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Cambridge Zen Center / An Affiliate of the Kwan Um School of Zen

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Spiritual
  • Urban

Founding year

  • 1973

What we do

The Cambridge Zen Center was founded in 1973 by some of the earliest students of Zen Master Seung Sahn, the first Korean Zen master to teach in the west. It was established as a residential Zen practicing community and is still thriving with over 25 residents in training and more than 120 practicing members in the greater Boston area. As one of the largest Buddhist outreach organizations in Massachusetts, and the second largest residential Zen training center in the U.S., CZC has a convenient location near Central Square between Harvard and MIT. We serve a diverse ethnic community and are frequently visited by students, academics, professionals and people from all walks of life, religions, professions and lifestyles. Outreach to ongoing Zen groups at various universities include Harvard University, Boston University, Brown University and many other educational institutions. We offer daily free public meditation, weekly talks, monthly retreats, guest stays, guest dinner, weekly intro class and one-on one sessions with Senior Students and Zen Masters. Come visit us!

Our Mission

The Zen center provides daily morning and evening practice, monthly retreats, dharma talks and other opportunities for Zen training and sangha life in an urban setting. Please check our Programs link for details and schedules.

  • Purpose
  • Spiritual
  • Community type
  • Coliving
  • Spiritual Retreat Centers
  • Activities
  • Education
  • Networking

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 1973
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 1973
  • Started living together
  • 100 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
100

How to join

Membership is optional and helps to support the center and the head Temple. We welcome newcomers for no charge. More info on our website under “Weekly Update”.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Attend the Introductory Meditation class and/or Dharma talk on Thursday evenings. For a guest stay, email our guestmaster at
gu*********@**********en.org. To attend retreat, register on our website.

Primary decision-making authority

  • Small Leadership Group

A few people (not elected by the broader community) make the major decisions.

Decision-making process

  • Leadership Decides

A single person, couple, or small group makes most major decisions.

Governance structure

  • Founder/Leader-led

Primary authority rests with the community’s founder(s) or designated leader(s).

Economic model

  • Independent Finances

Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • Members need to pay fees, dues, or similar to live there on a per month or per year basis
  • There is a labor obligation
  • Members typically need to have their own job or other personal source of income to cover their expenses while living in the community?

Additional economic information

Regular fees: $35
Labor: Yes (3 hrs/week)
Members with pre-existing debt: allowed

Shared resources and amenities that are accessible to everyone in the community

Common House, Garden(s), Library, Workshop, Large Scale Kitchen, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • 2-5 times per week

Significant food acquisition practices

  • Locally sourced

Community activities and engagement

  • School, Educational Institute or Experience
  • Organization, Resource, or Network

Substance use culture

  • Substance use is prohibited in the community
  • Religions
  • Buddhist

Gender composition

  • Roughly balanced (no group over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Mixed adults (few or no children)

Guest Book

Written reviews are available for plus members. Click here to upgrade.

Location

  • Massachusetts, United States

Cambridge Zen Center / An Affiliate of the Kwan Um School of Zen

Needs and Offers

Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

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  • Events
3 weeks ago

Healing Love Healing Money: Trust As The Foundation For A New Culture

Money, love and power are among the hardest things any community works with, and many of us carry the same fears into both: not having enough, losing what we have, and the sense that if someone else gets money or love, we won’t. Healing Love, Healing Money: Trust as the Foundation for a New Culture is taught by two intentional communities. Karen McAllister and Duncan Cryle are from Clear Sky Meditation and Retreat Center, a Buddhist-lineage community in the BC Rockies. Monika Alleweldt and Benjamin von Mendelssohn from Tamera Healing Biotope, a community of about 160 people in southern Portugal that has spent decades studying love, trust and relationship. Clear Sky has spent years working on its relationship with money, and our two communities found surprising parallels in the fears beneath both. Over four sessions we explore the roots of fear around money and belonging, love, possession and power, trust as infrastructure (community as a container for healing), and ethical livelihood. We use short meditations, body-based practices, reflection and small-group conversation. You do not need to be in a romantic relationship or live in community. When: October 27, Nov 3, 10, 17. All four sessions: 12–2pm Vancouver, 1–3pm Alberta, 7–9pm UK and Portugal, 8–10pm Central Europe. Note: US and some Canadian provinces change clocks on November 1, so the US west coast is 12–2pm on October 27, then 11am–1pm for the remaining sessions, and Eastern is 3–5pm on October 27, then 2–4pm for the rest. Cost: sliding scale Details and registration: https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/healing-love-healing-money-online/  
October 27, 2026 13:00 – November 17, 2026 15:00
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