photo of two young people with hands in anjali
BMC group photo 12/2018
BMC summer retreat at IMCN
Chris, Sayadaw, Mimmi
Chris and Rod
Latest News
Thanks to a few incredibly generous donors, Boston Meditation Center is the official owner of a brick-and-mortar space! With your help, our sangha will have a new, permanent home at 440 Somerville Ave. in Union Square. Construction is due to begin this summer and we’re aiming to open in late fall.
As a traditionally Buddhist organization, BMC runs entirely off of the donations and generosity of our community. That’s why we’ve launched a fundraiser on GoFundMe. We’re in need of $19,500 to cover all remaining costs. Please consider supporting this exciting new project and help turn this space into a true refuge.
About
Boston Meditation Center (BMC) is a Buddhist sangha in the Insight tradition serving greater Boston and the East Coast. Emphasizing the development of wisdom and kindness through traditional practices made accessible and relevant to modern-day lives, BMC welcomes everyone who seeks greater freedom and happiness in their lives. Central to our vision is the belief that the path of awakening is attainable by all and should be available to all. Our guiding teacher is Chris Crotty.
We offer weekly meditation classes and dharma talks, as well as daylong and residential retreats. We are currently located in Cambridge (Harvard Square).
Weekly Meditation
BMC currently meets every Thursday from 7:15 to 8:45 p.m. at Karma Yoga Studio in Harvard Square (1120 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge).
Meetings typically begin with 20 to 30 minutes of guided meditation, followed by a dharma talk and discussion with our guiding teacher, Chris Crotty, or another teacher or facilitator. Donations are gratefully accepted.
Though grounded in the Theravada tradition, we strive to expose our members to diverse approaches to the dharma by occasionally hosting teachers from other traditions, such as Tibetan or Zen Buddhism.
Next Day Program:
November 23: Mindfulness, Embodiment, and Deep Listening: The Practice of Insight Dialogue
A Half-Day Workshop with Jan Surrey
Description
Insight Dialogue is a relationally engaged meditation practice in the Theravadan Insight tradition. The practice rests on the power of meditating together to cultivate wisdom and compassion and to release the tangled roots of our shared human suffering. In this workshop, we will introduce the six meditation guidelines of Insight Dialogue (pause, relax, open, attune to emergence, listen deeply, and speak the truth). These guidelines support the cultivation of mindfulness, compassion, calm concentration, and embodiment in relationship. Deep listening and authentic speaking become meditation practices in the service of awakening together.
Deep listening involves attentive listening beyond just the content of words-to the sounds and qualities of the voice, the nonverbal language and subtle movements of the body, and to the silence beneath the words. This practice has direct application to developing our capacity to be fully present in our lives and to listen deeply in all our relations.
This program will include periods of silent meditation and relational practice, dhamma teaching and contemplation. Suitable for anyone new to Insight Dialogue and for those with experience.
When
Saturday, November 23
1:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Where
The Arlington Center
369 Mass Ave
Arlington, MA
Cost
$35 Base
$45 Sustaining (actual cost of the program)
$55 Contributing
Paying at the highest level you can afford helps us make our programs available to as many people as possible. There is also an opportunity to offer additional dana (generosity) for the teacher at the end of the program. Please let us know if finances are an obstacle.
Registration
To register, select your preferred pricing option from the drop-down menu below and then click the button to submit payment via PayPal; in a day or two you will receive a confirmation email. Please email us at info@bostonmeditationcenter.org with any questions.
Teacher
Janet Surrey, PhD, is an Insight Dialogue teacher with the organization Metta Programs. She teaches Insight Dialogue retreats worldwide and leads a monthly practice group in the Boston area. Jan has been a faculty member of Metta’s Relational Insight Meditation Program and serves on Metta Programs’ Teachers Council. Jan has studied with a number of Vipassana teachers for over twenty-five years and has worked with Gregory Kramer since 2007. Jan is a practicing clinical psychologist and founding scholar of the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute at the Wellesley Centers for Women. She is on the faculty and board of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy.
Next Residential Retreat:
January 17-19: Calm, Still, Quiet
Winter Residential Retreat
With Chris Crotty
Assisted by Sarah Mitchell
Description
In winter, the stars seem to have rekindled their fires, the moon achieves a fuller triumph, and the heavens wear a look of a more exalted simplicity. – John Burroughs
Winter is a natural time for turning inward, while retreat provides an opportunity to focus attention on your meditation practice and contemplate the Buddha’s teachings. In this second annual Winter Residential Retreat with Chris, the outer stillness of the natural world supports us in quieting our mind, and directly experiencing the calm and stillness of concentration. With a mind free from distraction, we use mindfulness (insight meditation) to investigate the path to peace taught by the Buddha and perfected during retreat practice for over 2500 years.
Combining periods of sitting and walking meditation, with Dharma teachings, the Winter Residential Retreat is held in noble silence. This retreat is suitable for those who have not yet sat retreat, as well as ongoing practitioners who wish to further their practice–meditation instruction and dharma talks will accommodate all experience levels.
When
January 17 – 19, 2020 (Friday to Sunday)
Where
Insight Meditation Center Newburyport (IMCN)
Cost
Residential: $300
Commuter: $200
Saturday Only: $90
Registration
Please register for this retreat directly through IMCN here.
If you have any questions, you can email us at info@bostonmeditationcenter.org.
Teacher
Chris Crotty is a Buddhist teacher, pastoral counselor, and adjunct professor in alternative medicine. Practicing meditation since 1998, he has taken retreat with Burmese monastics Sayadaw U Inndaka and Sayadaw U Tejaniya, scholar-practitioner Bhikkhu Analayo, western monastics of the Zen and Thai Forest tradition, and senior western Vipassana teachers. Chris was authorized to teach Buddhadharma in 2015, and in 2016 was encouraged to teach vipassana and metta by Sayadaw U Inndaka.