand where they exactly come from, how to free our mind of every trace of suffering, and finally experience lasting freedom.
During this weekend retreat, Kadam Donna will take everyone step-by-step through these practices, explaining them clearly and giving ample time to feel their benefits in meditation. We will discover how these incredible teachings can be applied to the basic challenges we experience in our family life, relationships, and work, or in deeper, more spiritually transformative ways. They are limitlessly practical and useful, customizable to exactly what we need. Everyone welcome!
NKT IKBU International Fall Festival 2026
Our Real Heart Jewel
Je Tsongkhapa Empowerment
Teachings on Faith in Guru Tsongkhapa and the Blessed Practice of the Migtsema Request Prayer
with Gen-la Kelsang Dekyong
October 9 – 15
at Kadampa Meditation Center Spain in Málaga
During the Fall Festival 2026, Gen-la Kelsang Dekyong will grant the empowerment of the Wisdom Buddha Je Tsongkhapa. She will also explain how to develop and improve our faith in our Spiritual Guide seen as one with Je Tsongkhapa, and on the practice of Migtsema, the special mantra and prayer of praise and request to Je Tsongkhapa.
This prayer is very blessed because it was originally uttered by Buddha Manjushri, and comes from Manjushri’s Emanation Scripture, which he transmitted directly to Je Tsongkhapa. Many of Je Tsongkhapa’s followers attained very high realizations through the practice of Migtsema combined with the Guru yoga of Je Tsongkhapa. The Migtsema practice is the best method for increasing our faith in Je Tsongkhapa and his teachings, and if we practise Je Tsongkhapa’s teachings sincerely with faith, we can attain enlightenment quickly and easily.
The Festival is open to everyone and suitable for all levels of experience.
Become a Vajra Light Member!
When you become a Member of Vajra Light Kadampa Buddhist Center you're actively supporting the flourishing of Dharma in Westchester and throughout the world.
General Membership includes:
· Unlimited General Program (GP) classes at Vajra Light
· Unlimited day courses, workshops and retreats at Vajra Light
· Live-stream availability for Sunday ONLY General Program classes
· 50% off empowerments at Vajra Light
· Three guest passes per year to GP in-person classes at VLKBC.
Free Resources
How to Transform Your Life
FREE eBook download
“Through practicing the instructions presented in this book we can transform our life from a state of misery into one of pure and everlasting happiness. These instructions are scientific methods to improve our human nature. Everybody needs to be good-natured with a good heart, because in this way we can solve our own problems as well as those of others, and we can make our human life meaningful. Every living being has the same basic wish...
The Modern Buddhism Meditation App
Modern Buddhism is a free app with guided meditations, podcasts & ebooks inspired by the great works of meditation master Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche
DISCOVER INNER PEACE IN A BUSY WORLD
The Modern Buddhism App is your free companion for learning and practicing meditation in daily life. Inspired by the profound teachings of meditation master Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, the app offers accessible tools to bring clarity, peace, and joy into your life.