Welcome to Insight Western Mass (IWM)
Insight Meditation Community of Western Massachusetts is a non-residential community meditation center. Its mission is to offer the Buddha’s teachings to all who are interested, to help sustain and deepen meditation practice and to bring wisdom and compassion into daily life.
IWM is dedicated to being a welcoming community to all. We are firmly committed to welcoming diversity of race, class, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity, cultural and religious background, and ability within our midst, so that all might feel included and comfortable in practicing here. We are committed to making the dharma accessible to all. No one will be turned away for inability to donate. |
Please join us in bringing practice into everyday life through sangha service. For more information about the roles and responsibilities of the Board and the application process, click here. The Board application can be found here. If you would like to discuss your ideas and have energy to lead, or want to learn more about existing volunteer opportunities, please reach out to us at [email protected]. |
IWM Guiding Principles
- Our teachings are grounded in Theravada Buddhism.
- We are committed to providing a welcoming and safe environment that is both inclusive and accessible.
- We value diverse backgrounds and perspectives within our community (sangha).
- Generosity (dana) in the form of presence, service, volunteering, and resources is integral to everything we do as this sustains the spirit and heart of the center.
- We are committed to integrity and ethical conduct (sila). Click here to see the IWM Ethical Guidelines.
- We believe in the innate capacity of each person to realize freedom of heart and mind.
- In the spirit of the Buddha, we encourage ongoing inquiry.
- We are aware of our interconnectedness with all of life, and encourage compassion and responsibility in our relationships with other people and the natural world.
- We value the role of community in our spiritual development.
- We are committed to the transparent and ethical use of our resources and assets.
What is Insight Meditation?
Insight Meditation, also known as Vipassana or mindfulness meditation, originated in the Theravada School of Buddhism, now primarily located in India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and Burma. Vipassana, which means "to see clearly", is the simple practice of moment to moment awareness which leads to the development of wisdom and compassion.
Lineage: Dhamma Dena and Insight Western Mass
The Insight Meditation Community of Western Massachusetts Dhamma Dena, Inc. -- formerly known as Insight Meditation Center of Pioneer Valley, Dhamma Dena, Inc. -- was first named Dhamma Dena Meditation Center, and Dhamma Dena remains a part of our center’s identity. Dhamma Dena was a lay-woman recognized by the Buddha for her profound wisdom.
Ruth Denison, who was the root teacher of our founder Arinna Weisman, named her center after Dhamma Dena, and we named ours Dhamma Dena also, in part to honor Ruth’s importance in the lineage, and in gratitude for her undaunted efforts to bring the Buddha’s teachings to Westerners and to women in particular.
The teachers at IWM have roots in the Theravadan lineages of Buddhism. Most have practiced meditation at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, and at other Insight Meditation centers in the United States. Many have also practiced Vipassana meditation at centers in Southeast Asia. Some have supplemented their Theravadan roots with practice in other Buddhist lineages and other body and mind practices. Click here to learn more about our Insight WM teachers and their individual paths of study.
*December 2021: About our Name Change to Insight Western Mass
Last year, in the spirit of wise action, and in solidarity with the widespread awakening taking place around the US, the Board (which, at the time, included Tara Mulay as the Interim Guiding Teacher) engaged the sangha in a process which led to our new name: Insight Meditation Community of Western Massachusetts Dhamma Dena, Inc.
We undertook that process after considering what it is we were signaling as a community by including the word "Pioneer" in our name. Among other things, the word pioneer implies celebration of the colonization of this area by European settlers, often through acts of genocide and war.
As a sangha, we endeavor to live with compassion and lovingkindness for all beings. With these qualities in our hearts, and as the sangha aligns more fully with our collective aspirations of awakening, liberation, and true welcoming, we were eager to adopt a name that reflects our commitments. We’ve been using our new name for many months. And, now that we’ve made the necessary changes formally and legally, we will be bringing in the new year with a new URL and new email addresses.
Insight Meditation, also known as Vipassana or mindfulness meditation, originated in the Theravada School of Buddhism, now primarily located in India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and Burma. Vipassana, which means "to see clearly", is the simple practice of moment to moment awareness which leads to the development of wisdom and compassion.
Lineage: Dhamma Dena and Insight Western Mass
The Insight Meditation Community of Western Massachusetts Dhamma Dena, Inc. -- formerly known as Insight Meditation Center of Pioneer Valley, Dhamma Dena, Inc. -- was first named Dhamma Dena Meditation Center, and Dhamma Dena remains a part of our center’s identity. Dhamma Dena was a lay-woman recognized by the Buddha for her profound wisdom.
Ruth Denison, who was the root teacher of our founder Arinna Weisman, named her center after Dhamma Dena, and we named ours Dhamma Dena also, in part to honor Ruth’s importance in the lineage, and in gratitude for her undaunted efforts to bring the Buddha’s teachings to Westerners and to women in particular.
The teachers at IWM have roots in the Theravadan lineages of Buddhism. Most have practiced meditation at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, and at other Insight Meditation centers in the United States. Many have also practiced Vipassana meditation at centers in Southeast Asia. Some have supplemented their Theravadan roots with practice in other Buddhist lineages and other body and mind practices. Click here to learn more about our Insight WM teachers and their individual paths of study.
*December 2021: About our Name Change to Insight Western Mass
Last year, in the spirit of wise action, and in solidarity with the widespread awakening taking place around the US, the Board (which, at the time, included Tara Mulay as the Interim Guiding Teacher) engaged the sangha in a process which led to our new name: Insight Meditation Community of Western Massachusetts Dhamma Dena, Inc.
We undertook that process after considering what it is we were signaling as a community by including the word "Pioneer" in our name. Among other things, the word pioneer implies celebration of the colonization of this area by European settlers, often through acts of genocide and war.
As a sangha, we endeavor to live with compassion and lovingkindness for all beings. With these qualities in our hearts, and as the sangha aligns more fully with our collective aspirations of awakening, liberation, and true welcoming, we were eager to adopt a name that reflects our commitments. We’ve been using our new name for many months. And, now that we’ve made the necessary changes formally and legally, we will be bringing in the new year with a new URL and new email addresses.
Lending Library
Our lending library of books on the dharma and related topics are are catalogued at LibraryThing. Thanks to a number of volunteers, especially Judy Maggiore, over 300 books in our lending library have been catalogued at LibraryThing. Please browse our catalogue and borrow freely. You can also subscribe to the our Library's RSS feed that alerts you to new books arriving.
We remember with gratitude Jerry Rosenthal for bequeathing his excellent collection of Buddhist works to us.
Our lending library of books on the dharma and related topics are are catalogued at LibraryThing. Thanks to a number of volunteers, especially Judy Maggiore, over 300 books in our lending library have been catalogued at LibraryThing. Please browse our catalogue and borrow freely. You can also subscribe to the our Library's RSS feed that alerts you to new books arriving.
We remember with gratitude Jerry Rosenthal for bequeathing his excellent collection of Buddhist works to us.
Ethical Guidelines
We invite you to take a look at the newly approved Insight Western Mass Ethical Guidelines which begin as follows:
We invite you to take a look at the newly approved Insight Western Mass Ethical Guidelines which begin as follows:
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As teachers, sangha leaders and board members at Insight Meditation Community of Western Massachusetts (IWM), we are updating our guidelines in response to some of the problems which have arisen in Buddhist sanghas regarding student-teacher relationships and abuse of power. |