Visiting Teachers

Skilled and Compassionate Guidance Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center guided meditation retreats are led by the most skilled and capable teachers...

Brian Lesage

Brian has practiced Buddhist meditation since 1988 and has taught since 2000. He has studied in the Zen, Theravada, and Tibetan schools and was ordained in the Rinzai Zen tradition in 1996.  His training in Vipassana Meditation includes doing extended meditation retreats in Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, and India as well as numerous retreats in the U.S.  He leads retreats and teaches meditation courses nationwide.  Brian also has a private practice in Somatic Experiencing, which is a naturalistic approach to healing trauma.

Events with Brian Lesage

Land as Dharma Teacher (June)
June 15 - 22, 2026

Join us in an exploration of Dharma through connection with the land of Vallecitos. This retreat is designed to offer support for experienced practitioners in insight meditation (Vipassana). When we have an established foundation in Dharma practice, we can open to discovering new ways of perceiving. As the understanding of classical Dharma deepens even further, the land itself can meet us right in each moment as teacher and guide.  An immeasurable wisdom and compassion may be discovered in our personal relationship with land. This exploration will be supported through cultivating an embodied presence and mindful awareness that embraces our experience…

Land as Dharma Teacher (August)
August 11 - 18, 2026

Join us in an exploration of Dharma through connection with the land of Vallecitos. This retreat is designed to offer support for experienced practitioners in insight meditation (Vipassana). When we have an established foundation in Dharma practice, we can open to discovering new ways of perceiving. As the understanding of classical Dharma deepens even further, the land itself can meet us right in each moment as teacher and guide.  An immeasurable wisdom and compassion may be discovered in our personal relationship with land. This exploration will be supported through cultivating an embodied presence and mindful awareness that embraces our experience…

Having Gone to the Forest
August 18 - 25, 2026

An early Buddhist instruction begins, “Having gone to the forest, to the root of a tree, or to an empty hut….” What follows is a simple invitation to sit down, establish mindfulness, and let the practice unfold. In this retreat, we explore this invitation. We will keep noble silence and practice steady, moment-to-moment awareness in a wild forest through sitting, standing and walking meditation with guidance to help recognize steadiness, wisdom, and kindness as they naturally emerge. Our practice will be grounded in the four foundations of mindfulness: body, feeling-tone, mind and frameworks that support our meditation practice. Each day…