About Insight Meditation Community Houston
Insight Meditation Tradition
Vipassana, Insight, Mindfulness or "clear seeing" are 2500-year-old meditation teachings rooted in Theravada Buddhism. These teachings are a component of all Buddhist traditions and compatible with any spiritual practice, whatever the tradition.
Our intention is to open to innate compassion and wisdom, to come to self-knowledge through exploration and direct contact with experience, and to bring arising wisdom into all life experience. We invite everyone to learn with us a few basic practices that help us plunge deeply into silence and to discover:
- Truth, accessible through our own experience and through our own hearts
- Awareness and connectedness with all of life
- Potential of radical freedom in every moment
Insight Meditation or Vipassana teachings have changed countless lives of those fortunate enough to discover them.
Sangha Leaders
Our guiding teacher is Mary Rees. Mary has been practicing Insight Meditation since 1985, exploring contemplative practices since 1975, and teaching insight and mindfulness meditation since 1989. She has worked with teachers from various traditions, most closely with Insight Meditation Teachers Rodney Smith and Marcia Rose. She is a graduate of the Community Dharma Leader Training.
Mary is the author of Being Prayer—Transforming Consciousness: Good News of Buddhist Practice and a meditation course, Going Beyond what you Believe to be True.
Greg Van Meter is an engineer by profession. He has been working with Mary since 2004 and practicing yoga since 1973. His is a certified yoga teacher, has been practicing insight meditation since 1985, and Christian meditation since 2003. He began mentoring in 2005. He is currently teaching introductory sessions in meditation and hosts a sitting group on the West side of Houston. Greg also enjoys writing, bicycling, and hiking.
Affiliation
We are affiliated with the major retreat centers of the Insight Meditation network including:
- Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts
- Spirit Rock in California
- Gaia House in Devon, England
The semiannual journal of the Vipassana community can be found online at Inquiring Mind.
Financial Support (Dana)
IMCH events are offered for expenses only, with free will donations, called dana, requested for the teaching. The tradition of dana makes these practices accessible to anyone drawn to them.The teachings are considered priceless, a gift that comes only due to auspicious circumstances or good karma. Dana is a practice of generosity for both students and teachers. It is an important practice in itself and manifests uniquely for each individual.In dana courses there is no charge for dharma teachings, only for expenses. Dana is requested, accepted and greatly appreciated for the teachings. Sometimes a modest amount is suggested. Please help save this unique and precious practice and develop your own spiritual quality of generosity. A generous donation (neither offering too little nor too much) is a joyful experience.
Insight Meditation Community Houston
PO Box 20161
Houston, TX 77025