CIMC is an urban refuge and teaching center 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 offer regular opportunities for both new and experienced practitioners to participate at the Center in the company of others whose life experiences may be similar to their own.
CIMC Membership is a gift of generosity and kindness. Membership offers the opportunity to join and support a community and a Center dedicated to the practice of Insight Meditation.
Sangha Life Committee: 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.
Spiritual Friendship: One form that has evolved for enriching individual practice and building a community of like-minded meditators is to form small groups that meet regularly outside of the Center, usually in each other’s homes. Made up of meditators who want to practice together in the Vipassana style that is taught at CIMC, these spiritual friendship or Kalyana Mitta, groups can be a valuable resource for supporting our own and each other’s practice.
Volunteers are 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.
Ethics and Reconciliation: As a community of practitioners and as an institution, we endeavor to follow the Buddha’s path of ethics, tranquility, wisdom and compassion. However, recognizing that problems, misunderstandings and frustrations can arise within the community (sangha), CIMC has a Board Ethics Committee and policy as well as an Ethics and Reconciliation Council (EAR Council) to promote the values and practices of sangha health and harmony.