Any of you who have done much sitting at IMS over the years are likely to have stayed in the Annex building, where most of our retreating rooms are located, and if so will no doubt find these images of the Annex quite familiar. Let’s face it–it’s a pretty funky place.
Some people have developed a great affection for the clatter of the heating pipes, the squeaking of the floors, the whistling wind through the (closed) windows, and even for the tiny, frigid rooms at the end of the heating loop. Unfortunately our insurance company, the local fire chief, town building inspectors and various state regulatory agencies are not quite as fond of the building as these whatever-is-arising-is-just-fine old yogis.
The renovation of the Annex is long overdue, and it’s past the point where a little paint and some new carpeting will do the trick. Starting next January–if all goes well–we plan a pretty thorough rehabilitation of the Annex. The walls and roof are structurally sound; and thanks to some badly needed work in the basement last summer the foundation is sound too. But inside it’s a different story. We need to gut the entire inside of the building and replace most of the plumbing and heating systems, upgrade the electrical system, and re-size all the rooms to the building code. (Retreats will still continue in the main building next year, but will be significantly smaller and not quite as silent as usual.)
The goal will be to create as many single, soundproofed rooms as possible, all with a good window, a sink (that works!), individual heating control, and enough space in most cases to do walking meditation in one’s room. With new wall, ceiling and floor surfaces the aesthetics will be vastly improved, although the decor will remain quite austere.
This project will not be financed by course fees–you will not see the rates go up as a result of the Annex renovation. As with most of the major project that have been undertaken at IMS over the last several years, we hope to fund the entire project with voluntary donations from the vipassana sangha. Of course, this depends on the response we get from our continuing Annex fundraising program.
Most fortunately, IMS has recently received the offer of a substantial matching grant from a New York foundation with makes the entire project seem achievable. The foundation will match all donations up to $75,000 which comes in before October 31, 1994, and if we achieve the goal will consider an additional $25,000 matching grant!! Altogether, therefore, we stand to raise $200,000 from this program, which is almost half of the total needed for the entire project. With building funds of nearly $100,000 collected before the matching challenge, and some additional grant-writing activity this year, we hope to reach the goal of over $400,000 by January of 1995.
We will report in the fall newsletter how things are going. Historically, the IMS community of friends and supporters has always been most generous–regardless of individual means. In the spirit of dana, the voluntary giving of gifts that support and further the dharma, the IMS sangha has so far always ensured that there is a place in central Massachusetts devoted to the teaching and practice of insight meditation.
