Bozeman Insight Community
Meeting Times (more details below):
Tuesdays: 10:30-11:30 AM (ONLINE)
Thursdays: 7-8:30 PM (In person & Online)
BIC Website: bozemaninsightcommunity.com
email: bozemaninsightcommunity@gmail.com
About the Bozeman Insight Community
The Bozeman Insight Community offers instruction, practice and fellowship in the Buddhist Vipassana or “Insight” lineage. Centered on a commitment to personal practice, we support the development and expression of our inherent wisdom and compassion for the benefit of all beings. We practice in the Vipassana/Insight tradition, one of the three main branches of Buddhism flourishing in the west.
The Bozeman Insight Community was founded in 1996 to offer resources and support for people seeking to enhance their Insight/Mindfulness (Vipassana) Meditation practice. Vipassana is a Pali word which is often translated as “insight” or “clear seeing.” Vipassana is insight into mind and matter from a perspective beyond conventions; insight into the impermanent nature of our experiences; and insight into the nature of our experience as arising from causes and conditions. Vipassana is insight into the truth that no actions or set of conditions will give rise to permanent happiness — thus striving for this leads only to suffering. Seeing and realizing this truth leads to the falling away of all forms of attachment; when this occurs, the mind is in its natural luminous and awakened state. Vispassana is beyond the mundane, beyond concepts like birth and death.
Vipassana Meditation is focused on awareness (mindfulness) of the present moment. The instructions direct us to observe mind and body without judgment or commentary. This meditation technique was discovered by the Buddha over 2500 years ago. It is a system of training (Bhavana) that cultivates wisdom, concentration and ethics/virtue.
Programs
Developing the Practices of Insight: Thursdays 7-8:30 PM
Everyone is warmly welcome! The program usually begins with a 30-40 minute silent sitting, followed by a sharing of teachings from the leader and discussion. Occasionally there is instruction before the sit and/or some guidance during the sitting. Topics and more about our Thursday programming is listed here.
Meeting Our Lives with Kindhearted Awareness: Tuesdays, 10:30-11:30 AM (ONLINE)
This program offers the meditation practices that expand our capacity to meet life with an open, stable heart-mind. Guided meditations will vary week to week, providing an opportunity to try new practices and techniques. The four heart qualities known as the Brahma Viharas (Noble Abodes) will be cultivated with variations on ways to evoke and develop them: Kindness, Compassion, Joy and Equanimity. More about this program here.
Learn more about the Bozeman Insight Community on their website: bozemaninsightcommunity.com.