Community
CIMC is an urban refuge for all who seek inner peace through the liberating practice of Insight Meditation.
As a community of practitioners, and as an institution, we aspire to follow the Buddha’s path of ethics, tranquility, wisdom and compassion. We aim to nurture community and connection, and to foster an environment that feels welcoming to people of all cultural and spiritual backgrounds, races, nationalities, classes, sexual orientations, gender identities, ages, and abilities.
Affinity Groups
Affinity Groups are community meditation groups facilitated by CIMC teachers and leaders. They offer regular opportunities for new and experienced practitioners alike to deepen their practice and find spiritual community in the company of others whose life experiences may be similar to theirs.
Sangha Life Committee
CIMC’s Sangha Life Committee is a Board Committee with representatives from CIMC’s Affinity Groups, Members-at-Large, and the Board of Directors. Our mission is to attend to matters that sustain and care for all members of CIMC’s Sangha and support the flourishing of a diverse and inclusive dharma center. We engage in this work on behalf of the entire community.
Membership
Membership offers the opportunity to join and support a community and a Center dedicated to the practice of Insight Meditation. Your membership is a gift of generosity and kindness.
Ethics and Reconciliation
The Cambridge Insight Meditation Center (CIMC)—as a community of practitioners and as an institution—endeavors to follow the Buddha’s path of ethics, tranquility, wisdom and compassion. It is recognized that problems, misunderstandings and frustrations can arise within the community (sangha). The Board of Directors (the Board) is committed to providing a safe and respectful place for all participants. To support this aspiration, the Board has developed two options that are available when individual efforts to resolve a problem or grievance are not successful.
Spiritual Friendship
We support the formation of small, self-organized study groups to provide an intimate setting for the exploration of Dharma topics and offer support on the path of practice. Comprised of meditators who want to practice together in the Vipassana style, these spiritual friendship groups can be valuable for supporting our practices.
Volunteering
CIMC’s volunteer community is integral to the life of our Center. Volunteering is a beautiful form of dana (generosity). Generosity is the first of the ten qualities of heart that the Buddha encouraged us to cultivate on the path to awakening. Generosity frees us from feelings of separateness and alienation, and supports the development of lovingkindness and compassion. Volunteering at CIMC is a way to deepen one’s connection to this sangha (community).