Bodhi Path

Specialties

The Center offers a quiet, urban space for group and individual practice and meditation. Beginners and advanced practitioners are welcome. Meditation instruction is available for students at all levels.

History

Established in 1997.

In 1997, Bart Mendel accepted an invitation with his wife Suzan Garner to open a Bodhi Path Buddhist Center in Santa Barbara, where he served as resident teacher for over ten years. The Center offers weekly meditation, teaching and discussion by its current resident teacher Dawa Tarchin, and regularly hosts Bart Mendel and other qualified teachers from around the world. Special events, three to five day retreats, weekend programs and public talks are offered frequently throughout the year.

Meet the Manager

Dawa P.

Manager

Born in NYC, Dawa Tarchin grew up in a multicultural family in Europe and speaks English, German and French fluently. In his twenties, Dawa became the student of the Mahamudra meditation master Gendun Rinpoche at Dhagpo Kundreul Ling Monastery in France. There he studied and practiced as an ordained Buddhist monk, completing two consecutive 3-​year retreats under the spiritual authority of H. H. Shamar Rinpoche, and received the transmission of the Karma Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism. Prior to deepening the meditation practices, Dawa pursued advanced studies in the arts, a career in the entertainment industry and worked with severely ill cancer and cardiac patients. Today a lay teacher, he teaches the Dharma throughout Europe and the US, offering guidance and instruction to those on the spiritual path. He is based out of Santa Barbara, California where he serves as resident teacher.