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 16 - 22, 2025

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…

Teacher Retreat for Vallecitos Teachers (invite only)
June 23 - 27, 2025

We are proud to be hosting a retreat just for our treasured Vallecitos teachers. During the retreat we will have sessions with an ecologist, an archeologist, and a geologist to further deepen the ways we understand the presence of the more than human life that makes Vallecitos come alive. We hope to resource our practice of Land as Dharma Teacher together, gathering what is known by individual teachers to create a collective of knowledge, experiences, and practices that may serve as a guide for all who teach within the land and steward the land, both now and into the future.…

Land as Dharma Teacher (August)
August 6 - 13, 2025

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…

25th Anniversary Benefit Retreat: Touching the Earth
August 15 - 19, 2025

In honor of our 25th year we are trying something unique that we’ve never done before! We’re offering this unique practice opportunity to directly support some of Vallecitos’ most essential initiatives. The retreat will blend silence, community and celebration with additional special features, offering participants the opportunity to investigate and explore the power of Vallecitos through silence and in-depth conversation with Erin, Victoria and Brian, all with a fully inclusive registration fee. Join us for this distinctive retreat to commemorate Vallecitos’ past while helping shape our exciting future. We hope to see you there! Most non-profit organizations have fancy galas…