Since 1986, a house in Richmond, Virgina has been the home of Buddhist teachings. It began with Pure Land Buddhists. Zen practitioners joined later, Tibetan, and Vipassana, all share the same space. The Buddha’s teachings are given freely here, as the tradition has been for 2600 years. People come to this house to sit quietly in meditation and to cultivate compassion for all beings, to find sacred in the ordinary, calm amid chaos, ways to experience greater peacefulness, to be kinder, to be more present.

A very important principle in Buddhist teachings is the concept of generosity. The teachings are given freely. Attendees may, and are encouraged, to offer donations to the teacher, to the organization with whom they participate and/or to the Ekoji, the building in which we all gather. There are no set fees for participation. The teachers and Ekoji rely completely on voluntary generosity.

While donations help to support our teachers, pay the utilities and buy supplies, it’s not nearly enough to fund updates to a one hundred year old house. Our kitchen is in dire need of an upgrade. That’s why we’ve started this GoFundMe campaign.

We hope to raise $15,000 by August 1st. Any donation is welcome. A donation of about $150 per Ekoji member would be enough to cover the costs.

An updated kitchen will be a better and more economical use of space for tea ceremonies, celebrations and other community events. We are grateful for your contribution!