The Path of Dharma Friendship
Share in the beauty of the spiritual life
with Gregory Kramer and Janet Surrey
“Having good friends is the whole of the holy life.”
—The Upaddha Sutta
Mindful companionship
Why did the Buddha say that good friends and companions were the whole of the holy life? What does this mean for our practice and how we should live?
This online course will rediscover the Buddha's teachings as a path of beautiful friendship.
Class begins on February 9. Enroll today.
Develop deep dharma friendships
Many of us were not born into Buddhist communities but tentatively find our way to them. This is not always an easy process, but the rewards of dharma friendship are unsurpassed. This course offers practical wisdom for forming and strengthening the bonds that make the path possible.
Live Q & As
Enroll now to ask questions in two live Q & A Sessions with Gregory and Janet, hosted on Zoom on the following dates.
- Monday, February 23 at 12:00 p.m. EST
- Wednesday, March 11th at 1:00 p.m. EST
Real friendships, real dharma
Wise teachers
Gregory and Janet are expert teachers in the Insight Dialogue community. They bring relational and psychological awareness to the ancient wisdom of the Buddha in ways that have revitalized the teachings for many practitioners.
A thriving community
This isn't a path we walk alone. Join in the discussion and connect with a practice community as we share the joys and difficulties of the contemplative life together.
Embody the Buddha's wisdom
This course offers actions and reflections that bring the teachings into your relationships. This is, of course, an area where we often find ourselves in need of clarity and ease. Fortunately, these teachings were always intended to bring harmony, understanding, and care into our relationships.
A fresh look at the early texts
The popular image of the solitary Buddha sitting alone in meditation doesn't tell the whole story. Most of our lives are not spent in meditation but in relationship. We will look again at early Buddhist discourses and find poignant friendships and the life of a community in full flow.
Energize your meditation
Meditative concentration develops naturally with the support of dharma friendships. Contrary to the impression we are sometimes given, the mind can become very still and settled in the midst of relational life. We can bring this ease and gatheredness with us to and from the cushion.
A whole-life path
The noble eightfold path encompasses all aspects of our lives, nothing is left out. Gregory and Janet show how we can practice effectively across the full spectrum of our lives. For many practitioners, this is a decisive turning point in their spiritual journey.
About the Insight Dialogue Community
The Insight Dialogue Community is a global community dedicated to the practices of relational dhamma as a vehicle for awakening together. Our mission is to share teachings and practices that incorporate a relational understanding of the Buddha’s teachings for the benefit of all.
How the journey unfolds
This online course is delivered in six units that will be released each Monday. You are welcome to practice with the material at your own pace.
Meet Gregory and Janet
Gregory Kramer
I started teaching insight meditation in 1980. Since 1995 I have offered Insight Dialogue—an interpersonal meditation practice I co-created and then developed to its present form—and I often teach in extended retreats. The Buddhist path is one I live daily, and I hope my teaching conveys that in a vital way. It is a path of mindfulness, inquiry and concentration that rests on a foundation of human decency and compassion. I’ve been immersed in a re-examination of the earliest Buddhist teachings, with keen attention to relationality. This relational dharma, and my own life experience, have led me to emphasize an integrated path of development, where individual and interpersonal meditation are joined with contemplation, ethical inquiry, and a commitment to kindness.
Janet Surrey
Janet Surrey teaches Insight Dialogue retreats internationally and leads a monthly practice group in the Boston area. Jan serves on the Insight Dialogue Community Teachers’ Council and the coordinating team for the Insight Dialogue Teaching Community. She has worked with Gregory Kramer since 2007. Her original teacher was Vimala Thakar. Jan has also done many retreats with Thich Nhat Hanh and Joanna Macy and completed the Community Dharma Leader training at Spirit Rock in 2008. Jan is a practicing clinical psychologist and is a faculty and board member of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy in Boston, Massachussetts. She and other facilitators hold a monthly practice group called Insight Dialogue Northeast.
Progress at your own pace
This easy-to-use online course is a six-week program of teaching, discussion, meditation, and inquiry.
Each unit contains around one hour of material to study as well as contemplative exercises. After the course begins, a new unit will be released each Monday. You are free to study at your own pace, and will retain access to the material ongoing.
You can follow the course on a computer, tablet, or phone.
Critical acclaim
Praise for Gregory Kramer's A Whole-Life Path
Gregory’s unique perspective... combines an impressive breadth of application to our lives in the world with a profound understanding of practices leading to the highest peace.–Joseph Goldstein, author of Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening
...offers laypeople a brilliant and practical guide for bringing Buddhist wisdom alive in our relationships, work, and through each moment of the day.–Tara Brach, author of Radical Compassion
A perspective on the Buddha’s noble eightfold path that is at once solidly rooted in the canonical texts of early Buddhism yet astutely attuned to the needs of contemporary readers seeking to navigate our frantic, directionless culture.–Bhikkhu Bodhi, Buddhist scholar and translator
Praise for Janet Surrey's The Buddha's Wife
A visionary work of profound insight, imagination, compassion, and scholarship... a lamp for our troubled times, illuminating new paths and practices for all relationships.–Susan M. Pollak
The Buddha’s Wife is a gripping telling of an amazing 2,500-year-old story, followed by a collection of contemporary inspirational stories, and specific reflections and practices collected from the lives and work of ‘relational activists’ all over the world. A great read and a practical guide for anyone who wants to ‘wake up’ and walk a path of healing with others.–Martin Sheen
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You may also be interested in these online courses from Bodhi College and Tricycle.
