Land of Calm Abiding is a Buddhist retreat center set among 525 pristine acres within the Silver Peak wildness area of Los Padre National Forest. It was donated to Lama Zopa Rinpoche in 1999 by Mary Alice Baldwin. It had been in Mary Alice’s family from 1920 to 1999 and was known as the Baldwin Ranch. In early 2000 it transitioned to a place of meditation and strict retreat and was given a new name “Shinay Land” or Land of Calm Abiding. The name is derived from the meditation practice of Shamatha of calm abiding meditation. This isolated and very special space is quite unique in the west. Land of Calm Abiding possesses what classic Buddhist texts describe as the ideal retreat setting for developing the deepest levels of concentration (Shamatha).