How to add a place on Dharma Atlas

Dharma Atlas grows when communities and practitioners help the map stay current. If you know a meditation center, monastery, temple, or sitting group that should be easier to find — or if you represent one — you can add it through the site. This guide walks through the flow calmly: what to prepare, which option to choose on add, what information helps most, and what happens after you send something in.

You do not need to be a web expert. You do need a few accurate details and a little patience while a new listing moves from draft or suggestion into the public directory.

Before you begin: check whether the place is already listed

Start by searching places for the community’s name, city, and common alternate spellings. Centers often appear under a formal temple name, a shortened English name, or the name of a parent organization. If you find the right listing, you may not need to create a new one at all.

When the place exists but details are wrong or thin, prefer a correction or a claim over a duplicate. Duplicates confuse seekers and create extra cleanup for everyone. If you represent the place and want ongoing control of the listing, use claim after you have an account. If you are a visitor with a small fix — a closed location, a new website, clearer hours — a correction or suggestion is enough.

Only create a new place when you are reasonably sure it is not already in the directory. When in doubt, suggest the listing and mention possible matches in your notes. It is easier for us to merge or clarify than to untangle two near-identical public pages later.

Choose your path on /add

Open add. You will see a simple choice that matches how close you are to the community.

I represent this place. Choose this if you are authorized to manage the listing — for example, a board member, resident teacher, office volunteer, or someone the community trusts with public information. You will create an account or sign in, then continue to add a new location from your place management tools. New places you create this way typically stay in draft until they are reviewed and published. After publication, you can keep hours, descriptions, and tags up to date from your dashboard. If the place is already in the directory, claim it instead of creating a second record.

Suggest a listing. Choose this if you are tipping us about a place without taking ownership. You do not need an account for a suggestion. This path is right for practitioners who know a local group, travelers who found a temple that should be on the map, or friends of a community who are not its public administrators. A suggestion is a request for the directory team to review and, if appropriate, create or update a listing.

There is also room on the add flow to suggest a correction to an existing location or person when that is really what you meant. Use that when the place is already listed and you only need to fix something specific.

What information helps most

Good listings are specific enough to help a newcomer arrive and respectful enough to match how the community presents itself. You do not need every field on day one, but the following details make review and publishing much smoother.

Name and identity. Use the name the community uses publicly. If there is a common English name and a name in another language, include both when you can. Note if the group is a residential monastery, a city temple, a retreat center, or a sitting group that meets in a shared space — those distinctions help seekers set expectations.

Location. A full street address is ideal when the community publishes one. For groups that meet in rotating homes or that prefer a less precise public pin, say so clearly and give the best public guidance you have (city, neighborhood, or “contact for address”). Do not invent a street number to satisfy a form. Accurate uncertainty is better than a confident wrong map pin.

Tradition and school. Describe how the community describes itself: Zen, Theravāda, Tibetan, Pure Land, nondual, interfaith contemplative, and so on. If the center hosts multiple streams, say that. Avoid labeling a community with a tradition it does not claim. Filters on Dharma Atlas work best when tags come from self-identification.

Contact and web presence. A website, email, or phone number that the community already publishes helps people confirm schedules. Social media links can help when there is no website, but prefer official pages over unofficial fan accounts.

Practice details that reduce friction. Newcomer welcome notes, primary language of instruction, typical sitting times, accessibility information, and whether registration is required for visits — these details spare people an awkward first email. If you do not know, leave the field empty rather than guessing.

A short description. A few clear sentences are enough: who the community is, what practice looks like, and who might feel at home. Write in a tone the community would recognize. Avoid promotional superlatives and avoid speaking for a lineage’s authority beyond what the community states.

If you are managing the place yourself, you will be able to refine these fields over time. If you are only suggesting, send the strongest public facts you have and link to sources when possible.

What happens after you submit

The path after add depends on which option you chose.

If you are representing the place and creating it through your account, the listing generally begins as a draft in your place management area. Draft means it is not yet a public directory page. We review new places before publishing so that duplicates, incomplete geocodes, and unclear tradition labels can be caught early. When the place is published, it becomes visible through places and related discovery surfaces. You remain the listing admin and can update details as the community’s schedule or contact information changes.

If you suggested a listing without an account, your tip enters a review queue. We check whether the place already exists, whether the location can be verified from public information, and whether the description is appropriate. Not every suggestion becomes a live page immediately; some need clarification, and some turn out to be duplicates of existing records. If we can publish from what you sent, we will. If we need a community representative for ongoing maintenance, the public page may still appear while claim remains available for someone closer to the organization.

Corrections follow a similar review pattern. A small factual fix may land quickly. A sensitive change — especially around authority language or contested affiliations — may take longer because careful catalogs should not rush those edits.

In all cases, publication is not the end of the story. Places close, move, and reinvent their public schedules. The healthiest listings are the ones someone continues to steward. If you suggested a place and later become its representative, you can still claim it and take over maintenance.

Common situations and how to handle them

The sitting group has no building. Many valuable communities meet in libraries, churches, campuses, or homes. List them with the public meeting pattern they already share, and avoid publishing a private home address unless the community explicitly wants that. A clear “contact for location” note is responsible, not incomplete.

The monastery prefers limited publicity. Some communities welcome visitors; others ask for advance contact or do not want to be widely advertised. Honor what they publish. If you are unsure whether a place wants to be listed, ask them before submitting, or submit only what is already public and note your uncertainty.

You are abroad and found a temple travelers should know. Suggestions from visitors are welcome. Include the local name, city, and any official site you used. Be modest about hours and programs you only saw once.

The place is already listed under a name you do not recognize. Use claim or correction rather than creating a parallel page. Mention the alternate names so we can improve search.

You want to add a teacher, not a place. Teacher and person listings use related submission and claim flows. This guide focuses on places; if your primary goal is a person profile, start from the people side of the directory and the submit options offered there.

After the listing is live

Once a place is public, share the link with your community if you represent it. Check that the map pin, tradition tags, and contact paths still match reality. Favorites and explore tools only help seekers if the underlying record is trustworthy.

If something drifts out of date, fix it sooner rather than later. A stale schedule is one of the fastest ways to lose trust. If you are the listing admin, update from your management tools. If you are not, send a correction. Either path is part of keeping the atlas useful.

Adding a place is a small act of stewardship. It helps the next person looking for a sangha, a temple visit, or a quiet place to begin. Start at add, claim an existing page through claim when that is the right move, and browse what is already mapped on places. Thank you for helping the directory stay accurate, local, and kind to the communities it names.