Vajravarahi Meditation Center

I love the guided mediation and teachings. Simple and practical. No need to be a Buddhist to gain benefits.
It made me feel calmer, lighter, more peaceful — and motivated to develop a sitting practice– I started a few minutes of sitting a day– it helped me a lot to just let go and stop all the mental chatter. I’m amazed how I feel more connected –it changes the rhythm of the day!

This is such a wonderful place. The guided meditations and teachings are so inspiring. Come to relax, hang out with friends, learn to meditate, and feel peaceful. Check out they’re special summer schedule.

Great place to learn how to meditate if you are new to it and curious. Also a solid avenue if you want to deepen an existing practice and commit to studying the Buddha’s teaching more in depth. You’ll probably want to check on their website, but I believe there are study groups on Tues/​Thurs evening, Heart Jewel recitation at 10am M-​F, and open guided lunchtime meditation at 12:15 M-​F.
Sunday morning classes are good for a drop-​in: the meditation isn’t too long but you work on your concentration and then ponder a topic in depth. The topic I sat in on was on the benefits of meditation — which, even though we may vaguely guess that it’s healthy and have ideas about it calming us down or helping us focus better — it’s kind of like exercise or eating right: Not all that pleasurable in the immediate, but with time and applied efforts, the benefits begin to manifest. Then we start to habituate our minds to virtue till it becomes more effortless. You know when you start craving healthy food and then are surprised? You’re like — «Kale?! Really!!!» And you like it. Then you LOVE it. Yeah, it’s like that.
Atmosphere is good. It’s Hampton’s esque and hard wood, complete with symmetrical offerings on the altar. The folks who go regularly are great and hail from a variety of backgrounds — artists and lawyers and dentists and cops. Kidding! I only vaguely remember meeting artists, but I’m sure some folks there were bankers — after all, this is the Hamptons.
Sometimes there are delightful treats like cookies and cakes, and there is always a nice giant vat of tea. Sitting outside in the sun around the Buddha garden was also one of my favorites things; talking to people before and after class.
Venerable Norden, the resident nun, is ACE. I was a bit intimidated to meet her at first — there is this secret power that some monks and nuns have due to the depth of their practices — YO — they can SEE your mind. And we all know our minds are total garbage. So it can be a little squirmy and unpleasant-​like. But see, here’s the deal with her magical powers: she will always find a way to encourage your practice. She is also a surgeon — like the Buddha — who will swiftly and with psychic precision expose whatever silly garbage you’re riding on in your mind. The purpose of this is not to harm or intimidate you, but to give you whatever you need in the moment: whether that is a dose of ‘calm down — you’re not special’ or whether it is ‘hey, rejoice: you’re not doing all that bad — this is all really ok — good, even.’ Obviously I prefer the latter!!! But that is because I am super samsaric and pretty much ONLY care about praise, gain, etc etc.
In any case: Buddhism ain’t easy. It’s a tough, hard, rocky TRUE path for TRUE cessations. It’s nice to be able to enjoy the rough navigation of chaotic inner waters in such a beautiful, calm environment amongst kind and curious people.