John and Matt started CRMC in October of 2012 to offer the local community of Frenchtown, New Jersey, and the surrounding towns on both sides of the river, the Buddha’s timeless wisdom. Through John’s great compassion and tireless dedication to teaching the Dhamma, and his technological savvy, he was able to bring his restorations / interpretation of the suttas to the world through the website and live streaming classes online.

John had a deep respect for all who had the courage to develop an understanding of their contribution to the stress of their own lives, and acknowledged this with patience and humor, and aspired to assist those blinded, and those with “only a speck of dust in their eye.” The growth and flourishing of the sangha, both in person and online, was a treasure to John, and has enriched the lives of all who have participated. John taught us well the Buddha’s words on Impermanence and the inevitability of aging, sickness, and death. John frequently reminding us that “we never know when the cow will get us,” referencing the Bahiya sutta. 

Where water, earth,
fire, & wind
have no footing:
There the stars don’t shine,
the sun isn’t visible.
There the moon doesn’t appear.
There darkness is not found.
And when a sage,
a brahman through sagacity,
has realized [this] for himself,
then from form & formless,
from bliss & pain,
he is freed.
Ud 1:10 Bahiya Sutta