Karuna Buddhist Vihara is a Theravada monastery founded in Mountain View, Calif. The monastery is formally incorporated as a nonprofit Buddhist church in the state of California.

International Buddhist Meditation Center was founded by Thich Thien-An, a Vietnamese scholar and Zen master. It was one of four original Zen centers founded in the U.S. to promote meditation and Buddhism in English to interested Americans.

Institute of Buddhist Studies provides graduate-level Buddhist education, ministerial and chaplaincy training and other educational programs in the San Francisco area. Based in Berkeley, Calif., it is affiliated with the Graduate Theological Union and the Buddhist Churches of America — the oldest Buddhist institution in North America.

Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple, located in Los Angeles, Calif., is an affiliate of Shinshu Otani-ha, one of the oldest and largest denominations in Japan. It practices Shin Buddhism.

Clinton Godart is an assistant professor of history at the University of Southern California. His research concerns the intellectual history of modern Japan, particularly the hybrid zones where science, religion and philosophy meet. His previous research involved the history of Buddhism in the 19th century, especially the way Buddhists engaged with Western philosophy and how Japanese […]

Gedatsu Church of America is an American Buddhist church with branches in Sacramento, Los Angeles and Honolulu. Gedatsu is an adaptation of Shugendou, an old Japanese practice focused on the development of spiritual experience, to modern life. Gedatsu is open to all people, including those from other religious faiths.

The Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism, based in Los Angeles, seeks to inspire an enlightened American society that reflects universal Buddhist values of compassion, mindfulness and wakefulness. The foundation provides general assistance and restricted grants, program-related investments, education and training and other programs designed to grow American Buddhist institutions.

Everyday Zen Foundation is a nonprofit foundation in Oakland, Calif. Their work includes traditional Zen practice and work with Jewish and Christian meditation, the dying, lawyers, businesses, poetry and literature. This work is accomplished through the writings of Zen teacher and poet Norman Fischer.

Deer Park Monastery in Escondido, Calif., is a residential monastic community and lay sangha under the guidance of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh in the tradition of engaged Buddhism and mindfulness practice in everyday life.