New England Buddhist Center — Attraction in Brookline

This group claims to promote peace, however being a part of this organization I experienced gaslighting, racism, and a weird constant social class structure and pressure to perform to honor sensei their leader. Literally one of their high up members showed up to my house uninvited to ask why “black people act like animals, they don’t deserve anything”. She then showed me emails and told me of plans the SGI university had for not admitting black students anymore as they act “wildly” according to the conservative asian population. I demanded an apology and was laughed at. One of the women’s district leaders Coleen, would have us chant for her restaurant to do better as she couldn’t pay her bills or staff, but when they asked me about what I was trying to overcome and I stated racism. I was promptly told I was wasting time and that racism wasn’t real. The same white woman would tell me how her daughter would watch racist incidents happen at her school and not do anything. These people weren’t looking for peace, acceptance, tolerance, or even love. They just wanted a pat on the back...

Attending meetings at the New England Buddhist Center has been a refreshing and uplifting experience for my life and spirit, even on days when I’m not feeling my best. The community here is incredibly diverse, warm, and welcoming—you truly won't find such a wonderful group of people anywhere else.

I've been coming here since it opened and have loved every moment. Even my 5-year-old daughter adores it and affectionately calls it the "chanting tower." We also adore the bookstore and they even have a lovely collection of children's books.

I highly recommend attending an Introduction to Buddhism meeting and giving it a shot. It's a...

The New England Buddhist center is great for the large meetings, but the true heart of SGI is in the smaller local meetings that are held at people’s houses. There is a wonderful sense of community and friendship. In response to the one woman here who claims that they are racist, In my experience, the quite the opposite is true. People of all races and all backgrounds are welcome. I have never seen anybody who was made to feel not welcome. So, I highly doubt that what she says happened happened, but if it did, that truly is not an example at...