About NSIMC

What is Insight meditation (Vipassana)?

We offer a variety of meditation practice opportunities including classes, retreats, workshops, in person, in hybrid form and on Zoom. We have offerings for new students as well as those with a deeper ongoing commitment to practice.

Retreats

Silent retreats combine periods of sitting and walking meditation. Instruction and opportunities for group discussion and individual interviews with the teacher will be included as we explore the transformative power of meditation for our lives. Unless otherwise specified, each retreat is an Insight meditation retreat with a particular theme.

Workshops

Inspired by ancient tradition, workshops combine periods of reflection and periods of silent practice. Each workshop will offer presented material and guided meditation. Discussion will help deepen our practice and explore its relevance to daily life in an interactive as well as contemplative format. There is generally more discussion and presented material in workshops than retreats.

Class Series

Formal silent sitting and walking practices are complemented by the systematic investigation of a meditative theme through presented material and discussion. Practice in daily life will be emphasized throughout.

Online Drop-In Offerings

These sessions are appropriate for new and experienced meditators alike. There is no pre-registration. Attend one session or as frequently as you would like!

Our Mission

To create a place of sanity in this world where the 2,600 year old teachings of the Buddha on Insight meditation and supportive forms can be taught and practiced.

Although it is a completely independent organization, NSIMC was founded with the intention of being part of larger 'floating campus' in which nonresidential centers like NSIMC (and Cambridge Insight Meditation Center) and residential centers like the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, together can provide a full spectrum of practice opportunities depending on the needs of the student. Grounded in the presentation and reflection on classical teachings of the Buddha, these range from daily sittings, introductory classes, and applications in daily life all the way to extended silent residential retreats.

Our Values

NSIMC was founded on the core principle that the teachings are to be offered to all regardless of gender, age, race, or sexual orientation.

As a longstanding tradition going back to the time of the Buddha, we are committed to providing practice opportunities independent of someone's ability to pay. To this end, people are able to participate in NSIMC programs on a work exchange (volunteering) basis, or in certain situations on a pay-as-you-are-able basis. Please contact our manager, Adam Groff, if you would like more information.

A strong sense of community among practitioners, although not an end unto itself, is an essential pillar upon which the practice of Insight meditation and NSIMC as an organization stand.

Our policies, as well individual and group endeavors, all work together as expressions and safeguards in upholding these values in the spirit of our mission.

Adam Groff is our manager. He is responsible for the daily administrative functions of the organization as well as overseeing our volunteers and leading the occasional meditation class. Adam works closely with the board of directors and the guiding teacher.

Adam has been practicing Buddhist meditation since 2009, beginning at the Insight Meditation Center of Newburyport under the instruction of Matthew Daniell. He helped lead 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 Buddhist Meditation Society. Also in 2014, he helped Chris Crotty found Against the Stream Boston, later known as Boston Meditation Center. Adam has extensive experience running meditation groups as well as managing residential retreats, and he sits weeklong retreats each year with lay teachers and monastics in the Insight/Theravada tradition.