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:
October 12: The Mindful Art of Being
A Half-Day Meditation Retreat with Matthew Daniell
Description
If we look at this question about our basic nature, “Are we human beings or human doings,” what do we find? When we identify with ourselves as human doings we may become disconnected from ourselves, our world, and we suffer.
In this half-day meditation retreat, we will explore three mindful practices of being to heal this painful split. The first is to lightly anchor our attention on the breath and senses to become calm. The second is to expand our attention to include thoughts and emotions, see into things as they are, and become more aware of the changing nature of experience. This insight helps us to be more deeply accepting, let go of reactivity, and become wise. The third is to discover and live from clear compassionate openness, our Buddha nature within, and simply be. Ultimately we find that there is no conflict between human being and human doing when we live fully in the present moment.
Come and explore for yourself how to cultivate this mindful art of being through simple silent practice forms of the Insight Meditation Tradition.
When
Saturday, October 12
1:00 – 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.
Teachers
Matthew Daniell has been practicing Buddhist meditation for over 30 years. He studied Zen in Japan, Tibetan Buddhism in India, and Insight Meditation in India, Burma, Thailand, and the United States. His teachers include Munindra, Dipa Ma, Larry Rosenberg, Sharon Salzberg, Joseph Goldstein, and Jack Kornfield. Matthew is a founder of the Insight Meditation Center of Newburyport, as well as its primary and guiding teacher. He also teaches at various retreat centers, including the Omega Institute, Kripalu, and Cambridge Insight Meditation Center. He is a member of the Religious Services Department at Phillips Exeter Academy, where he leads meditation groups for students and faculty, and he teaches online through eMindful.org.
Next Residential Retreat:
November 14-17: At the Heart of It
Insight Meditation & Compassion Retreat
With Leslie Booker and Chris Crotty
Assisted by Sarah Mitchell
Description
Wisdom and compassion balance each other, and the world needs both. Through insight meditation we quiet the mind and investigate its true nature. With the mind made calm and stable we enjoy the peace of non-attachment, and with wisdom as the basis for compassion we undertake our whole life with great care. On this retreat we will practice insight and compassion through periods of sitting and walking meditation. Dharma reflections will explore the application of wisdom and compassion in meditation as well as daily life, emphasizing how compassion can provide a direct path to engage the suffering of the world as well as our own freedom.
This retreat will be held in silence and will take place at the beautiful Wonderwell Mountain Refuge, a natural sanctuary for quiet reflection, connecting with nature, and dharma practice. Beginners and those with experience welcome and encouraged to attend.
When
November 14-17, 2019 (Thursday to Sunday)
Where
Wonderwell Mountain Refuge
Springfield, NH
Cost
Base: $390
Sustaining: $440
Supporting: $490
There are three payment levels; paying at the highest level you can afford allows us to offer our programs to as many people as possible.
Registration
To register, click the link below to download the registration form; if you need financial assistance, you may also download the scholarship application form. Fill out and return the registration form either by mail or email; to pay, you may send a $200 deposit along with your registration form, or you may pay in full now by selecting a payment option below and clicking “Register.” Further details are on the forms, but if you have questions, please email us at info@bostonmeditationcenter.org.
Registration Form and Waiver
Scholarship Application Form
Teacher
Leslie Booker brings her heart and wisdom to the intersection of Dharma, embodied wisdom, and activism. She worked with vulnerable populations in NYC for over a decade, and shares her experience nationally speaking at conferences, and has contributed to several publications. She is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Mindful Yoga and Meditation training (2012), Community Dharma Leaders’ Training (2017), and will complete Spirit Rock’s Teacher Training in 2020.
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.