Insight meditation, or Vipassana, is one of the central teachings of the Buddha. It has continued as a living practice for 2500 years. At the heart of insight meditation is the practice of mindfulness, the cultivation of clear, stable, and non-judgmental awareness. While mindfulness practice can be highly effective in helping bring calm and clarity to the pressures of daily life, it is also a spiritual path that gradually dissolves the barriers to the full development of our wisdom and compassion.

Insight meditation develops our ability to pay attention to our immediate experience. We are often preoccupied with thoughts about the past, future, or fantasies. While preoccupations may be harmless, more often they contribute to stress, fear, and suffering.

Mindfulness practice is learning how to overcome preoccupation so that we can see clearly what is happening in our lived experience of the present. Mindfulness relies on an important characteristic of awareness: awareness by itself does not judge, resist, or cling to anything.

By focusing on awareness, we learn to disentangle ourselves from our habitual reactions and develop a friendlier and more compassionate relationship with ourselves and others.

The Insight Meditation Community of Chestertown has evolved from a Mindfulness Practice group which began meeting in Chestertown in the Spring of 2001.