Southern Dharma Retreat Center

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Welcome Home

Southern Dharma Retreat Center offers rustic and intimate teacher-led retreats grounded in Buddhist practice traditions with a unifying thread of meditation, contemplation, and silence.

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Newsletter

The Southern Dharma Newsletter is a great way to keep up with our Center,
hear about upcoming programs, and stay connected with our community.

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Southern Dharma offers meditation retreats and programs from a variety of lineages in Buddhist and related traditions.

✨ Find Your Seat: April Retreats at Southern Dharm ✨ Find Your Seat: April Retreats at Southern Dharma
Register now to claim one of the remaining spots for our upcoming April retreats! Whether you are just beginning your journey or looking to deepen a long-standing practice, we have a space held for you in the quiet beauty of the mountains.

🗓️ Upcoming April Programs:

Vibrant Sky: The Practice & Vision of Open Awareness
Teacher: Jogen Salzberg
Dates: April 2 – April 5
Level: Open to all skill levels

We are One, We are Whole
Teacher: Rev. WonGong So
Dates: April 10 – April 17
Level: Open to all skill levels

The Intuitive Heart: A Meditation Retreat for Experienced Meditators
Teacher: David Chernikoff
Dates: April 29 – May 3
Level: Experience required

🌿 Join Our Community
At Southern Dharma Retreat Center, we believe these teachings should be accessible to all, which is why financial aid is available for these programs. If what you see is insufficient, please email registrar@southerndharma.org so we can find a way to get you on retreat!

🔗 Ready to join us? Click the link in our bio to register today!

#SouthernDharma #MeditationRetreat #Mindfulness #AprilRetreats #DharmaPractice #SpiritualGrowth
We honor the life of Venerable Dr. Pannavati Bhik We  honor the life of Venerable Dr. Pannavati Bhikkhuni, Maha Theri, beloved co-founder of  Heartwood Mandala monastery in Hendersonville NC and teacher at Southern Dharma Retreat Center. To commemorate her, we offer a reflection from her student, Brian Silva:

"Our dearest teacher Venerable Pannavati, left her body on 2/26/2026 at 1:30pm EST. Her monastics, two lay residents and Kaye, her devoted Kappiya and friend, held vigil for her from 9am that day through her transition. Venerable Pannavati has been my wife Nancy and my teacher for many years.  Venerable was one of the first African-American Theravada nuns in the United States. During her service to the Dharma Veneralbe made numerous trips to India lending support to the  Dalit, a cast often called untouchables. Venerable worked hand in hand  with them to improve their living standards and teach the Dharma. She and others ordained some of the very first bhikkhunīs of Thailand. In recent years Venerable Pannavatti has been dedicated to helping bring  her teacher H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III’s writing to our country.

Words will never explain how she impacted all our lives and touched our hearts. Her joy was contagious and her fearless compassion paved the way for so many people. She was a true kalyanamitta and her favorite thing to do was to give a Dharma talk! Everything that she did was for the Dharma and for saving sentient beings."
Interested in becoming more involved with Southern Interested in becoming more involved with Southern Dharma?
We are now accepting applications for two new positions on our staff! 

Southern Dharma Retreat Center is a rural mountainous retreat center, where staff and volunteers live and work together. Staff support one another along the Path through spiritual community and friendship, operate and maintain the Center, provide for guests, and conduct retreats.

We are an intentional community of practitioners who also work together. In addition to our work duties and daily personal life activities, all staff here at Southern Dharma abide by moral and ethical precepts, offer hospitality and service to our guests and extended community, and work to create a diverse and inclusive culture that supports and protects all sentient beings.

Southern Dharma could be described as “rustic” and because of this, residents and staff members who enjoy creativity, curiosity, and self-agency in working environments have a smooth time integrating into our community, and we particularly encourage applicants of diverse or marginalized identities to apply.

#meditationpractice #retreatcenter #spiritualist #spiritual #spiritualawakening #awakening #awake #awaken #meditate #meditation #peaceofmind #peaceful
Do you want to experience true love? “If you can Do you want to experience true love? 

“If you cannot transform and take care of the suffering in you and in the other person, that is not true love."
— Thich Nhat Hanh

This Valentine's Day, give the gift of a retreat to your loved one (or yourself!) in honor of the divine abodes of true love, the Brahma Viharas: Loving Kindness (Metta), Compassion (Karuna), Sympathetic Joy (Mudita) and Equanimity (Upekkha).

"Romantic love, if you are successful, will cultivate a lot of loving kindness and compassion. And very soon, your love will be all embracing. The other person will no longer be the only object of your love because your love will continue to grow and embrace all of us. Happiness becomes limitless, and that is the love of the Buddha. If it is true love, it will continue to grow and include not only humans but also animals, plants, and minerals. That is great love, maha karuna or maha maitri. That is the love of the Buddha."
— Thich Nhat Hanh

Find the link to our gift certificates in our bio!
📿 Have you journeyed to see the Monks Walk for Pea 📿 Have you journeyed to see the Monks Walk for Peace? Send us your pictures and we will repost them on our story February 10 - 11 to celebrate their arrival in Washington D.C.! 📿

This week, monks from Huong Dao Temple in Fort Worth  arrive to the capitol on their pilgrimage for peace. To use board member Stephanie Swann's words, "They are demonstrating, in the most ordinary way possible, what it looks like to live a peaceful life. Not as an idea, not as a slogan, but as a practice."

As they've traveled across the south, they have lived a question that frequently arises at Southern Dharma: What does it mean to offer dharma in the southern United States? Facing both celebration and condemnation, their journey has created an opportunity for thousands to experience mindfulness practices for the first time. They have inspired countless practitioners--some from Southern Dharma--to join them in their march toward the capitol, even if just for an hour or a day.

Here are a few photos taken by Southern Dharma friends and family across Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. We offer heartfelt prayers of gratitude and metta to them as they near their destination, and send out blessings to the greater ecosystem of dharma in the south. May all find wellness, freedom, and peace! 🕊️
You heard that right! We are currently seeking a You heard that right!

We are currently seeking a Retreat Center Programs & Communications Manager to join our community beginning on March 1, 2026. This position collaborates closely with our Retreat Center Director for all aspects of retreat-related logistics, and provides support to Southern Dharma’s RCD and Executive Director (ED) with  broader communications and marketing.

Southern Dharma Retreat Center is a rural mountainous retreat center, where staff and volunteers live and work together. Staff support one another along the Path through spiritual community and friendship, operate and maintain the Center, provide for guests, and conduct retreats.

Full-time staff benefits include 100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance, paid time off, housing for on-site staff, food, and the opportunity to sit in on retreats.

Southern Dharma is committed to creating an inclusive community of individuals of different backgrounds, gender identities, races, sexual orientations, abilities, and ages.

Are you interested or know someone who would be a good fit? Find more information and the full position profile in our bio!
Learn about Southern Dharma's new teachers offerin Learn about Southern Dharma's new teachers offering retreats this year!

“Sharon has a rare gift for guiding people home to their hearts with wisdom and kindness.” 
— Tara Brach

Sharon Shelton began practicing mindfulness and meditation around 1997 and has studied in the Insight tradition for nearly three decades. For over 15 years, she has taught workshops and retreats, led community groups, and mentored practitioners in both Dharma and secular settings. She is the creator of Women Thriving in Midlife, a mindfulness-based offering for women navigating midlife with clarity and confidence. Sharon teaches regularly at Triangle Insight Meditation Community and serves as a mentor in Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield’s Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program. Practitioners at all levels are welcome on this retreat.

...

By day, Dr. Hy V. Huynh (they/them) is an equity-centered community psychologist and global mental health researcher and practitioner at Duke University. By night, they’re a community gatherer and space holder, leading meditation groups, workshops, and daylong courses for queer and trans and QTBIPOC communities in the NC Triangle. They’ve been studying and practicing Theravada (vipassanā) meditation for over 15 years and did much of their early training rooted in culturally rich Buddhist communities within Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. 

...

"There is no solving for fear, but there is the opportunity for understanding and relating to fear for what it is: a lonely visitor, one that requires our active care and attention. When I care for fear, amazingly, it softens and then goes on its way. I can build a faith on that, a knowing beyond the poetries of the human condition." - Prince M. Levy-Benítez

Prince M. Levy-Benítez is a Chaplain Intern in Washington, DC, and a graduate of the Upaya Zen Center’s Buddhist Chaplaincy Program. They have been practicing and following the dharma for 18 years, and their teachings emphasize radical self-love, compassion, and welcoming our sacred wisdom. 

#spiritualist #spiritual #spiritualawakening #awakening #awake #awaken #meditate #meditation #peaceofmind #peaceful
"You are swimming in space and it is swimming in y "You are swimming in space and it is swimming in you."

Listen Sensei Jogen Salzberg speak to the Zen Community of Oregon about the experience of space, and the Zen and Dzogchen practices to notice and cultivate spaciousness.

"The very fact that you can have a thought at all is by virtue of space.
The very thought that you can take a breath is by virtue of space. 
The very fact that anything is happening at all is by virtue of space...
Our body, mind, and our spirit are attuned to space."

Curious to experience spaciousness? Join Sensei Jogen at Southern Dharma Retrat Center from April 2 - 5 for his retreat "Vibrant Sky – The Practice & Vision of Open." 

Links in bio!
Staff had a wonderful time yesterday at @blueplumh Staff had a wonderful time yesterday at @blueplumhum in Johnson City, celebrating the consecration of their Buddha image through an Eye Opening Ceremony with Shugen Roshi of Zen Mountain Monastery. And what a sweet surprise to see that John Orr was teaching a separate event in the very same building!
Set your intentions for the year ahead. ✨ Registr Set your intentions for the year ahead. ✨

Registration for our 2026 Retreat season opens tomorrow, January 1st, at 2 pm! Whether you are looking to deepen your practice or begin a new journey, we have a variety of multi-day retreats designed for all skill levels.

Visit the link in our bio to browse the upcoming schedule and prepare to reserve your space. We look forward to practicing with you in the new year. 🙏
Haven't registered yet for Lama Rod's daylong retr Haven't registered yet for Lama Rod's daylong retreat? No problem! Join us tomorrow to explore the Four Sweet Liberations, practices and frameworks for liberation through leisure, beauty, opulence, pleasure. 

➡️ REGISTER ON SITE! Walk-ins are warmly welcomed.

When: Saturday, Dec. 13th | Walk-in Registration runs from 9:00 - 10:00 AM

Where: Land of the Sky UCC (15 Overbrook Pl, Asheville, NC)

Cost: Sliding Scale ($25 – $75)

Firestorm Books will be vending during the lunch break!
Traditional practice leans into striving for simpl Traditional practice leans into striving for simplicity and letting go of material goods, renouncing all of the pleasures of the world. Strong feelings can arise as practitioners work to address craving and attachment in a world of consumerism and materialism, especially in the face of rising prices and less assistance with basic needs. Enter the Four Sweet Liberations:

Leisure. Beauty. Opulence. Pleasure.

Join teacher Lama Rod Owens on Saturday, December 13 for a daylong retreat on the Four Sweet Liberations.

➡️ Tap the link in bio to register! 

📍 Asheville, NC | Dec 13, 2025 | 10 am - 5 pm
Nourishing Our Refuge Today, Giving Tuesday, we c Nourishing Our Refuge

Today, Giving Tuesday, we celebrate Dāna, the practice of generosity that has kept Southern Dharma a refuge for nearly five decades. As the Buddha taught, generosity opens the heart—and we are overflowing with gratitude for our community!

This winter, we are giving back to the land and the lodge that have held us all:

✨ RENOVATIONS ARE BEGINNING: We are launching substantial updates to the lodge bedrooms, bathrooms, and living spaces, ensuring comfort and longevity for future generations of practitioners.

🙏 YOUR SUPPORT MATTERS: Help us keep the momentum going! We were thrilled to match the recent $10,000 gift, and every dollar you give supports these critical facilities and grounds renewals.

THREE WAYS TO HELP TODAY

GIVE: Make a donation to help us broaden access while maintaining our intimate, rural retreat setting. 

SHARE: Take our 5-minute survey to guide our renovation priorities.

PLAN: Mark your calendar! Registration for our 2026 retreats (including new 10- and 14-day programs) opens January 1st at 2 PM!

➡️ Access all three links in our bio!

Thank you for your presence, your practice, and your care.

#GivingTuesday #SouthernDharma #Dāna #Generosity #MeditationRetreat #Mindfulness #Nonprofit
Southern Dharma is deeply honored to host Lama Rod Southern Dharma is deeply honored to host Lama Rod Owens—Black Buddhist Southern Queen, renowned author, and leading voice in contemporary Dharma—for a Daylong Retreat on December 13th.

A teacher standing at the intersection of social change, identity, and spiritual practice, Lama Rod’s work centers on freedom, radical self-care, and self-expression. Come out and connect!

When: Saturday, December 13, 10 AM – 5 PM
Where: Land of the Sky United Church of Christ
Cost: Sliding scale $25 – $75
To register and find more information, please visit the link in our bio.

#RadicalSelfCare #Dharma #BlackBuddhist #Asheville #SouthernDharma
It can be hard to balance time off work for both r It can be hard to balance time off work for both retreats and the holidays. 

But this year, on the weekend before Thanksgiving our staff are hosting our Fall Work Weekend! It runs from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon November 21 - 23, accommodating our working sangha members. It  will be a weekend held in noble silence with opportunities to practice together in sitting periods, working meditation sessions, and walking meditation through our wooded trails. 

Take the time you need to connect with yourself and the natural world before the holidays are in full swing. Registration and more information in our bio!
Join us next weekend for our second annual communi Join us next weekend for our second annual community picnic! 🧺 

📅 October 19 from 12 - 4pm

📍 215 Dharma Path, Hot Springs NC

🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 Children and well-behaved dogs are welcome

🖋️ Find more info and register through the link in our bio
Join us next month for a young people's retreat on Join us next month for a young people's retreat on The Four Great Efforts.

In our daily lives, effort often looks like striving: pushing to achieve, succeed, or prove something to others. But in Buddhism, the most powerful effort we can make is internal. It’s the effort to develop a mind full of ease, kindness, and gentleness.

This retreat will take place in noble silence, offering an environment conducive to deep practice. Daily activities will include meditation instructions, Dharma talks, mindful movement, silent sitting and walking meditation, and group interviews to support your practice.

All experience levels welcome, 35 and under.
Join us in welcoming Cory Adams as Southern Dharma Join us in welcoming Cory Adams as Southern Dharma Retreat Center's new Executive Director.

Cory officially begins her time as part of the SDRC team today. Cory will be joining us onsite at Southern Dharma on October 19 for our second Annual Community Picnic to welcome her into her new role. Come out and celebrate with us!

Read more about Cory in our recent newsletter and register for our community picnic through our website. (Links in bio)
We may not recall the date or time grief set upon We may not recall the date or time grief set upon us, but the slow spin of seasons can echo hurt back to us. Anniversaries reside in our nervous systems: Whether it’s a flower smelled the day before the storm and now returned to bloom, or a tree whose leaves were just beginning to redden before they were stripped completely in the forced winds of the hurricane, the world marks time for us and our bodies recall the season of pain. 

For those of our sangha residing in the region and all of our local community members, we wish you peace, wellness, and solidarity through community on this difficult day.

Twelve months since the storm, many needs are still not met. People remain displaced, waiting for housing to be rebuilt. Whole regions are left with few resources to tend to the many scars Helene left. 

On this day of remembrance, we want to uplift and thank the many organizations who are still diligently rebuilding towns, creating affordable housing, and advocating for those most vulnerable in the community.
Mark your calendars! Lama Rod is returning to Ashe Mark your calendars! Lama Rod is returning to Asheville to guide a daylong retreat.

🗓️ December 13, 2025
📍 Land of Sky UCC - 15 Overbrook Pl, Asheville, NC 28805

Retreat info and registration details to follow! 🙏
➡️➡️➡️ Space available! "In a world that feels in ➡️➡️➡️ Space available!

"In a world that feels increasingly heavy with fear, division, and uncertainty weighing on our hearts—it is more important than ever to remember the deeper truth: liberation is not just resistance, it is a frequency, a state of being, and a path we must walk together."

Join us in exploring the state of liberation from September 16 - 21 with teacher Spring Washam. We have space available for retreatants in the Lodge, on our tent platforms, and in our furnished canvas tents. Link in Bio!
Take the time to just breathe. #meditation #retrea Take the time to just breathe. #meditation #retreatcenter #southerndharma
We're Hiring a Part-Time Retreat Cook! Are you a p We're Hiring a Part-Time Retreat Cook!
Are you a passionate cook with a love for vegetarian and vegan cuisine? Southern Dharma Retreat Center is looking for a Part-Time Retreat Cook to join our small, close-knit team.

You'll be responsible for preparing delicious and nourishing meals for 25-40 retreatants, and supervising a small team of volunteers. This unique opportunity includes on-site room and board on work days, and the chance to attend retreat sessions.

We are looking for someone with:

- ServSafe certification and professional cooking experience.
- The ability to prepare vegan and gluten-restricted meals.
- A calm and kind demeanor, with respect for diverse spiritual traditions.

This is a great fit for someone interested in working in a mindful and peaceful environment. The position pays $17 per hour and is 24 hours per week.

To apply, please send your resume and cover letter to work@southerndharma.org with "Retreat Cook Part Time" in the subject line. We can't wait to hear from you!
Join us for a transformative New Year's Retreat wi Join us for a transformative New Year's Retreat with Fresh Lev and Eve Decker focused on mindful awareness, wisdom teachings, and building a supportive community. Ready to step into the New Year feeling centered, connected, and truly renewed? We can't wait to share this special time with you!

Learn more and register here: https://southerndharma.org/retreat-schedule/1516/buddha-dharma-and-sangha-engaging-in-refuges-for-these-times/

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info@southerndharma.org
1661 West Road
Hot Springs, NC 28743
828-933-3021

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