International Meditation Center USA

The International Meditation Center USA (IMC-USA) teaches Vipassana in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin and Mother Sayamagyi. It was founded in late 1988 with the purchase of an 11-acre property, including a farmhouse and farm buildings, in a quiet rural area about 10 miles north of Westminster, Maryland, just south of the Pennsylvania border; the first course was held in January 1989. A pagoda was dedicated by Mother Sayamagyi and Sayagyi U Chit Tin in May 1991, a Dhamma hall, dormitories and a kitchen and dining hall followed in 1994, and two more dormitories have been added since. The centre holds only 10-day residential courses, about six a year, starting on a Friday evening and ending early on a Monday morning. They are led by a regional teacher under the auspices of the International Meditation Centre in the United Kingdom, where Mother Sayamagyi lived and taught for forty years. Students keep the five precepts and noble silence, and meals are vegetarian. There is no charge for the teaching, but there is a suggested donation towards food and accommodation, set at $400 for a 10-day course from January 2027. The centre is about an hour's drive from Baltimore and two hours from Washington, DC. There is no public transport to Westminster; the nearest airports are Baltimore-Washington International and Harrisburg.

How to apply

Print the application form from IMC UK's website and post it or email a scan. For a course outside the UK, send it to the IMC contact for that country.

What is taught here

U Ba Khin's Vipassana as handed on by Mother Sayamagyi: 10-day courses with a live teacher, five days of Anapana and a suggested donation. Read about IMC (U Ba Khin).