Founded in February of 2008 under the name Five Mountain Buddhist Seminary by Rev. Myogak Foster, the Prajna Institute for Buddhist Studies is a community of Buddhist practitioners devoted to intensive study of Buddhist view and the contemplative practices through which we can personally engage these teachings and apply them to our own experience.

Believing in the utmost necessity of realizing our true nature, and embodying this realization in our everyday lives, we work to build lives, and therefore a world, of clarity, sanity, equanimity and compassion.

Buddhism is both something we are – our true nature expressing itself moment by moment – and something we do – a disciplined practice through which we can realize the joy of being. Instead of trying to catch up to where we think we ought to be, or trying to redirect the flow of the universe, through our Buddhist practices, we allow ourselves to experience life as it really is: vibrant, unimpeded, interconnected, ever-present.

The Prajna Institute upholds the importance of non-sectarianism and an appreciation for the many forms of Buddhism. Therefore, students of any background are welcomed and encouraged to participate in our activities, enter the program, and even pursue Buddhist ordination within our affiliated school of Zen.