The Cambridge Buddhist Association was informally founded in 1957 when D.T. Suzuki moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts and befriended John and Elsie Mitchell, who ran a vast library of books on Buddhism and held zazen for various practitioners. The institution was incorporated in 1959 and remains active. In 1979 Maurine Stuart, a Rinzai rōshi, became President of the organization, and several influential Buddhist teachers in the United States have been members. The Cambridge Buddhist Association ceased to offer a place of practice in September 2011, when the property that housed the Zendō was sold.

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