Tergar Meditation Community of Madison — Madison, United States

A hybrid Tibetan Buddhist-rooted meditation community in Madison, Wisconsin

The curriculum behind Tergar's meditation groups was sketched out on a high-speed train in France in 2008. Mingyur Rinpoche and Cortland Dahl, taken with the idea of recorded video teachings, developed the Joy of Living program on that ride. It became three levels of video teaching, the first recorded in Bodhgaya, India. The organization around it began with a different plan. In 2006 Rinpoche and Dahl talked about uniting his students worldwide through a decentralized network of independent meditation centers. That became two organizations, Tergar International and Tergar Asia, and Tergar International was incorporated by the State of Minnesota on April 30, 2009. Tergar Meditation Community of Madison is one of the branches of that community. Madison runs its programs as hybrid offerings, so people can take part in the room or online. This fall's calendar includes From Doing to Being, a daylong retreat with Dr. Cortland Dahl on October 17, 2026 (9am to noon and 2 to 5pm), which has no prerequisites. It also includes Anytime Anywhere Meditation with Dr. Martha McCurdy, held Wednesdays from 7:00 to 8:30pm, October 21 through November 18. The course is rooted in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and universal in approach. It starts from the premise that meditation does not require extra time, a quiet space, a fixed posture or a calm mind. Earlier in the season, Kasumi Kato taught Opening the Heart, the Joy of Living Level 2 workshop, over two Sundays. Tergar's regular meditation groups combine guided meditation, discussion and short presentations. They work with seven forms of practice, among them open awareness and the breath, basic goodness, meditating with the senses, and meditating with thoughts.

Traditions: Tibetan Buddhism, Joy of Living, Path of Liberation, Open awareness and the breath, Loving-kindness and compassion, Meditating with thoughts

Programs: Anytime Anywhere Meditation, From Doing to Being – A Daylong Meditation Retreat, Opening the Heart (Joy of Living Level 2), Tergar Meditation Group Program, Joy of Living