New York Insight Meditation Center

This is long overdue. My spirituality awakened about two years ago. A awakened spirituality is not about grasping to a set of mysterious beliefs. If anything, it is about getting grounded in the present moment and learning to let go of different parts of you that you believed and thought defined who you are. Sometimes the process feels like hell (maybe that is an exaggeration) as layers upon layers of your deep conscious get unlocked and purged. But it will certainly made you normal life very challenging as you work hard to integrate your new awareness and experiences and work equally hard to dismantle old conditionings and beliefs.
Anyway, I searched for a meditation center to learn meditation. I checked out few places in NYC. I finally settled at New York Insight Meditation. Sometimes, I will still go and check out other mediation centers. The center provided a key support to my meditation practice and helped me to integrate my awakening. Please understand that this does not mean some powerful guru performed some sort of magical ritual that got rid all my problems or a great psychic predicted great things about me that all came true. It is about respecting/​listening to others’ questions, complaints, fuss, frustrations and anger with an open mind (of course, judgement arises in my mind all the time, but I learned that there is a place of acceptance for my judgements and guilt :)).
There is no shame in admitting that I am a very lazy practitioner. I only show up to events and meditation practices when there is something in life really bothers me. When that happens, I will run to the center to get a peace of mind. Sometimes, I get bored at meditation practices and listen to others’ questions/​complaints about their lives. But through my slow and lazy persistence (after one year going to NYI for like once or twice a month), I learned that whatever I am experiencing are just normal human conditions experienced by all of us. This realization gave me tremendous amount of confidence in myself and life. It helped me heal.
The teachers here are some of the most grounded and wisest people I have met in NYC. Its not because they are great at explaining paranormal phenomenon and mysticism. But rather they are always able to pull back the meaning of meditation practice to help people deal with their everyday life problems and help us slow down to rest in our own space of stillness and peace.
The center asks people for donation (the center is supported by donation), but they are never pushy. They never ever like many religious organizations out there pressure you to return or say to you that if you don’t belief in this or that or if you don’t return, this or that is going to happen. I feel this place always give you enough space for you take things at your own pace. Good teachers understand this and will never force you on you a path that you are not ready to walk. Because instead of pressuring and forcing you to do something you are not ready for. Those of us who are ready will reach out and seek… this is something that simply cannot be forced by anyone else.

I found this place while killing some time in the city before a class. I needed somewhere to meditate after work. I googled the area for drop-​in meditation places. This was a godsend. I have attended Tuesday night guided meditation and talks for several weeks now. It is a peaceful sanctuary in Manhattan. The talks are provided by inspiring people, experienced and knowledgeable in Buddhist principals of meditation. I leave here feeling light and refreshed. Gina Sharpe was the first speaker I had met here and she is a beacon of serenity, which really calms you down after a stressful day.

A comfortable place for beginners and practitioners of all comfort/​experience levels. Jon Aaron was a thoughtful and patient teacher during the sit-​in I attended. There are all kind of folks here, and if you want to try out a group session, this is a good place to do it.

It did to my mind what going to the gym did to my body.

Over the weekend I attended a workshop at Judson Memorial Church by Tara Brach, author of «Radical Acceptance,“and «Taking Refuge“While I listen to her podcasts everyday on
, I had never met her in person, She is truly a gifted Teacher, and Healer. I look forward to future
York Insight is a beautiful meditation space with a rich program of visiting teachers. The Monday nite «Buddha and Bill W», with Sandra Weinberg is absolutely wonderful! As the center opens at 2pm daily I encourage anyone who’s in the area to stop by this peaceful oasis in the heart of Chelsea!

Such an amazing space with an incredibly helpful staff. The event that I helped to produce there was beautiful & in a great environment. I definitely recommend it.

Insight has provided one of the safest spaces for me in New York, not just in terms of religious practice. The people I have met are warm, generous, and genuinely want to get to know you. Gina, the guiding teacher, is an amazing spiritual leader. She has helped me through a difficult year, and her talks have made me think about problems in different ways. I go to the POC sangha, and it really feels like a community where everyone is a full participant.
PS To echo other reviews – Yes, people here have a sense of humor! IMS is not only for super-​serious discussions of Buddhism. I have had some great laughs here.

I just got back from the people of color meditation sitting and potluck. Here’s what I liked about it:
1) Gina Sharpe — what a beautiful, open, loving soul. She radiates love and wisdom.
2) Camaraderie and Fellowship — everyone’s so friendly. There were times when I felt awkward being alone, but when I reached out to people, they were so genuinely receptive.
3) Tranquility — it’s a community for people at all stages interested in incorporating peace into their lives. In the hustle and bustle of NYC, this is a place of refuge, from its cozy atmosphere to the friendliness of the people, and the wisdom shared by all.

I used to go there for Young Adult Sangha on Sunday nights. I met a group of very nice young professional Buddhists in the city. I liked how they ran the practice for this group — You don’t only practice sitting meditation but also other forms like walking meditation, praying meditation… You can also have a lot of chances to share your personal experience, problems, reflections with the other young adults. They are very nice, patient, and open minded.
I also liked the space a lot. It’s amazingly spacious in the center of Manhattan. It’s also very clean, quite, and well decorated. There are variable practicing groups and classes to choose for people from different ages and having different schedules.
I have stopped going there because I eventually found out that yoga is the most suitable meditation practice for me at this time. But I highly recommend this place to people who have interests in learning and trying meditation.

I’ve completed two courses here and I love it. I go twice a week unless there is a speaker at the Tibet House. On Fridays we all bring dinner to share after meditation. When I can’t make it to Chelsea (which is extremely rare) I throw on the olé Jon-​Kabat Zinn.

like everything in the city it’s fairly small.; but nicely laid out. i haven’t attended anything sponsored by the center itself, i’ve only met with a group that was using one of the rooms. i have, however, attended a teaching by sharon salzberg at the tibet house and she was great. what a nice oasis of calm in the city.

One of the co-​founders is Sharon Salzberg. I attended their New Year’s Eve meditation event. Great space, bare walls and a warm atmosphere are all conducive to meditation. They offer courses as well as events and welcome a diverse public.