April 17-24, Bhante Gavesi Meditation Retreat
Author: BHS
Monthly (February, 2026) One Day Meditation Retreat
February Daylong Retreat
February 28, 2026
American Bodhi Center, Hempstead
To Attend, please send an email to jadebuddharetreat@yahoo.com
Facilitator: Hunter White
This month’s one day meditation retreat, at the American Bodhi Center, will be hosted by Hunter White. The topic will be Bhavacakra – Foundations of Buddhism.
Lunches will not be provided so please bring your own food. Refrigerators and Microwaves will be available to attendees. The American Bodhi Center is a Vegetarian complex so please do not bring any meat.
Retreat schedule will be from 9:00AM to 4:30PM.
Buddha’s Book Club, hosted by Bhikkhu Cintita
Bhikkhu Cintita has been hosting Buddha’s Book Club in Minnesota for a number of years, and has begun inviting participation via Zoom. He has already attracted several participants from Texas, and would like to extend this invitation to other EDG members. The Book Club meets every Wednesday from 6:00 to 7:30pm (TX or MN time). Please join us. The link, the current book title, and other information can be found HERE.
Also, click HERE to view Bhikkhu Cintita’s new website.
We invite you to join EDG’s Satellite Meditation Group (SMG) as we begin a new book study!
Beginning Saturday, December 13, SMG will explore Bringing Home the Dharma: Awakening Right Where You Are by Jack Kornfield.
About the book:
In Bringing Home the Dharma, Jack Kornfield offers timeless wisdom for finding peace and awakening compassion in everyday life. Drawing on over forty years of Buddhist practice, he explores themes like loving‑kindness, forgiveness, conscious parenting, and healing the world’s suffering, with simple meditation practices for awakening our buddha nature—our wise and understanding heart—amid the ups and downs of our ordinary daily lives.
We are excited to begin this new book study together — a fresh season of practice, conversation, and community, welcoming both familiar and new friends. Please have your own copy ready so you can follow along.
If you’d like to participate, email us at vsmg.mgr@gmail.com for weekly reminders and the Zoom link. We meet virtually on Saturday mornings at 9AM for a 30-minute gentle guided Vipassana meditation, followed by an hour of book reading and discussion from 9:30-10:30AM.
Bhante Kovida’s One Day Retreat
On February 22nd, 2025, Bhante Kovida provided a retreat that included meditation, Dharma talk, and instructions on gi-gong.
Bhante Rāhula’s EDG Dhamma Talks
We are very excited to announce that Bhante Rāhula from Mexico will be giving talks at EDG on 5/26/2024 and 6/23/2024. This will be Bhante’s first time sharing his teaching at EDG and we look forward to his presentations. Bhante is an expert in Abhidhamma, a skilled speaker, and an educator.
In these initial talks with EDG, Bhante would like to share and explore practical ways to apply the Dhamma in our daily lives.
Introducing Bhante Rāhula
Bhante Rāhula, born in Mexico, has spent the last 22 years in Asia in various periods, where he has practiced and studied the Dhamma.
He was ordained in Myanmar by Sayadaw Dr. Nandamālābhivaṃsa, who is his preceptor. Since 2004 he has received meditation guidance from Sayadaw U Tejaniya. For 6 years, Bhante studied Suttas and Abhidhamma with Sayadaw Dr. Ukkamsacara in Macau. In 2019, he completed a course on Buddhist scriptures from Harvard University.
He underwent monastic Vinaya training for 2 years in Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary in Malaysia under the guidance of Ven. Ariyadhammika, where he also led retreats and Dhamma activities for the local community.
For the last 7 years, Bhante has offered continuous weekly courses on the anatomy of the mind (applied Abhidhamma) in English and Spanish, followed online by students in more than 15 countries.
In the beginning of 2023, Bhante conducted a Dhamma tour in South America, leading retreats and talks in Uruguay, Colombia and Ecuador.
Currently, Bhante is constructing the Mexican Buddhist Center (Paññābhūmi) to introduce and propagate the Buddha’s teaching in South America. He is also actively involved in diverse programs to aid parts of the society in overcoming drug addiction and alcoholism, as well as supporting educational campaigns for children and teens to prevent such problem in this region.
Below are a few pictures from retreats and events led by Bhante Rāhula:
Here are a few Dhamma talks by Bhante Rāhula:
Venerable Gavesi’s Insight Meditation Retreat (4/12/2024 to 4/23/2024)
Participants completed a 12-days insight meditation retreat conducted by Venerable Gavesi from Malaysia, at the American Bodhi Center, Hempstead TX.
Venerable Ru Li’s Meditation Retreat (4/13/2024)
This one day anapanasati meditation retreat was a great success. We hope to be able to participate in another one in the future.
Weekly Nikaya Reading Class
Starting February 23rd (Monday), 2026, we will start reading the Majjhima Nikaya translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi of Nikaya series.
We meet at 7:00PM to 8:20PM central time every Monday via Zoom. Whoever is interested, please contact nikaya.mgr@gmail.com.
It is a wonderful opportunity to bring you closer to the Buddha’s teachings. FYI. You can also purchase the Majjhima Nikaya on Amazon.