Cambridge Insight Meditation Center

Positive: Communication, Professionalism, Quality
I have been studying and retreating at CIMC for over 20 years. The quality of clear instruction and compassionate responsiveness is outstanding and life changing. A jewel in the heart of Cambridge.

I love this place, and the people that keep it running. I look forward to the center's reopening when it is safe to do so. More than just a quiet place to meditate and receive instruction, CIMC has been, for me, an opportunity to be around people who model what it is to try to live life with skillful introspection and with kindness, both to others and themselves.

A precious and authentic urban meditation center in the vipassana/insight meditation tradition. One-time sessions, recurring workshops, and meditation retreats for the full spectrum of practitioners, from beginners to longtime meditators. Especially valuable are the Wednesday evening dhamma talks, which feature a diverse set of recognized community leaders and monastics from varying traditions. A rare and precious gem of a resource for contemplative development.

This place has a history of wounding and damaging people and tossing them out without a grievance system in place. It is an ego driven and rigid environment where the hierarchy between teachers and students is very obvious. They are a soft power cult from what I’ve learned. They don’t care about the individual in my experience and from what I’ve heard from others. Their one size fits all mentality is ridiculous for this century. Look up Lorin Roche and Camille Maurine Roche. They know how to encourage freedom and exploration within each unique person. We are not all the same! These people

CIMC is not a community nor does it have a sangha. Pretends and promotes that, but it is a clique regardless of your experience. No matter how hard you try to be involved, the center chooses long-time members to assist in volunteer positions. And if you have an "in" with the office/ED, you're accepted to manage even though no experience. In a true sangha all would be embraced, welcomed to participate. Feedback has been given about this point, ad nauseum, but not heard by the center, and still continues. Instead, I guess, they offer white privilege workshops, etc., to be favorably

Great people, courses, meditation areas, retreats and a comprehensive library. It's a treasure for anyone who is serious about meditation.
World-classes lecturers, teachers, and monks visit regularly to give dhamma talks and the center hosts a variety of retreats which cater to those at all stages of practice.

This is a great spot for all levels of practice. Very beginner friendly and a wide variety of teachers at they're Wednesday night Dharma talks. Many different groups meet regularly and they offer 1 day workshops most weekends.

Beautiful people and wonderful Insight meditation center. There is a kitchen for patrons but only vegan food may be consumed on sight. Tea cups are provided and tea as well to use when here.

I had an amazing life changing experience here. My teacher's name was Maddy. Her humor made the class easy to sit through. And I am now practicing meditating daily. It has opened my mind and brightened my soul. I am happier and at ease with my life. You should take a class with her! I highly recommend it!

The people in here are very nice and friendly. There are so many projects that you can join in to practice meditation and find out more about mindfulness. They have the activities for kids call "little Buddha" that is awesome!!! Highly recommend for this place!

I still think CIMC is a wonderful, awesome, great place but their brand of Buddhism wasn't for me. It's not their fault, it's mine. After a while, it seemed too sanitized, too clean, too disassociated from the dharma that I decided to leave. Lovely place though.

Not much else to add here - except to mention that CIMC offers many ways to sit. They make zafus, benches, and chairs available to accommodate everyone.

Beautiful space, beautiful teachings, a true refuge from the hurries and worries of the outside world.

Nancy S. puts it perfectly when she writes that CIMC is "a haven of peace and serenity in the heart of a city."

We went to CIMC for the first time this weekend, to one of the introduction to meditation day long workshops. I totally think of myself as a laid back, chill, "everything is cool" type B type, however OTHER people have suggested that I can be a little high strung and crazy... so I decided to try meditation. Turns out I'm waaaaaay more relaxed than anyone could have imagined because I slept the whole way through. Yup. The whole time. What I can tell you in this review, was that CIMC was clean, welcoming, comfortable, and just the right temperature for four (yes, four) Saturday afternoon

Not religious at all. A great place to take classes and practice. I love Larry Rosenthal- many of the teachers here are on Dharmaseed.com

Dropped in for 6:00 pm, tues night meditation session
had to remove shoes, but small, 2-person bench was occupied
about 80 people all crammed inside top-floor room
leader spoke for about 15 min, then had us walk around the room for 10
(particularly difficult without tripping over everyone else)
about 20-25 min of silent meditation followed, after which leader fielded some questions from participants in a humorous, if not helpful, manner
would have preferred chanting and maybe some more fire exits

Narayan, a so-called spiritual teacher at this "center" has some nerve talking about compassion when she sees herself as beyond reproach. She is not compassionate in my experience. She will not apologize or admit wronging someone who is in spiritual crisis as a result of the center. Underneath her meditation "mask" is a cold person Beware the teacher who is a hypocrite and cannot admit mistakes and weaknesses and hurts good people who are just trying to heal. In my opinion she would learn from others if she would get off her pedestal.

Narayan and Larry take advantage of

Have you ever walked into a place, and immediately felt the good energy there? That's what CIMC was like for me: the moment I walked in the door I felt better, as if long years of continuous positive energy, goodwill, and focused meditation had suffused the interior of the building with a kind of wholesome, serene karmic resonance.

The interior is very elegant, with good feng-shui. The atmosphere is peaceful; the people friendly and smiling. The teaching is excellent (I was happy to donate the suggested $5.00, which I understood to be necessary for the continued upkeep of the premises I so

Needless to say, we all have our reasons for seeking out some sort of spiritual belief or a way to come to terms within ourselves and our environment. I turned to meditation for that help.

This was probably the best place I could've gone. I'm doing the drop-in classes on Tuesday and really want to take one of the weekend, more in-depth classes.

CIMC is welcoming, beautiful, and calming. I didn't feel out of place or like I didn't know what I was doing there. I can't even think of what to say about this place because it exceeded my expectations--which is hard to do since

This is a lovely welcoming space. It was not intimidating to go there for the first time. I enjoyed a few drop-in meditation sessions and I was convinced to try more. So I signed up for a class that lasted about 6 weeks. It was great. It went soo fast. I was sad when it ended. I want to take more classes but my work schedule really conflicts. I will find a way though.

Their offerings are actually pretty flexible to different kinds of schedules. There's a 6 AM and PM drop in sitting.
The teacher, Michael, was clear patient and extremely sincere. I did not feel (too much) pressure to have

I just went to a Beginner's Insight Meditation Workshop. What a great experience. The teacher (Maddy) had a great sense of humor and was realistic with us about the difficulties of the practice. The space is so beautiful and calm, with a lovely kitchen and extensive library on mindfulness meditation and Buddhism. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

My favorite place in the Boston area. The teachers are fantastic, the space is calming, and people of all levels of familiarity with meditation and Buddhism are welcomed with warmth. I feel like the best version of myself when I go to CIMC. I cannot recommend a place more highly. SUPER WONDERFUL.