About IMCC
Insight Meditation Community of Charlottesville (IMCC) provides a welcoming environment for people to engage in Insight Meditation. Insight Meditation, also known as Vipassana, is a practice that trains us to live mindfully in the present moment. Vipassana literally means "to see clearly." It enables individuals to experience all aspects of life from a place of stillness. The meditator learns to relate to life with greater clarity and loving kindness and with less fear, anxiety and stress. Vipassana represents the central meditation practice taught by the Buddha upon his enlightenment. Although the origins of Vipassana lie in the Buddha's teachings, Insight Meditation or "mindfulness" meditation, may be practiced by anyone regardless of religious beliefs. Mindfulness meditation does not require belief in a god, the Buddha, or an adherence to specific doctrines. One cultivates the ability to focus the mind on the changing nature of experience both internal and external, ultimately revealing insights into the very nature of heart and mind. IMCC offers ongoing daily group meditation sessions, and weekly dharma talks as well as a variety of educational opportunities designed to increase the understanding, knowledge and practice of Insight meditation. Our Vision, Mission, and Values
VISION: Our vision is to be a welcoming, engaged, and equitable community where all may find refuge, connection, and a path toward liberation. MISSION: Our mission is to offer Buddhist teachings (Dharma), support for meditation practice, and opportunities for openhearted discussion with people of all backgrounds and beliefs. We gather in community (Sangha) to cultivate greater awareness, joy, compassion, and freedom from suffering. VALUES: Our values are grounded in the teachings of the Buddha. The Dharma - We dedicate ourselves to the ethics, compassion, and liberation framework of Buddhist teachings, which are as applicable today as they were 2500 years ago. Welcoming Community – We are dedicated to creating a Sangha space that is welcoming. We embrace diversity, respect differences, and honor all voices. Generosity and Service – We cultivate the open-hearted practice of generosity (dana) in service and monetary gifts to support our community. Living the Teachings – We encourage living the Dharma by deepening our understanding of the teachings and their application to all of life’s joys and challenges. Stewardship - We are committed to the responsible stewardship of financial, human, and natural resources for future generations. We are committed to developing and maintaining a healthy, responsive organization with stability and clear purpose. Social Engagement – We actively foster equity within our Sangha and through service to our surrounding community. We commit ourselves to the healing of the world by helping to dismantle human systems of oppression and harm. We recognize personal discomfort as an opportunity to share in the challenge of our collective liberation toward a shared experience of love, wisdom, and justice for all beings and our natural world. Sustainability - Guided by Buddhist principles, we support our Sangha and our surrounding community in responding to our ecological crises. We vow to live more responsibly in the food, products, and energy we consume, drawing inspiration, strength, and guidance from the living Earth, our ancestors, and future generations.Land Acknowledgement Statement by IMCC
BackgroundIn recent years, the practice of land acknowledgments has arisen among individuals and organizations who wish to name and honor the ancestral people associated with the land where the speaker now lives or works. The purpose is to break the cycle of ignorance and delusion about indigenous displacement and genocide. Motivated by the Buddha’s teaching to investigate the root causes of suffering wherever they exist and to act with the intention of preventing future harm, we at IMCC respectfully offer the following land acknowledgment. Land Acknowledgement
For thousands of years, the people of the Monacan nation lived on, protected, and cultivated the land on which Charlottesville and surrounding communities now stand. This land was forcibly seized by white-bodied settler colonizers. We at the Insight Meditation Community of Charlottesville acknowledge the profound suffering inflicted on the Monacan people, past, present, and future as a result of these acts and as a result of policies rooted in erasure. We recognize the relationship the Monacan people of the present day have with the land where their ancestors are buried. |  |