Houston · Since 1980
Find stillness.
Discover freedom.
Insight Meditation Houston is a non-profit Vipassana community rooted in the Theravada Buddhist tradition. We gather every Monday evening — in person and online — to sit, reflect, and support one another on the path to awakening.
MONDAY EVENINGS
·
7:00 – 8:30 PM CST | In-person & Online
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4949 Caroline St, Houston (Covenant Church)
Practicing together since 1980
Insight Meditation Houston grew from a small sitting group into one of Texas’s longest-running Vipassana communities. We follow the Theravada tradition as it was transmitted to the West by teachers like Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, and Jack Kornfield.
Our practice is grounded in the Buddha’s original teachings — the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, the Eightfold Path, and the development of wisdom and compassion as inseparable companions.
We welcome beginners with open arms. Whether you’ve never meditated or have practiced for decades, you’ll find a warm, unpretentious community committed to genuine practice.
45+
years of continuous practice
Calendar
Upcoming Events
Announcements
Compassion Week
Each November, Compassionate Houston organizes Compassion Week, a series of programs offered by partner organizations across Greater Houston. The programs give people a chance to learn about compassion, practice it, and experience it in everyday life. This year’s theme is Compassion Grows Here: Within Us. Between Us. Beyond Us. It looks at how compassion develops from the inside out. It starts in our own inner steadiness, grows stronger in our relationships, and reaches out into the wider community.
The week includes about twenty in-person and virtual programs: meditation and contemplative practice, music, storytelling, dialogue across differences, and hands-on service such as a hunger drive and a toy drive. It also overlaps with World Kindness Day on November 13.
IMH’s November 9 meeting is part of Compassion Week
Growing Inner Stability: An Introduction to Insight Meditation
Monday, November 9, 7:00–8:30 PM
Covenant Church, Fellowship Hall, 4949 Caroline Street, Houston 77004
Led by Travis Hicks, IMH Guiding Teacher
The evening will include:
About 15 minutes of guided insight meditation instruction
A guided compassion meditation
A discussion of how compassion develops from within, the benefits of steady practice, and common difficulties new meditators run into, along with ways to work with them
If you have friends or family who have been curious about meditation, this is a good evening to bring them. Longtime sitters are welcome too.
The full schedule of Compassion Week events, with registration links, is at compassionatehouston.org. Some programs have limited space, so it helps to register early.
Food Not Bombs!
Please join other sangha members before our regular meditation time to make sandwiches together for Food not Bombs, an organization that provides vegetarian meals and snacks for folks who are hungry. All the supplies will be provided for making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We hope that this will be a meaningful way for sangha members to get to know each other while taking compassionate action together.
Thank you, Hilary, for organizing this!
We will start at 6:30pm and will be done by 6:55pm.
Peanut-sensitive sangha members, please note that the sandwiches will have peanut butter!
What We Offer
A complete path of practice
Weekly Sittings
Every Monday at 7 PM, join experienced practitioners for guided meditation, dharma discussion, and community. Free, welcoming, no experience needed.
Dharma Teachings
Explore the Buddha’s teachings through dharma talks, guided studies, and a growing library of podcasts — from foundational mindfulness to the subtleties of liberation.
Retreat Support
Deepen your practice through silent residential retreats at partner centers across the country. Our teachers guide preparation and integration at every stage.
Our Community
Your first step is the most important.
You don’t need to know anything about meditation to start. Our Getting Started guide walks you through what to expect at your first Monday sitting — what we do, what to wear, and how to find us.
What We Offer
A complete path of practice
Travis Hicks
Guiding Teacher
Travis Hicks has been a practitioner and teacher in the Insight Meditation tradition since 2011. He is a mindfulness meditation instructor certified by…
Ginger Clarkson
Community Dharma Leader
Ginger Clarkson has been a dedicated Vipassana practitioner and teacher for over two decades. She is certified by Spirit Rock Meditation Center…
Dharma Podcast
Recent Teachings
Mudita to purify the Heart
Joy isn’t something we have to manufacture — it’s something we can learn to recognize and receive. In this talk, Ginger Clarkson guides the group through mudita, or sympathetic joy,…
The Fruits of Practice
People come to meditation for many different reasons, but the destination is often left unclear. What does this practice actually lead to? In this talk, Travis Hicks traces the arc…
Guided Meditation – Metta
A 30 minute guided meditation on Metta by Travis Hicks
The Wings of Awakening: Wisdom and Compassion
Wisdom and compassion are sometimes called the two wings of awakening — and a practice built on only one of them will eventually veer off course. In this talk, Travis…
Stay Connected
Weekly news from the sangha
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