Community Meditation Center of New York
All are welcome.
The CMC community deeply mourns Susanna Weiss, our co-founder and first Executive Director, who served us in that role for fourteen years.
Many sangha members knew Susanna as the friendly, quietly elegant, serenely radiant face of CMC, who welcomed all attendees to our in-person meetings and acted as expert troubleshooter. Behind the scenes, she tirelessly and expertly handled CMC’s administration. We are deeply grateful to Susanna for her key role in building the base of CMC, affording so many people the opportunity to benefit from the Buddha's teachings.
In addition to all she did for CMC, Susanna was a longtime professional modern dancer, as well as an accomplished painter, a published writer (her work appears in the anthology The Dharma of Dogs), and a busy Somatic Experience Practitioner.
Susanna made her transition on November 13, after more than a year spent battling a rare cancer. She had been given only a small chance of survival, but her upbeat attitude and determination made it easy to believe that she might beat those very poor odds. Susanna is survived by Allan Lokos, her husband of 33 years and the founder and longtime guiding teacher of CMC (2007-2021). She is survived also by her brothers Edmund, John and Michael and their families, and by her stepdaughter Samantha, husband Sean and son Max. Susanna will be deeply missed as a dear friend to so many of us. The world has lost a lady who was as gracious as she was graceful.
The Susanna Weiss Memorial Fund
To honor Susanna’s life and legacy—a deeply generous individual whose presence shaped this community in countless ways—we have created a memorial giving page for those who wish to give in her memory.
Click here to visit the Susanna Weiss Memorial Fund website.
Founded in 2007, the Community Meditation Center of New York (CMC) exists to alleviate suffering by making the transformative teachings of Buddhism accessible to all.
Rooted in the Buddha’s path and guided by mindfulness, compassion, and lovingkindness, we offer online dharma talks, weekly meditations, and in-person retreats that nourish individual and collective practice. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive sangha where people of all identities and backgrounds feel a genuine sense of belonging. With teachings from voices across traditions, cultures, and lived experiences, we strive to create a global refuge for those seeking wisdom, connection, and healing.
Led by Guiding Teacher Bart van Melik, and inspired by the Buddha’s teachings, our global community explores Buddhist principles, mindfulness, compassion, lovingkindness and generosity through online dharma talks, meditation practice, and in-person retreats in New York City.
Our aspiration at CMC is to cultivate a warm, welcoming, and nourishing environment for people of all identities to share in the joys of the Buddhadharma. We proudly seek diversity in our sangha and are committed to CMC being a community in which all practitioners can feel a sense of belonging. With members and teachers from all over the world, we are committed to providing access to teachings by a wide range of guest teachers of various identities, backgrounds, lineages, and lived experiences.
Join us for guided practice in community.
Our virtual teachings on Sundays are offered by donation. Everyone is welcome.
