Buddhism

i am sorry; my visits to the West coast being few & far between - i wasn't familiar with Wat Metta, until i saw your query. i've looked it up on the web. it appears to be a wonderful place.

around here, on the East coast, a Monk from my native country, Sri Lanka, runs a somewhat similar meditation center near the Shenandoah Valley, in WV.
http://www.bhavanasociety.org/index/
His name is: the Venerable Henepola Gunaratana. i've met him &, in my estimation, he is a good monk & a good teacher. he has published several books, two of which, i personally think, are outstanding. 1. Mindfulness in Plain English (for beginners); and, 2. The Path of Serenity and Insight (for experienced meditators).

on your 2nd question: as mentioned, i am a native Sri Lankan. around 70% of the population there - nominally - practices Thereavada Buddhism. my own case was a slight anomaly. wa born a Catholic. my early teens, dove head-first into a typical, hormone-fuelled, rebel-without-a-cause adolescent maelstrom of meaningless angst. as a result of which, after some ratiocination & research into spiritual traditions, i found my own predilection lay in this (in my opinion) amazing teaching, that lay in plain sight, right in my backyard; and had once been followed by my own family (until some in the line were converted by Portuguese colonists). it was a bit of a shock to discover that - an ancient Ascetic, sitting half-starved under a tree in the Indian jungles, 2,500 years in the past, had come up with these concepts - which fit my own labored & half-baked theories, like a tailored glove. though i may very well be mistaken, i believe i've found many of the answers i've been looking for, in this Dhamma.

i would like, very much, to hear of your own journey onto this Path - if you don't mind sharing your experiences?