Insight Meditation Society (IMS) began running silent meditation retreats rooted in the Theravāda Buddhist teachings of ethics, concentration, and wisdom in 1976.

In 1991, two of IMS’s founders, Joseph Goldstein and Sharon Salzberg, founded Barre Center for Buddhist Studies just through the woods and down the hill from IMS.

Their idea was to unify study and practice by creating a center where people could not only study the teachings of the Buddha in more depth and breadth, but also explore various ways of applying the teachings to practice.

Though born out of and strongly connected to IMS, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies has a separate board of directors and functions independently.

There are some differences in mission and expression, but both centers were founded with the same commitment to support the awakening of wisdom and compassion in all who wish to come.