Community Groups

35 & Under Sangha

• Sundays: 7:00-8:15pm
• Dates: Please see below.
• Fee: $5-10; Practice Sundays by donation (Dana)

This affinity group -- appropriate for both new and experienced meditators -- provides an opportunity for those ages 18-35 to practice the dharma in a supportive community setting. The group offers two different formats:

• With Teacher. The second and fourth Sundays of the month will be led by teachers Matthew Hepburn or Zeenat Potia. These evenings start with a period of guided sitting practice and walking meditation, followed by time for sharing: dyads (partner work) and small or large group discussion. There is  time after the evening ends for participants to gather informally for tea and conversation.
• Practice Sunday. The first and third Sundays of the month will be led by CIMC Practice Leaders and offer silent sitting and walking periods for deepening stillness and strengthening self-guided meditation practice in the company of the sangha. Practice Sundays do not offer meditation instruction. Beginners should first attend a few sessions that are guided by a teacher.

Please see our online program calendar for up-to-date information.

Beloved Community Circles

• Sundays: 10:00am-12:30pm
• Dates: February 23, 2020 | July 19 | November 15
• Donation (dana): $5-10

A series of conversations facilitated by CIMC Board Member Betty Burkes, Beloved Community Circles (BCC) provide a forum for cultivating awareness within the CIMC community about social realities and conditioning, informed by the Dharma. Recognizing the particular need for consciousness regarding race and racism in our culture, this theme is one foundation for the series.

We practice deep listening to one another and share our experiences to promote greater understanding of ourselves and each other. Honoring the gift and importance of sangha on this path of liberation, we will explore how we relate as spiritual friends and the barriers to this aspiration. BCC is open to everyone in the CIMC community.

Elders Sangha

• Tuesdays: 10:30am-12:00pm
• Dates: January 14, 2020 | February 11 | March 10 | May 12 | June 9 | July 14 | August 11 | September 8 | October 13 | November 10 | December 8
• Fee: $5-10

Intended for people ages 65 and up, the Elders Sangha meets on the second Tuesday of each month. As elders, we're invited as never before to look deeply into the great issues of impermanence, diminishment, and mortality. Yet through practice these are balanced by expanding compassion, joy and appreciation of life. Let us take advantage of this opportunity and come together every month for talks, discussion, and meditation. Together we'll explore both the challenges and sources of inspiration that enrich the process of creative, conscious aging. The group is led by Ron Denhardt, Olivia Hoblitzelle or Mary Vanderwicken.

LGBTIQ Sangha

• Fridays: 7:00-9:00pm
• Dates: January 17, 2020 | February 21 | May 15 | June 19 | September 18 | October 16 | November 20
• Fee: $5-10

These evening gatherings provide a dedicated practice space at CIMC for people who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning. This is a great opportunity to connect with and build community as we come together to practice, learn and celebrate who we are.

CIMC Core Teacher Madeline Klyne leads sitting and walking meditation followed by a Dharma teaching and/or discussion. Our affinity group is a “drop-in” and is appropriate for beginners as well as those with prior meditation experience. After our formal program, all are invited to gather in the dining room for tea and snacks.

People of Color Sangha

• Fridays: 6:30-8:15pm
• Dates: January 3, 2020 | February 7 | March 6 | May 1 | June 5 | July 10 (second Friday) Lower Meditation Hall | August 7 | September 11 (second Friday) Lower Meditation Hall | October 2 | November 6 | December 4
• Donation (dana): $5-10

The PoC Sangha provides a dedicated practice space at CIMC for those who self-identify as people of color, and generally meets on the first Friday of each month from 6:30-8:15pm.

General outline of our time together:
- Welcome and Introductions
- Guided Meditation
- Dharma Reflection/Teaching
- Small Group Reflection
- Large Sharing Circle, with Q and A, if time allows
- Brief Sit / Blessing
- Announcements
- Community Potluck (all are invited to gather and contribute to a vegetarian community potluck and conversation in the dining room)

In 2020, the PoC Sangha will explore the Buddha’s teachings on the Three Characteristics. All that exists in the universe is subject to these characteristics:

• Impermanence (anicca). Everything is limited to a certain duration and, consequently, liable to disappear.
• Sufferings, worries, dissatisfactions of all kinds (dukkha). Everything is unsatisfactory. There is nothing that can be relied upon, there is nothing that can bring true happiness.
• The absence of a self (anatta). Everything is deprived of a self. There is no self-inherent entity, nothing that can be controlled.

The PoC Sangha will be supported by CIMC Core Teacher Matthew Hepburn, visiting teachers and the PoC Affinity Group Leaders (Novelette DeMercado and Vicky I). You’re invited to explore these Three Characteristics with the PoC Sangha at any, or all, of the monthly gatherings.

The PoC First Friday Drop-In is appropriate for beginners as well as those with meditation experience.

White People Waking Up Study Groups

Conditioning around white racial identity deserves to be the focal point of dharma practice as much as any other form of conditioning that contributes to suffering. Beginning in 2015, a committed group of CIMC practitioners who identify as white have explored how to do so within our sangha. In collaboration with CIMC leadership, programming blossomed and so did interest from white-identified practitioners who wanted to engage in regular reflection and education and find ways to take action. Now there are a dozen small peer-facilitated groups that meet regularly outside CIMC to investigate how racism affects relationships with self and others, and to build resilience for the task of confronting and dismantling racism in community. We aspire to realize the potential of Buddhist practice to shift attitudes and behaviors, bring healing to our community, and support collective liberation. These small groups come together at CIMC several times a year to share information and build community.

Twice a year, CIMC offers a six-week "White People Waking Up Study Group." The class is peer-facilitated and is limited to 12 participants. It is ideal for those who are new to this exploration.