The Insight Meditation Community of Charlottesville (IMCC) is a non-sectarian Buddhist community in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was established in 1996 and has been teaching Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike the practice of insight meditation ever since. The community embraces many aspects of the Theravada Buddhist tradition, but describes itself as “non-sectarian and open to anyone with a desire to practice meditation” (“Insight Meditation Community of Charlottesville”). The IMCC has no central location, but holds meetings and meditation sessions at various health and wellness centers throughout Charlottesville on a weekly basis. While the IMCC is far from a Buddhist monastery, it is a successful community project with the goal of bringing Buddhist teachings and meditation techniques to the people of Charlottesville.
Because the IMCC owns no central monastery or community center in which to practice Buddhism, it holds meditation sessions at various wellness centers throughout Charlottesville. The largest and most popular meditation sessions occur on Tuesday nights and take place at the Jefferson Area Board for Aging. Smaller, daytime meditation sessions take place on Wednesdays and Fridays at Common Ground Healing Arts, a wellness center that also hosts yoga, massage, and acupuncture sessions. These meetings are free to attend and are meant to provide members of the community with a place to learn the basics of meditation and some simple Buddhist practices to incorporate into their daily lives.
The IMCC also provides opportunities to engage with Buddhism in more serious ways for those interested in attaining a greater understanding of the Buddhist faith. These include retreats and small group meditation sessions. The small group meditation sessions, referred to by the community as Kalyana Mitta Groups, are smaller groups of 8 to 10 people who meet independently of the regularly scheduled meditation sessions. The Kalyana Mitta Groups exist to facilitate more intense meditation sessions, discussion of Buddhist texts, and a deeper understanding of the Dharma. The Kalyana Mitta Groups can also help members of the IMCC community face specific challenges in their lives through a better understanding of the Dharma. The IMCC’s website states that these topics can range from “parenting” to “chronic pain” (“Insight Meditation Community of Charlottesville”). Through their system of Kalyana Mitta Groups, the IMCC has provided an opportunity for members to obtain a more holistic understanding of Buddhism that goes beyond Buddhist meditation practices.
Members of the IMCC looking for even more ways to expand their understanding of Buddhist teachings can go on one of the many retreats organized by the IMCC’s Board of Directors. These Buddhist retreats are designed to fit the needs of participants with various work schedules and range from single day to weeklong retreats. The retreats occur in the spring and the fall and take place at Serenity Ridge Retreat Center. The Serenity Ridge Retreat Center is the headquarters of Ligmincha International, the international organization for Bön practitioners. While the Bön faith is separate from the Buddhist faith, its similarities to Tibetan Buddhism have led to a tremendous amount of interfaith dialogue and cooperation between Bön practitioners and Buddhists. The IMCC’s use of Serenity Ridge Retreat Center as a location for their retreats is just one example of such cooperation.
While anyone is allowed to participate in the IMCC’s weekly events without becoming a member, participants are encouraged to become official members of the IMCC after a certain amount of time practicing insight meditation with the organization’s teachers. The community requires members to pay dues for the purpose of keeping the organization alive and encourages them to volunteer to help with community service events. Members are also expected to regularly attend the weekly meditation meetings. Perks of being a member include early registration for IMCC events, such as the spring and fall retreats, and the possibility of eventually joining the Board of Directors.
The IMCC models itself on the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) established by Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, and Joseph Goldstein in 1975. The IMS established a method of teaching Buddhist practices to Americans without attempting to convert them to the Buddhist faith. The American insight meditation tradition focused on the practical applications of Buddhist teachings and how they could be used to improve the lives of Americans from a wide range of spiritual backgrounds. In the years following the founding of the IMS, insight meditation became increasingly popular throughout the United States. While many of the Buddhist practices being taught by Kornfield, Goldstein, and Salzberg inevitably grew somewhat detached from their spiritual roots, they were able to reach an increasingly diverse range of people. Students of the IMS in Massachusetts went on to found their own insight meditation centers across the United States, one of which was the IMCC.
The IMCC was founded by Pat Coffey, a former student of the IMS in Massachusetts. Coffey was taught Theravada insight meditation by Jack Kornfield and Joseph Goldstein. After being trained to be a meditation teacher at the IMS, Coffey went on to teach the men and women of Charlottesville what he learned in Massachusetts. Coffey is still an active member in the IMCC and serves on the community’s Board of Directors. According to the IMCC’s website, Coffey is well versed in Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana Buddhism and has “studied with numerous Asian and Western teachers” of those traditions (“Insight Meditation Community of Charlottesville”).
While the IMCC is connected with Ligmincha International, its primary influence definitely seems to be the work of Jack Kornfield and other early American practitioners of insight meditation. The organization caters to Americans who simply want to learn Buddhist meditation practices, not necessarily immigrants from Buddhist countries or American Buddhist practitioners. This is reflected in the IMCC’s Board of Directors, all of whom are older white men and women who often describe themselves as “meditators” rather than Buddhists. The community is clearly oriented towards teaching helpful meditation practices to members of the Charlottesville community rather than attempting to spread the Buddhist faith in Charlottesville or providing a place for men and women from Buddhist countries to practice the religion they grew up with. However, that is not to say that the IMCC doesn’t cater to anyone who wants to join the community, practice meditation, and learn about Buddhism. Like other insight meditation organizations, the IMCC is a place for men and women who want to learn how to apply relatively simple Buddhist teachings to their everyday lives. The IMCC’s non-sectarian identity is made immediately apparent upon browsing the community’s book recommendation list on their website. The list includes Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana, and explicitly Western texts on Buddhism. Members of the IMCC can decide for themselves whether or not they want to pursue a deeper understanding of a particular Buddhist school of thought, or simply apply the practice of insight meditation to help navigate their everyday lives.
As a result of the IMCC’s non-sectarian nature, its lack of a leader, and the diversity of views found among its teachers, it is hard to argue that the organization takes any strong stances on issues that divide the global Buddhist community to this day. One individual teacher might favor a Zen interpretation of Buddhism, while another could be most compelled by the Theravada tradition. Therefore, the only tradition that the IMCC can be thoroughly connected to is that of Jack Kornfield and the IMS.
The IMCC is one of Charlottesville’s most accessible connections to the Buddhist world. It prides itself on being non-sectarian and providing those who attend its weekly meditation sessions with teachings that can easily be applied to their everyday lives. The IMCC functions simultaneously as both a gateway to the religion of Buddhism for those who are interested in the Buddhist faith as a whole, as well as a place in which Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, and Atheists can learn Buddhist practices to help them in their day to day lives.
For more information on the Insight Meditation Community of Charlottesville visit: http://www.imeditation.org
– Shane Grzegorczyk
Works Cited
“Common Ground Charlottesville.” Common Ground Charlottesville. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. <http://www.commongroundcville.org/>.
Harbut, Marcy. Jack Kornfield. 2005. Pasadena, CA.
“Insight Meditation Community of Charlottesville.” Insight Meditation Community of Charlottesville. Web. 27 Nov. 2016. <http://www.imeditation.org/>.
Loving Kindness Guided Meditation. By Susan Carol Stone. Youtube. Insight Meditation Community of Charlottesville, 3 July 2014. Web. 28 Nov. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJiiAZEtKRg>.
Smith, Rachael. “Shipman-based Tibetan Buddhism Center Plans Building for Meditation.” NewsAdvance.com. Nelson County Times, 17 Sept. 2015. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.