The Story of Our Community
Humble Beginnings
With humble beginnings in 1999, a small but dedicated group began to gather here in Tennessee to practice meditation and the teachings of the Buddha within this Thai Theravada lineage. The group convened at each others’ houses, invited teaching monks from other states, and travelled to a branch center in Georgia for special days and ceremonies. But as the group grew, the time became ripe for us to build a temple of our own.
In 2012, the community found a beautiful house situated on a peaceful 5.1 acre parcel of forested land in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Situated about an hours drive from Nashville, we knew this place was destined to be the location our community would call home. Everyone came together to pool resources and purchase what has now become the Dhammakaya Meditation Center Tennessee, a nonprofit organization where multiple resident monks and dedicated staff reside. With the central mission of our main temple in Thailand to create World Peace Through Inner Peace, the infrastructure needed to continue to expand to effectively serve the local community in alignment with these aims, and this has slowly unfolded over the years.
Building the Meditation Hall
We completed the construction of one of our most needed facilities, a sizable meditation hall, in October 10, 2024. This building took the combined efforts of the supporters, the monks, the staff, contractors, and the hard work of our entire community to complete. Inside the hall is a very comfortable and quiet sanctuary for all of those seeking inner peace. This hall has now allowed us to expand our focus to serve not only local Thai/Lao Buddhists, but spiritual seekers of all backgrounds to learn meditation regardless of their belief system. When more and more people learn this universal way to train the mind, we firmly believe that we can co-create world peace through inner peace.
Meditation Classes in English
It has long since been our wish to start a consistent meditation class to help local English speakers discover inner peace, and as of April 2026, two guest teaching monks helped us launch that initiative. Our resident teaching monks will continue these classes every Wednesday night from 7pm to 8pm, and we will also have a special full moon candlelight meditation program at our center on every full moon night at 8pm - 9pm.
The teachings for each class will be universal, and non-religious, and space will be provided afterwards for everyone to chit chat, enjoy complimentary snacks, and grow strong spiritual friendships. If you would to join a class, get more information about what to expect, or even get started meditating at home, feel free to click the buttons below.
Given that we have 5 acres to work with, we plan to continue building out features to make this a unique sanctuary that is progressively more serene and supportive for attendees to discover inner peace. Our first project—with plans of being completed by early 2027—will be to construct a pagoda with the design as pictured. A pagoda is a sacred structure with deep roots in the Buddhist tradition, historically built to house relics and Buddhist artifacts & to serve as a focal point for reflection, positive energy, and reverence.
Future Construction Plans
Our roughly 22ft tall pagoda will serve as the spiritual heart of the grounds and will house a number of Buddha statues with bases that get engraved with the names of their donors. The pagoda will be a place to practice circular walking meditation, meditate beside, or simply notice as you move through the property. The elegant and simple design when seen from any vantage point from all 360 degrees mirrors the shape of a golden Buddha sitting in meditation posture. It serves as a visual reminder of our own inner nature of deep wisdom and peace that resides within all of us waiting to be discovered through consistent meditation practice and application of timeless spiritual principles.
We also plan to reserve one of the corners of our lot for a pond/water fountain to further invite practitioners into a serene, natural setting and back to themselves. This coupled with the beautiful trees and unique rock faces emerging from various places create an array of natural features that balances well with the sacred structures that support one to practice in various settings. We hope you will continue to join us and our ever expanding community as we build out this haven for seekers of wisdom and inner peace.