After nine years of regular meditation practice, the Asheville Vipassana Group has fallen on hard times.  The group once boasted perhaps a dozen members, but recent relocations by core participants has reduced the number of people affiliated with the group to about six, of which only two or three are able to attend any given meeting.  However, for the time being they are continuing their schedule as always and advertising in the local alternative paper for new members.

On Thursday evenings the furniture is pushed back in a member’s living room and attendees sit on cushions in a circle on the wood floor.  A simple candle sits in the center of the circle.  At 7:30 pm the session begins: participants bow and chant the three refuges in Pali.  At 7:45 pm silent meditation begins, lasting without interruption until 8:45 pm.  From 8:45 to 9:30 pm the group enjoys tea and cookies and holds discussions, sometimes involving a selected Buddhist text.  

The remaining members of Asheville Vipassana Group are all European-Americans ranging in ages from forties to sixties.  Several are also active in other local Buddhist groups, such as the Green Sangha of Western North Carolina, the Asheville Zen Center, and the Shambhala Meditation Center of Asheville.
 
 
 

JW