@Xenofact

This is the point of the Sangha, the group of like minded practitioners who gathered together to support and care for each other. The Sangha is so important in Buddhist practice that it is one of only three "jewels", The Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.

Formal meditation seems like a solitary endeavor, you alone on the cushion. But sitting in a group, supported by the Sangha, can be both insightful, and more importantly a practice of the ethics and morals needed for living awake.