Meditation in Westchester

Vajra Light Kadampa Buddhist Center is a non-profit Buddhist meditation center in Westchester, NY. We offer instruction in meditation and Buddhist spiritual practice through meditation classes, retreats and special events. Taught by qualified Western teachers, Vajra Light's meditation classes are very easy to understand and apply to our daily lives. The classes are suitable for both beginners and more advanced 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.

No Class Sunday, August 31

Sunday Mornings
10:30am -12:00pm

Wisdom in Daily Life

with Kadam donna campanelli

Vajra Light kadampa Buddhist Center
875 Mamaroneck Avenue
Suite 205
Mamaroneck, NY 10543

Buddha taught that a life of joy, meaning, and benefit is possible for all of us. The key is wisdom, especially the profound wisdom found in Buddha’s teachings.

In this series, we will explore what it means to approach our families, work, enjoyments, and even our own body and mind with wisdom. How can these ordinary aspects of life be integrated into our spiritual path, rather than pulling us away from it?

Drawing on some of the inspiring teachings from the Summer Festival, we will learn practical ways to infuse wisdom into all our activities, so that every part of daily life becomes part of our journey toward enlightenment.

Everyone welcome; suitable for both beginners and experienced meditators.

No Class Sunday, August 31

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!

Wednesday Evenings
7:00pm - 8:30pm

Reliable Minds For Difficult Times

with Kadam donna campanelli

Vajra Light kadampa Buddhist Center
875 Mamaroneck Avenue
Suite 205
Mamaroneck, NY 10543

In this course, we will continue to explore Eight Verses of Training the Mind, one of Buddhism’s most treasured teachings by the great Tibetan Bodhisattva, Langri Tangpa. These timeless instructions reveal how to transform life’s difficulties into powerful opportunities for inner growth, improve our relationships, and bring greater patience, empathy, and compassion into daily life.



For nearly a thousand years, these methods have inspired practitioners around the world, offering lasting peace, resilience, and joy. Drawing on Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso’s modern presentation in The New Eight Steps to Happiness, Kadam Donna will guide us step by step through these essential practices of training the mind—practical methods that not only challenge how we see the world, but also empower us to become the best version of ourselves.

Everyone welcome; suitable for both beginners and experienced meditators.

Special Events

A Life Beyond Fear

Thursday, September 11
7:00 - 8:30pm
with Gen-la Kelsang Dekyong, Spiritual Director of the New Kadampa Tradition

THE TOWN HALL
123 W 43rd St
New York, NY 10036

In times as stressful and uncertain as the ones we seem to be experiencing more and more often, we may ask, is a life beyond fear even possible?

In truth, fear arises from our mind, not from our environment. The fear and the anxiety that so many experience is not inevitable. If we come to recognize their underlying sources, we can learn to change our relationship to them.

Through the practice of meditation, we can learn to work skillfully with our fear. Instead of allowing it to overwhelm us, we learn to redirect it, so that it moves us towards developing those states of mind that naturally give rise to peace, confidence and a strong sense of purpose.

Based on her nearly 40 years of experience of meditation, Buddhist nun Gen-la Kelsang Dekyong, senior disciple of the great Buddhist teacher, Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche and Spiritual Director of the New Kadampa Tradition, will guide us into recognizing our potential for a meaningful and joyful life truly beyond fear.

Dealing Skillfully with Fear and Anxiety
Half-day Course

with kadam Donna Campanelli
Saturday, September 13
10:00am - 1:00pm (with tea break)

Vajra Light kadampa Buddhist Center
875 Mamaroneck Avenue
Suite 205
Mamaroneck, NY 10543

Many people suffer from feelings of fear and constant anxiety, or are simply overwhelmed by the stress and demands of everyday life. Join us for this half-day course, when Kadam Donna will help us learn to distinguish between appropriate fear, which protects and guides us, and inappropriate fear, which leads to anxiety and panic. Drawing on Buddhist meditation, especially the practice of refuge, she will guide us in learning how to let go of destructive fear, settle the mind, and discover the peaceful, joyful nature that already exists within us. With practical methods to respond skillfully to life’s challenges, you’ll develop a stable inner refuge you can rely on anywhere, anytime.

The course will include two teaching and meditation sessions with a relaxing tea break in between.

Everyone welcome; suitable for both beginners and experienced meditators.

NKT IKBU International Fall Festival 2025

Protector from all obstacles
Dorje Shugden Empowerment and Teachings

with Gen-la Kelsang Dekyong, General Spiritual Director of NKT IKBU

October 3–9

International Kadampa Retreat Centre Grand Canyon, Arizona

In challenging times we need to find protection from dangers and worries so that we can make continual spiritual progress. Dorje Shugden is a Wisdom Buddha who destroys all our obstacles and gathers all the conditions we need to practice Dharma and transform life’s difficulties into stepping stones to enlightenment.

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.