The Greater Boston Zen Center was founded in 2012 with the merger of Spring Hill Zen (Somerville/Medford, MA) and the Ralph Waldo Emerson Sangha (Boston, MA). The merged groups looked to rent a place that would be used only by us, and found and renovated a space on Norfolk St. in Cambridge, MA. Josh Bartok was the founding Guiding Teacher. The group incorporated as an independent nonprofit organization and Mike Fieleke was the first Board President.

When it was founded, GBZC was also affiliated with a larger organization, Boundless Way Zen (BoWZ), as had been its precursors. All teachers were trained in the lineage of Robert Aitken Roshi.

In 2018 GBZC split from Boundless Way Zen while also expanding. The split reflected deep divisions within the BoWZ Guiding Teachers Council as well as a disputed use of property. Five of the seven BoWZ Guiding Teachers, including those from GBZC as well as several other sitting groups, left BoWZ. GBZC then became an umbrella group for groups in Maine, Connecticut, central MA and elsewhere, as well as hosting activities in Cambridge. Donna White led the Board during these changes.

In 2019 the GBZC headquarters moved to a larger and more accessible venue on Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square, Cambridge, MA. Alan Richardson was Board President at the time. We also moved from a model in which all tasks remained with the teachers and board to one in which Working Groups play a major part. Plans were made to try to expand membership. The arrival of Covid-19 in March 2020, however, required a conversion to on-line programming only.

In late 2020 the sangha had to deal with another crisis, when it was disclosed that Josh Bartok, then Spiritual Director, had engaged in sexual misconduct and related abuses of power. He was put on suspension and then resigned. Rebecca Behizadeh was President of the board during this difficult time. During 2021 all the teachers who had received transmission prior to the disclosure of the abuse also left our community along with the sitting groups they led.

Since then our community has been consolidated in the Boston area and online. In early 2022 we adopted new governance documents and a new Ethics Policy and welcomed two new senior teachers. In June 2022, the Resilient Sangha Project, dedicated to “turning the suffering of teacher misconduct into sangha wisdom for the benefit of all beings,” published the first edition of its online resource. At the 2022 annual meeting a new board President, Hussein Elgridly, was elected. 

During 2023 the sangha split yet again, largely over differing views about speaking out about abuses. A new board, strongly supportive of the Resilient Sangha Project, was elected at the 2023 annual meeting. James Lopata is its President. (See this letter from him for more information.)

We continue to learn and to explore new ways of sharing the Dharma.

_{Last updated 4/2/24}