"When I travel around the country and tell people the teachers we get in Tallahassee, they're surprised," said Louise Ritchie, a member of the Tallahassee Buddhist Peace Fellowship. "It's a small community, but it's extremely active, more active than some communities in larger cities."

In the next two weeks, three teachers representing the three main schools of Buddhism — Therevada, Tibetan, and Zen — will hold talks and retreats in town.