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
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.
Announcing BMC’s New Managing Director – from Chris Crotty
In March BMC underwent a significant transition. Sarah Mitchel, BMC’s Managing Director, stepped down from her position. For nearly two and a half years Sarah has been instrumental in sustaining BMC, improving how we work together, and helping BMC grow. She has taken the lead on innumerable important tasks and larger projects, managed our daily work flow, and she has been thoughtful, clear, and considerate in her approach and in her relationships. During this time, Sarah has also been a sincere and devoted practitioner, taking time to further her practice through retreats and study programs with different teachers. Personally, I have learned a lot from Sarah, and for both this and her contribution to BMC, I am grateful. Thank you, Sarah!
Our new Managing Director, Ryan Cunningham, has already begun to settle into the role. Ryan has done some training with Sarah in order to get acquainted with BMC’s daily operations, and they have already begun to share their experience and expertise acquired over many years of working with organizations like ours and helping them succeed. Ryan has had a leadership presence in local contemplative spaces for a long time: they are a Dharma practitioner, experienced yoga teacher, and body worker integrating yoga and manual therapy. We look forward to working with Ryan, learning from Ryan, and providing them with a new dharma home to further their vocational path. Welcome, Ryan!
For more information see our Staff page.
Regular Offerings
BMC currently meets every Thursday from 7:00pm to 8:30pm ET. 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.
BMC also meets every day from 6:30am to 7:15am ET for daily morning meditation. As a silent, peer-led practice period, morning meditation provides a consistent time and structure to begin or sustain a personal, daily meditation practice.
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:
July 17 - An Introduction to Meditation: Waking Up to the Present Moment
A Half-Day Workshop with Adam Groff
Description
If you have never meditated but are curious about it – if you are just starting out with your practice – or if you are returning to the practice and would like a refresher – this program is a good opportunity to learn about and practice the fundamentals of Insight meditation, also known as vipassana. In this program, BMC facilitator Adam Groff will introduce students to basic meditation concepts and then guide them through a couple of sessions of seated meditation practice focused on the body and the breath. In addition, the practice of walking meditation will be introduced. Between sessions there will be an opportunity to ask questions and engage in discussion about the practice.
Meditation is often thought of as a solitary practice, but meditating in a group offers unique benefits: the support and guidance of a teacher, as well as hearing from peers about their experience. This can often give us inspiration and motivation to begin or expand our own practice. This Saturday program continues BMC’s commitment to making meditation practical and accessible to all, following in the tradition started by the Buddha 2600 years ago.
When
Saturday, July 17 from 9:30am to 12:00pm ET
Where
A Zoom link will be emailed before the program.
Investment
$25 Base
$35 Sustaining
$45 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. Scholarships are available for anyone experiencing financial hardships.
Teacher
Adam Groff has been practicing Buddhist meditation since 2009, beginning at the Insight Meditation Center of Newburyport. He helped coordinate a weekly peer-led meditation community in Boston from 2010 to 2015, and in 2014 he completed a yearlong meditation facilitator training with Against the Stream. Also in 2014 he helped Chris Crotty found the sangha that became Boston Meditation Center. Nowadays at BMC, Adam offers his time as a meditation facilitator and retreat manager, and he sits weeklong retreats each year with lay teachers and monastics in the Vipassana/Theravada tradition. He lives in Newburyport with his wife and two children and works as a managing editor at EBSCO Information Services.