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Insight Meditation (West) · Retreat centre
Barre, Massachusetts, United States · Also called Insight Meditation Society, IMS, IMS Retreat Center
The Insight Meditation Society was founded in 1975 by Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg and Jack Kornfield, and its Retreat Center in a former Catholic novitiate near Barre opened on 14 February 1976. It runs over 30 silent, teacher-led insight (vipassana) retreats a year, lasting from a weekend to three months.
Choose a retreat on the centre's own website and register there. IMS takes a deposit on registration and offers sliding-scale rates and scholarships.
The Western insight meditation centres (IMS, Spirit Rock, Gaia House): lay teachers, roots in Mahasi, U Ba Khin and Thai Forest, and fees plus dāna. Read about Insight Meditation (West).
Details checked 24 Sept 2026. Course dates, rules and contacts change: confirm on the centre’s own site.
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