"What is the place for a Dharma Center in these times"

By CIMC Guiding Teacher Narayan Helen Liebenson

The new year reminds us of one of the most heartening and beautiful teachings, which is that it is always possible to begin anew. Beginning anew is always possible, not because we want it to be or because we believe it is true, but because this moment now IS new; now is always now and cannot have come before now. Because of this reality, we can listen right now to what life is asking of us and respond accordingly.

As we know, we are in a time of immense complexity, rapid change, painful polarization, and tremendous suffering in the world. One of the ongoing questions I contemplate is the place of a Dharma Center – of CIMC in particular – in these times. It is an alive and essential question for me in my role as guiding teacher and also because of seeing confusion clouding clarity for so many these days. Regardless of whether our lives are relatively easy and free from conflict, we are all feeling the pain of the many wars, the climate chaos, and so much more. When we come together in Dharma Centers to practice wisdom and compassion, we are collectively bearing this pain. We are the world and we carry worlds upon worlds in our bodies.

To me, one of the places of a Dharma center is to honor and delight in its collective nature. When applying for a retreat in another lineage that I consider to be part of my family, I asked if I could come but not practice exactly in the way described. The main monk, a Dharma brother, passed on the message to me to come, “just to be together.” We gather, whether in the building or online, just to be together and to align in our mutual aspirations to cultivate wisdom, compassion, patience, and kindness. We come together to weather the storms and to make our way through to greater clarity and understanding – to learn from the storms rather than drowning in them. An African proverb says: smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.

And yet, we don’t and won’t collectively share the same perceptions and passions. This doesn’t make us less of a community, it makes us a community in which there is room for diverse views and approaches. Each of us is a lighthouse, a center of light that emanates out in all directions. In my mind, we need to acknowledge painful events without entanglement, to neither join nor be above the fray, holding as many narratives as we can without fixating. Dharma centers are places where we can discover wise questions. How can we emphasize peace while also working for justice for all? Can we stay still within ourselves and not avoid or be complicit with the unwholesome? In the silence and spaciousness of contemplation, we are invited to listen deeply, not accepting easy answers.

Dharma centers are places to learn how to transcend parts of the ideological narratives that harden the heart and don’t allow seeing other as self and self as other. They are places in which to hold both anguish and joy, to practice “don’t know” mind, and to learn how to hold our own distress instead of offloading it on anyone else. In this way, our tendencies towards selective empathy ease and we can respond spontaneously yet not impulsively, leading with the heart. Let’s be tender with everything and everyone and know that we can always begin anew.

Executive Director's Update

Happy New Year!

The outpouring of support in response to CIMC’s 2023 Annual Appeal has been tremendous. On behalf of CIMC’s teachers, staff, and board of directors: Thank you! We are enormously grateful. We are getting very close to reaching our 2023 ANNUAL APPEAL Goal. If you have not yet donated and would like to support the appeal, it is not too late. Please do so now. Your support ensures that this Dharma Center can continue to serve the thousands of people who attend our programs each year. 

2024 Programs. A great way to start the new year is to join one of the many practice groups listed below in this newsletter or consider joining the Wise Intention in the New Year hybrid retreat with Zeenat Potia on January 28. Also, people often ask about the best way to learn how to meditate or where to refer a friend who wants to start a practice. An upcoming opportunity is to participate in Madeline Klyne’s in-person Beginners Insight Meditation Workshop on January 27.

CIMC Membership: Our 2024 membership year begins on January 1^st, and I wholeheartedly invite you to join or renew your membership now. Click here for more information on the importance of membership and the benefits offered. We also plan to hold a special Members and Volunteer Appreciation program with our teachers on Sunday, March 10, 2024.

As this year ends, I want to thank you for welcoming me to this community. I am so impressed with the engagement of our sangha of practitioners, Dharma teachers and staff.

With gratitude and well wishes,

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice at CIMC

CIMC is committed to being an equitable and inclusive space for all who seek inner peace through the liberating practice of Insight Meditation. To increase transparency and accountability around the work that we are doing to further this mission, we have updated our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Justice page on our website. The page will house resources related to our ongoing efforts in this area. We encourage you to take a look here. The History of CIMC Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives, in particular, provides a grounding in the work that has been done to-date to make the Center a more equitable and inclusive place. As you will see, this work has started and there is so much more to do. We look forward to continuing this work in 2024 and appreciate the support and engagement of our community as we do so.

With gratitude,

Erika, Narayan & Cindy

Director of Operations

An exciting opportunity is opening up at CIMC! We are seeking to hire a Director of Operations to join our team. Please click here to read more and apply.

https://cambridgeinsight.org/wp-content/uploads/CIMC-Director-Of-Operations-Job-Announcement.pdf

A Note from Clare O'Donoghue, Director of Operations

I have worked at CIMC for just over 13 years and have been enriched by the experience in so many ways. Some years ago, I decided to stay at CIMC until Spring of 2024, then change up my work to better fit the next stage of my life. I will be here through May 3, 2024, and in order to ensure overlap, we are currently recruiting for my position. Please see the notice above and I invite you to share it with family, friends, and colleagues.  

Many thanks,

Clare

Infusing Mindfulness Into Our Daily Lives

Online Practice Group with Madeline Klyne

Thursdays: 7:00 – 8:45 PM ET

January 4 – January 25

Let us start this New Year with the intention to infuse mindfulness filled with gentleness, curiosity, and a willingness to learn, into our daily lives. Let us discover a sense of a connection, openness, and delight together.

Come join us in learning to recollect ourselves, to bring a wholehearted attention and presence to the moment we are in. Mindfulness is a shortcut to happiness and healing… Let’s start this New Year together!

This program is appropriate for both new and experienced meditators and will include formal meditation practices, as well as discussion, reflection, and home practices. Everyone is welcome.

Full and partial scholarships are available up to 72 hours before the start of the program. This program will not be recorded.

Everyday Dharma: Loving Your Practice

Online Practice Group with Matthew Hepburn

Tuesday: 6:30 – 8:15 PM ET

January 9 – January 30

Are you in love with your daily practice?

Whether we are just getting started with meditation or have been at it for years, it is easy to develop the habit of overlooking the profundity available to us through everyday Dharma practice. Perhaps we have allowed our past insights to become a way of highlighting our apparent shortcomings. Perhaps our genuine aspiration for spiritual insight and liberation has devolved into a self-improvement slog. Let’s turn this around.

Through investigation and experimentation, we will discover how Dharma practice can be an intuitive path to harmony with life. Setting down any sense of drudgery around practice, we can reveal and realize our natural inclination to fall in love with the journey towards freedom, compassion, and awareness. Let’s not miss the depth, the joy, and the intimacy at hand.

This program is appropriate for beginners and experienced practitioners alike. Our time together will include talks, guided meditation instructions, and ample opportunity for discussion and questions. Everyone is welcome.

Full and partial scholarships are available up to 72 hours before the start of the program. This program will not be recorded.

Mindfulness of Breathing: Sixteen Steps to Awakening

In-Person Practice Group with Jim Austin

Wednesdays: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM ET

January 17 – March 6

The Ānāpānasati Sutta is one of the most important suttas in the Pali Canon of early Buddhism. In this foundational teaching, the Buddha lays out a comprehensive series of sixteen sequential steps for using full awareness of breathing as a complete path to liberation.

This sutta has been understood in many ways by different teachers. In this course, we will draw primarily on interpretations from CIMC founding teacher Larry Rosenberg, Thich Nhat Hanh, Ṭhānissaro Bikkhu, Buddhadāsa Bhikku, and Bhikkhu Anālayo to deepen our understanding of the teachings. We will actively explore each of the sixteen steps, experiencing how they can form the core of a rich and fruitful daily practice and support our progress on the path toward happiness and inner freedom.

This program is appropriate for both new and experienced meditators of all levels of experience. Each session will include formal meditation practices based on the sutta, teaching, time for discussion, reflections, and questions. Practice and homework between sessions are essential to this group. Everyone is welcome.

Full and partial scholarships are available up to 72 hours before the start of the program. This program will not be recorded.

Seven Factors of Awakening: A Year of Living These Treasures

Online Practice Group with Madeline Klyne

This year-long online program begins and ends with day-long workshops. In between, we will meet on the second Friday evening of each month (except August and October*).

Dates are:

• Saturday, January 20: 10:00am – 4:00pm

• Saturday, December 7: 10:00am – 4:00pm

• Fridays, 6:00 – 8:30pm: February 9, March 8, April 12, May 10, June 14, July 12, September 13, October 4*, November 8

The Seven Factors of Awakening, the bojjhangas, are seven beautiful qualities that are naturally present in an awakened heart and mind. Known as “inner wealth”, they are deeply valued as part of Buddhist practice. Cultivating and understanding the Seven Factors can deepen our practice and our commitment to awakening. These qualities lead to lightness of heart and happiness.

We have a precious opportunity to learn within a committed and dedicated community (sangha) for an extended period of time. Together, we will come to recognize, strengthen, and balance each of these seven qualities in formal practice and in daily life.

This program is designed for those willing to look deeply within and to practice in a contemplative and lively community. It is appropriate for both new and experienced meditators of all ages and all levels of experience. People who have taken this program before are encouraged to take it again, as the Seven Factors of Awakening grow deeper and more profound with practice. Everyone is welcome.

Full and partial scholarships are available up to 72 hours before the start of the program. This program will not be recorded. For questions about this program, please send an email to [email protected].

The Eight Worldly Winds: Embracing All of Life

Online Practice Group with Matthew Daniell

Mondays: 6:30 – 8:00 PM ET

January 22 – March 4

The Buddha also gave us a powerful frame to explore and work skillfully with the inevitable ups and downs of life, what he called the “Eight Worldly Winds”: pleasure and pain, praise and blame, fame and disrepute, and gain and loss.

Over the course of our weeks together, we will systematically explore the Eight Worldly Winds, the four sets of opposing energies as they actually function in our lives. We will learn to touch awareness and create the conditions where equanimity can arise in relation to the different changing experiences that constitute our world and our lives.

This program is appropriate for both new and experienced meditators of all levels of experience. Sessions will include formal meditation practice, time for discussion, reflections, and questions. Everyone is welcome. Full and partial scholarships are available up to 72 hours before the start of the program.

Beginners Insight Meditation Workshop

In-Person Workshop with Madeline Klyne

Saturday, January 27: 10:00 – 4:30 PM

Our Beginners’ Workshop includes formal meditation instruction, guided sitting and walking practice, and group discussion as we explore the basics of Insight Meditation (vipassana).

During our time together, participants will learn how to meditate along with others who are in the beginning stages of practice. Guidance will be offered on how to establish, sustain, or refresh a daily meditation practice. There will be ample opportunity to ask questions.

This day-long program is appropriate for people who have little or no meditation experience, for those who are relatively new to Insight Meditation, and for anyone who would like to revisit the basics of meditation and deepen their practice. Everyone is welcome.

Full and partial scholarships are available up to 72 hours before the start of the program.

Wise Intention in the New Year

Hybrid Retreat with Zeenat Potia

Sunday, January 28: 10:00 – 5:00 PM ET

The Buddha said that everything rests on the tip of one's intention. Wise intention is the energy that moves all spiritual practices forward. The beginning of a new year is an auspicious time to reflect upon and set new intentions to support our lives. In this retreat, we will learn about wise intention as outlined in the Buddha’s classical teachings of the Eightfold Noble Path, with an emphasis on non-harm, non-cruelty, and surrendering to the present moment.

This retreat will be supportive for both beginning and more experienced meditators. Our day together will include talks, sitting and walking meditation, and learning from one another. There will be time for discussion so that we can explore the unique circumstances and practice questions of as many people in the group as possible. Everyone is welcome.

Full and partial scholarships are available up to 72 hours before the start of the program.

Daily Evening Sits

In-Person Drop-In with a Practice Leader

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 6:00 – 6:45 pm

Wednesday: 6:30 – 7:15 pm

On weekday evenings CIMC offers a drop-in practice opportunity that is open to everyone: a 45-minute long meditation sit led by CIMC volunteer Practice Leaders. On Wednesday evenings, this is part of CIMC’s Wednesday Evening Dharma Program and runs from 6:30-7:15 pm (if the Wednesday Dharma Talk is online, the sit will be online).

For the benefit of your fellow practitioners, please enter the meditation hall on time and stay through the end of the sit. All are welcome to attend; there is no registration. Thank you to our volunteer practice leaders who make this offering possible!

Daily Sitting Practice is not offered during CIMC’s end-of-summer break, on federal holidays, or when the Center is closed for winter break at the end of the year. Please see our online program calendar for up-to-date information.

Beginners Drop-In

Online and Hybrid Drop-In

 Tuesdays: 6:00 – 7:00 pm ET

January 2: Online with Jim Austin

January 9: Hybrid with Betty Burkes

January 16: Online with Madeline Klyne

January 23: Hybrid with Jim Austin

January 30: Online with Zeenat Potia

On most Tuesday nights throughout the year CIMC offers an Insight Meditation (Vipassanā) program for beginners. Each class includes basic meditation instruction, practice and discussion. This class is appropriate for first-time meditators as well as those with meditation experience. No registration required.

Beginners Tea

In-Person Drop-In with Jim Austin

 Tuesday, January 23: 7:00 – 7:45 pm ET

On most Tuesday nights throughout the year CIMC offers an Insight Meditation (vipassana) program for beginners. Each class includes basic meditation instruction, practice and discussion. This class is appropriate for first-time meditators as well as those with meditation experience. No registration required.

Following the Beginners Drop-In program, attendees will be invited to join others for snacks and tea. Practitioners, staff members, and teachers will be available to answer questions and share information about CIMC or the practice.

Our intention is to offer a relaxed space where those who are new to the Center and/or the practice will feel welcomed and supported. There will be the opportunity to learn more about the programs CIMC offers, and to talk with other long-time community members.

Vegan and gluten-free options will be provided.

Wednesday Evening Dharma Program

Online and Hybrid Drop-In with a different teacher every week

Wednesdays, January 3, 10, 17, 24 & 31

Meditation Practice: 6:30 – 7:15 pm ET

Mindful Break: 7:15 – 7:30 pm ET

Dharma Talk and Q&A: 7:30 – 8:45 pm ET

Our Wednesday Evening Program will begin with a meditation practice from 6:30 – 7:15 pm, followed by the teacher's talk and Q&A from 7:30 – 8:45 pm. You are welcome to attend just the sit, just the talk, or both.

January 3: George Mumford (hybrid) - New Beginnings

January 9: David Loy (online) - How to Be Happy: the Three Rules

January 17: Chris Willard (hybrid) - The Spirit and Science of Generosity

January 24: Stacy McClendon (online) - When the Heart's Wide Open -- The Lingering Holiday Spirit of Loving Generosity

January 31: Matthew Daniell (hybrid) - Dharma reflection and practice discussion

Thursday Morning Retreat

In-Person Drop-In

Thursdays, January 4, 11, 18 & 25: 9:00 am – 1:00 pm

These informal, in-person retreats consist of alternating sitting and walking periods between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm. They provide an opportunity to practice meditation in silence with others at CIMC.

Volunteer meditators can sign up on the day to ring the bell at the end of each walking and sitting period.

People of Color Sangha

Hybrid Drop-In with Gina LaRoche, Juan Sosa, and Melanie Cherng

Friday, January 5: 6:30 – 8:00 pm ET

The POC Sangha provides a dedicated practice space at CIMC for those who self-identify as people of color and is appropriate for beginners as well as those with meditation experience. Over the course of the year, this drop-in program will explore the Dharma of the human experience; taking Buddhist teachings as our lens to explore the ups and downs, joys and sorrows, tenderness and beauty of living in a world of change. Please feel free to come to any, or all, of the monthly gatherings.

Sunday Afternoon Extended Practice

In-Person Drop-In

Sundays, January 7, 14 & 21: 2:00 – 5:15 pm

On most Sunday afternoons throughout the year, CIMC offers the opportunity for extended practice at our Center. Sitting and walking with other practitioners can be very supportive of one's meditation practice. Everyone is welcome. This program will not meet January 28.

Disability & Chronic Illness Sangha

Online Drop-In with Reya Stevens

Sunday, January 7: 5:30 – 7:00 pm ET

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 is 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. Click here to meet Reya.

*This includes those who prefer different terminology—for example, a more specific descriptor like ‘blind’ or ‘neuro-divergent,’ or to simply explain their situation as needed. Please note, however, that the 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

Online Drop-In with Jo Ann Share

Tuesday, January 9: 10:30 am – 12:00 pm ET

This affinity group is intended for those age 65 and up. 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. We come together every month for talks, discussion, meditation, and to explore both the challenges and sources of inspiration that enrich the process of creative, conscious aging.

Parents Sangha

Online Drop-In with Jim Austin

Thursday, January 11: 8:00 – 9:15 pm ET

CIMC’s Parents Sangha provides an opportunity for parents of children of all ages to practice together and build community. Bringing mindful attention to our skills as parents can increase our capacity to form strong bonds with all the members of our family. The practice of mindfulness cultivates conditions of openness and receptivity, in which communication and emotional connection naturally flourish.

Parenting is both a joyful and a challenging endeavor. In this group, we seek to view our experiences through the lens of Dharma. We will learn how to regulate our nervous systems, and model mindfulness for our families, so that we are able to navigate the inevitable waves of joy and frustration that accompany every parent’s experience with a greater sense of ease.

Teatime Dharma

In-Person Drop-In with Madeline Klyne

Monday, January 22: 4:00 – 5:30 pm

This is an opportunity to get together with Madeline Klyne and others in the CIMC sangha to explore and investigate our practice. We address the questions that participants bring and share from our direct experience.

Together we recollect the Buddha’s teachings and learn from the group’s wisdom and compassion. Our focus is on practice questions that arise from direct experience. Bring your curiosity and your questions. All are welcome!

This is a drop-in program; no registration needed. Doors will close at 4:10 pm.

This program will not meet meet January 1, 8, 15 & 29.

Sitting & Sangha

In-Person Drop-In with Madeline Klyne

Monday, January 22: 6:00 – 7:15 pm

Join Madeline Klyne and others in the CIMC sangha to deepen your practice in community. Connect or reconnect with each other in person at CIMC and reflect on the teachings together. This unique program creates an opportunity to sit and talk in small groups about what matters most to you in the present moment. All are welcome.

Our schedule will be:

• 6:00 – 6:30 pm: Sitting

• 6:30 – 6:55 pm: Dharma Question for Small Groups

• 6:55 – 7:15 pm: Dharma Discussion



This is a drop-in program; no registration needed. Doors will close at 6:10 pm.

This program will not meet meet January 1, 8, 15 & 29.

Elders Sangha Practice Tuesdays

In-Person Drop-In with Betty Burkes

Tuesday, January 23: 10:30 am – 12:00 pm

This affinity group is intended for those age 65 and up. 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. We come together every month for talks, discussion, and meditation and to explore both the challenges and sources of inspiration that enrich the process of creative, conscious aging.

35 & Under Sangha

In-Person Drop-In with Ben Pittman-Polletta

Sunday, January 28: 7:00 – 8:15 pm

This affinity group provides an opportunity for those ages 18-35 to practice the dharma in a supportive community setting.

When led by a sangha leader (Alex, Ben, or Mel), 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.

When led by a practice leader, these evenings will offer silent sitting and walking periods and will not offer meditation instruction — complete beginners should first attend a few sessions that are guided by a sangha leader with instruction on both walking and sitting practice.

Investigation: Discovering the Path of Liberation for Ourselves

Online Practice Group with Chas DiCapua

Sundays: 4:30 – 6:00 PM ET

February 4 – March 24

Investigation is the quality of mind that asks: “What is this?”, and/or “What is happening here?” While these questions are stated using language, investigation is not an intellectual or cerebral endeavor. From the Buddhist perspective, the answers to these questions come from sustained attention to experience, not by thinking about them. This shift is part of the maturation process for everyone walking the Noble Eightfold Path.

This program is suitable for everyone, beginners, and experienced practitioners alike. Our time together will include Dharma reflections, meditation instructions, small group inquiry, and ample opportunity for Q&A. Everyone is welcome.

Full and partial scholarships are available up to 72 hours before the start of the program.