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Cambridge Insight Meditation Center

Cambridge Insight Meditation Center

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  • Calendar
  • About
    • Mission, Vision, and Values
    • Our Center
      • Center Guidelines
      • History
    • Teachers
    • Board of Directors
    • Staff
    • Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  • Community
    • Affinity Groups
    • Sangha Life Committee
    • Membership
    • Ethics and Reconciliation
      • Formal Grievance Process
      • Reconciliation Process
    • Spiritual Friendship
    • Volunteering
    • Resources
      • Ask Larry
      • For Beginners
        • Dharma Information
        • Practice Centers
        • Recommended Reading
      • Frequently-Asked Questions
  • Generosity
    • Ways to Support CIMC
    • Donate
    • Membership
    • Legacy Giving
    • Teacher Dana
  • What We Offer
    • For Beginners
    • Affinity Groups
    • Drop-Ins
    • Practice Groups
    • Retreats
    • Workshops
    • Wednesday Evening Dharma
  • Programs
    • Practice Groups
      • Home Practice
    • Retreats
    • Workshops
    • Drop-Ins
    • Affinity Groups
    • Financial Assistance
      • Scholarships
      • Work Exchange
  • Calendar
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Center Guidelines

We aspire to create an environment that is welcoming and peaceful, and conducive to meditation practice. Thank you for being mindful of the following guidelines and for helping to make CIMC a place of refuge for all.

Electronic Devices

Mobile phones, pagers, etc. can be particularly disturbing in a quiet atmosphere. Please turn off all electronic devices when you enter the Center. If you need to make a phone call, check messages, or read a text, please go outside to the parking lot behind the Center to do so.

Environmental Concerns (no scented products, please)

Some people who practice at the Center have chemical sensitivities or environmental illnesses and experience adverse reactions when exposed to scented products. CIMC is a refuge. Out of compassion for those with chemical sensitivities, please avoid using scented products—lotions, deodorant, after-shave, hair products, perfume, clothes laundered with scented detergent or dryer sheets—before you come to the Center.

Food and Drink
  • Please feel free to bring your meal to the Center. There is a dining room and kitchen available for use on the first floor. Food and drink are restricted to the first floor. Please do not take water bottles into the Meditation Halls.
  • Only vegetarian food and non-alcoholic beverages are permitted.
  • Please be sure to clean up after yourself: wash utensils, plates, and cups or rinse them and place them in the dishwasher; wipe off the counter/table after you finish.
  • In the Reclining Buddha Room (immediately to the right as you enter the building), there is a tea closet with cups, tea bags, and instant hot water. Feel free to enjoy a cup of tea on the first floor or in the garden. Please clean up after yourself.
Housekeeping

Since we have no custodial staff, we rely on each person in our community to keep the Center clean and orderly. Please leave the Center at least as neat as you found it. This may mean brushing off your mat and plumping your cushion after a sitting, pushing your chair back under the table in the library or dining room, replacing an empty roll of toilet paper, picking up any litter from the floor, etc. These can all be expressions of mindfulness and generosity to those who share this space with you.

Meditation Hall
  • Out of respect, and to honor the practice of others, we ask that you maintain Noble Silence in, and near, the upper and lower Dharma halls at all times. When entering the upper hall, please open and close the doors gently to minimize noise.
  • Scheduled Sittings: Please do not enter the meditation hall after the sitting has begun, or leave before a sitting is over.
  • After the sitting, please brush off your zabuton (large mat) and plump up your zafu (round cushion). Return any other items to their respective storage spaces so that you leave the hall as you found it.
  • Members may use either the upper or lower meditation halls for sitting practice between 7:00am and 10:00pm (when no programs are scheduled). Walking meditation should be done only in the lower hall or garden. The upper meditation hall is reserved for sitting practice only.
  • Food and drinks, including water, are not allowed in the meditation halls.
  • Please refrain from reading or writing in the Meditation Halls unless a teacher gives permission during a specific event.
Parking

For more information about Parking, please see our Contact page.

Shoes, Coats, and Valuables

When you enter the building please remove your shoes and leave them on the shoe racks under the stairs in the front hallway or in the dining room. Coats may go in the closets across from the main bulletin board or on the second floor. Please keep all valuables with you.

Temperature

We strongly recommend you dress in layers since the temperature in the meditation halls will vary. The thermostats are set to a comfortable temperature; however, please give yourself a range of clothing options, as individual preferences for warmth or coolness differ widely and cannot be accommodated.

Cambridge Insight Meditation Center

331 Broadway
Cambridge, MA 02139

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  • (617) 441-9038

  • office@cambridgeinsight.org

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Cambridge Insight Meditation Center is a 501(c)(3) organization, federal tax ID #22-2622760.

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