In 2012 Spring Hill Zen (Somerville/Medford, MA) and the Ralph Waldo Emerson Sangha (Boston, MA) merged to form the Greater Boston Zen Center. 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. The governance models of both groups, like those of many other sanghas in the West, included both a guiding body made up of transmitted teachers and a non-profit board with a number of non-teacher members.

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. Rebecca Behizadeh became Board President at the time. 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. While the board struggled to fulfill its legal obligations of care for the sangha, it found itself in frequent disagreement with the remaining GBZC Senior Teaching Community, which largely declined to reach out to help those harmed and favored milder consequences for the offender. During 2021 all the teachers who had received transmission prior to the disclosure of the abuse 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 was President. After the transmitted teachers offended by speaking out about abuses left, the remaining one, while remaining an active GBZC member, also resigned from the Senior Teaching Community, leaving it empty. Subsequently, the community offered periods of silent practice and discussions, book groups, and precept classes facilitated by experienced sangha members.

In May of 2025, our lease on the zendo in Cambridge’s Central Square ended. In July of 2025 the membership acted to rename GBZC as the Greater Boston Zen Community and revised its governance documents to make the Board its sole governing body. James Peregrino became President of the Board. 

We obtained a new space for Tuesday evening practice in downtown Boston during the summer of 2025. Internet connections allow us to continue to welcome online participants, as well. 

During 2025 we decided that we would move towards inviting traditionally authorized teachers to again contribute to the community, though now explicitly in a service, not a leadership, role. The job description for what we are calling an Adjunct Teacher, developed in the spring of 2026, situates transmitted teachers within a model of board leadership and peer mentorship. Applications are now being accepted.

_{Last updated 4/28/26}