Kannonji Zen Retreat is a Buddhist sangha in the virtual world of Second Life®, a side project of the Sweeping Zen website (the leading online encyclopedia of Zen Buddhism in the West). We started the project in 2008 as a small place for tech-savvy individuals to gather together and meditate. Located in a virtual region inspired by fond childhood memories of places like the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee, our region offers visitors realistic “natural” surroundings and conveys a sense of warmth and intimacy upon one’s first visit.