The Durham Meditation Center's Broad Street office in Durham acts as the organizational base for director John Orr and his three fellow teachers of insight meditation. Ordained in Thailand as a Theravada monk in 1978, Orr spent eight years studying in Asia, then received his teacher training at the Barre Meditation Society in Massachusetts before moving to North Carolina 17 years ago. Since then, he has worked to spread Vipassana practice throughout the state. 

The Durham Meditation Center (DMC), which was founded in 1993 and now has 400 names on its mailing list, offers insight meditation classes and sittings led by trained teachers. A typical sitting attracts approximately thirty European Americans interested in Vipassana practice, and it includes a forty-five-minute meditation, followed by a Dharma talk and discussion. The meditation classes begin with chanting, continue with silent meditation, and conclude with guided meditation. Each year the DMC also sponsors many retreats--at Southern Dharma Retreat Center, Windsong Retreat Center, and other sites in the North Carolina mountains. Orr and his fellow teachers also offer continuing education courses at local universities in Buddhism, yoga, and meditation. Through these classes, sittings, and retreats, the leaders at the Durham Meditation Center aim to help North Carolinians relieve suffering and experience joy. 
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