Welcome!
This page is meant to help you get oriented to our practice and offerings. For any additional questions, please email us at leadership@insightwma.org and a Practice Leader or Board member will be glad to connect with you.
Our Story
Insight Western Mass was founded nearly 30 years ago by Arinna Weisman, with the encouragement and guidance of her root teacher, Ruth Denison. Ruth’s dhamma path, as is the case with most senior teachers at Insight centers, began in Asia. Arinna, our center’s first guiding teacher, took the name of Ruth’s center, based in Joshua Tree, which was called Dhamma Dena. Arinna did this 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. As the center evolved, the name changed to Insight Pioneer Valley and then, in 2021, to Insight Meditation Community of Western Massachusetts Dhamma Dena, Inc.
Our 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.
- Accessibility and Inclusivity Practices: Access to elevators | Scent-free space: please avoid wearing scents | Lying-down meditation always welcome | Questions? Email general@insightwma.org
- 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 all beings 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.
Acknowledgment of Land
Insight Meditation Western Mass gathers on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded lands of the Pocumtuc Nation. We honor with gratitude the land itself and the people who have stewarded it throughout the generations. See our Land Acknowledgement.
