Camp Metta - San Martin, California

Trang T.

It's a beautiful place surrounded by trees and birds/ deers. Nature itself is already a great healer.

Sister PC, the nun who practices Buddha's teaching here, is very kind and friendly. She always welcomes everyone. I do mean everyone regardless of their religion, race, ethnicity, gender, ages, sex, ability...

With a busy life, work, kids, job, I sometimes feel stress, but every time visiting Camp Metta, I always leave feeling calmer. I learn to let go,  connect to nature, and practice living mindful. The minute I am there, I already feel the sense of belonging and the energy of a mindful community. The bells reminds me to pause and enjoy my breath...

Before the pandemic, they have a few retreats throughout the year for people to sign up with a very reasonable donation fee including lunch and activities (making mushroom kit, painting,...) Their retreat are thoughtful planned with guided meditation, mindful lunch, mindful walking, ...Since they especially focus on support the young generation learning mindfulness, they often have different fun body/ mind / spirit activities for children (water painting, trampoline,...) With different focus, they sometimes invite guest speakers to talk about different topics (food and medicine,... )

They also have culture event like Lunar New Year, Buddha Birthday, Parent Appreciation...to celebrate / introduce Vietnamese culture to people.

The center is fairly new and with a limited budget, so they are in slow process of renovation to make Camp Metta more suitable for public use. You can find different ways to support them through donation and volunteer work (gardening, cooking, cleaning, helping with events,...). If you have small children, volunteer with them is also a great way to teach them giving back to the community. And the key is learning how to incorporate mindful living in every thing we do...which isn't always easy since we often get pulled in all kind of directions/ goals, so having a community to work on it together and remind one other is very helpful 🙂 Peace & Love !

Sharon L.

This is a newly-opened retreat center. I was honored to be invited to celebrate the Lunar New Year festivities with this loving, Buddhist community. There are plans in the works to turn this into a center for young people. Please don't let that deter you. It is so peaceful and a wonderful way to escape our crazy busy world. I look forward to planning an "escape day" soon.

DAN T.

It’s a beautiful place for a quiet getaway to recharge and get in touch with yourself. The property is tucked away from all the hustle and bustle of the city.

Nhan N.

Place is so quiet and peaceful

Steven K.

Albert N.