Community Groups

35 & Under Sangha

• Sundays: 7:00-8:15pm
• Dates: November 22 | December 13 (second Sunday) | January 10, 2021 | February 7 | March 7 | April 11 | May 16 | June 13 | July 11 | August 8 | September 19 | October 17 | November 14 | December 12
• Zoom Link (registration not required): Click here or dial +1 (646) 876 9923 and enter the Meeting ID: 972-3845-0358 (passcode: cimc)
• Donation (dana): Please consider making a donation to CIMC in support of this program.

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 fourth Sunday 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.

Disability & Chronic Illness Sangha

• Sundays: 5:30-7:00pm
• Dates: January 3 | February 7 | March 7 | April 18 | May 2 | June 6 | July 18 | August 1 | September 19 | October 3 | November 7 | December 5
• Zoom Link (registration not required): Click here or dial +1 (646) 876 9923 and enter the Meeting ID: 935 2507 3737 (passcode: cimc)
• Donation (dana): Please consider making a donation to CIMC in support of this program.

These gatherings are an opportunity to practice together and build community for those who self-identify as disabled and/or chronically ill*. We welcome the great variety of experiences and perspectives this includes, and we seek to view our experiences through the lens of dharma. Most meetings will include introductions, guided meditation, small and/or large group discussion, dharma teaching and a brief closing. The sangha will be led by Reya Stevens who has had a disabling illness since she was a teenager, including 20 years’ riding a wheelchair and decades spent mostly lying down at home. Reya has been practicing dharma since 1984.

*This includes those who prefer “person-first” language (e.g. ‘person with a disability’), a more specific descriptor (e.g. ‘blind’ or ‘neuro-divergent’), or to simply explain their situation as needed. Please note, however, that this group is not geared towards people whose conditions are expected to be fully cured or healed in a relatively brief time (e.g. three months or less).

 

 

Elders Sangha

• Tuesdays: 10:30am-12:00pm
• Dates: December 8 | January 12, 2021 | February 9 | March 9 | April 13 | May 11 | June 8 | July 13 | September 14 | October 12 | November 9 | December 114
• Zoom Link (registration not required): Click here or dial +1 (646) 876 9923 and enter the Meeting ID: 963-1055-6128. (passcode: cimc)
• Donation (dana): Please consider making a donation to CIMC in support of this program.

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 Olivia Hoblitzelle or Betty Burkes.

Kalyana Mitta (KM) Groups

CIMC has been a refuge for silent practice and support to thousands of practitioners over the years. The many practice groups, workshops, retreats and community groups offered create a thriving, busy, dharma center. Yet, seeking a balance between providing a space for silent practice, and providing space for “talking” activities that build community and connection has always been a challenge.

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 groups can be a valuable resource for supporting our own and each other’s practice. Many have formed over the past 30 years, often comprised of friends or acquaintances who met each other in classes at the Center. They may go by different names: practice groups, covenant groups, dharma groups, sanghas. One popular name is a “KM group” which is short for kalyana mitta group. Kalyana Mitta means “spiritual friend” in the Pali language.

CIMC does not organize or endorse particular KM groups. Groups must be self-forming and self-governing, with their own process for resolving conflicts.

Useful information about kalyana mitta groups and how they can be structured is available from Spirit Rock Meditation Center: Kalyana Mitta Guidelines. There are other ways of organizing and facilitating a group than the two-facilitator model that is used at Spirit Rock. Some groups are more peer led, with the facilitation tasks rotating. Groups might gather once a week, every two weeks or once a month. Generally, there will be sitting time at the beginning, followed by personal check in time. Then, there may be a discussion on a Dharma theme, on a book, or sutta. A commitment to confidentiality is important. It’s a good idea to create a covenant, or agreement, that members of the group will abide by. Here is a sample covenant from one sangha that meets locally.

Have general questions about forming your own KM group? A CIMC member volunteer who has KM group experience will be happy to speak with you. Please send an email to office@cambridgeinsight.org with your query and we'll put you in touch. We hope you’ll be inspired to create your own KM group and find it to be a fulfilling way to deepen your practice and nurture community.

LGBTIQ Sangha

• Fridays: 7:00-9:00pm
• Dates: November 20 | February 19, 2021 | April 16 | May 21 | June 18 | July 16 | September 17 | October 15 | December 17
• Zoom Link (registration not required): Click here or dial +1 (646) 876 9923 and enter the Meeting ID: 997-5010-1653. (passcode: cimc)
• Donation (dana): Please consider making a donation to CIMC in support of this program.

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.

Little Buddhas Sangha

• Sundays: 10:00-10:30am
• Dates: December 6 | January 10, 2021 | February 7 | March 7 | April 11 | May 16 | June 13 | July 11 | August 8 | September 19 | October 17 | November 14 | December 12
• Zoom Link (registration not required): Click here or dial +1 (646) 876 9923 and enter the Meeting ID: 992-0690-6921. (passcode: cimc)
• Donation (dana): Please consider making a donation to CIMC in support of this program.

This group is an informal opportunity for parents and small children (ages 3-8) to explore a family practice. Through singing, playful movement and storytelling we learn how to spend time together mindfully. Seasonal and festive themes are interwoven in our work to bring in color, fun, and a community atmosphere. We introduce the concepts of awareness, non-judgement or acceptance, and stillness (in heart and mind -- the body may be moving). Some examples of mindfulness that might be explored are: mindful listening, mindful breathing, mindful seeing, and more. Children are naturally in tune with their bodies and their environment. Our work together tries to harness this beautiful quality of wonder and presence. We have a high tolerance for movement and sound, and the children are not expected to sit still or be quiet all the time. At the end of the session, there is some time reserved for conversation.

Children must be supervised by an adult at all times. Our activities are geared to children ages 3-8. However, we are happy to welcome younger and older siblings so that families have the opportunity to practice and be together.

People of Color Sangha

• Fridays: 6:30-8:15pm
• Dates: November 27 (fourth Friday) | January 8, 2021 (second Friday) | February 5 | March 5 | April 2 | May 7 | June 4 | July 9 (second Friday) | August 6 | September 10 (second Friday) | October 1 | November 5 | December 3
• Donation (dana): Please consider making a donation to CIMC in support of this program.
• Zoom link: The PoC Sangha is a Dharma practice space meant for those who identify as a person of color. If you wish to be sent the Zoom information and to be added to the PoC ListServ kindly email cimcpocsangha@gmail.com or office@cambridgeinsight.org before 4:00pm on the day of the program.
  (Zoom’s new security protocols mean that passcodes are now required. For all CIMC online programs, the passcode will be cimc, all lowercase.)

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

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 Awake Sangha

Please see the info and resources for the SEPTEMBER 13th meeting by clicking here

• 2nd Sundays: 5:00-7:00pm
• Dates: December 13 | January 10, 2021 | February 21 (3rd Sunday) | March 14 | April 11 | May 16 (3rd Sunday) | July 11 | August 8 | September 12 | October 17 (3rd Sunday) | November 14 | December 12
• Zoom Link (registration not required): Click here or dial +1 (646) 876 9923 and enter the Meeting ID: 969-8476-9058 (passcode: cimc)
• Donations (dana) can be made to The Loveland Foundation, Black Lives Matter Boston, White Awake, CIMC, or another appropriate organization.

The White Awake Sangha is a community of white CIMC practitioners doing the emotional work of examining racism and white supremacy, how we internalize them, and how we perpetuate them interpersonally, culturally, and institutionally, both as individuals and collectively. Our goal is to bring our spiritual practice to the work of interrogating and dismantling white supremacy in ourselves, our relationships, our communities, and especially at the meditation center we call our spiritual home.

The White Awake Sangha is appropriate for any white practitioner no matter what meditation style they practice or where they are on their antiracism journey. Our goal is to build community as well as resilience, capacity, and commitment for the work of fighting systemic oppression. All are invited to explore issues of whiteness and racism, and our role as white practitioners: to not just be good allies in antiracist work, but to be actively engaged and taking initiative in dismantling racism within ourselves, at CIMC, and anyplace we may encounter it.

Below is a sample framework for our time together:

• Meditation
• Introduction & Review of Community Norms
• Check-In
• Teaching/Reflection/Activity on Dharma, Racism, & Undoing White Supremacy
• Small Group Reflections
• Large Sharing Circle, with Q and A
• Discussing Challenges & Setting Intentions
• Meditation