Introduction to Insight Dialogue

Insight Dialogue is a Buddhist practice for cultivating wisdom and compassion through meditation in dialogue.  Humans are relational beings.  We are pack animals, born of mother and father, raised with families and friends.  We work and live with others.  It is no surprise that much of our suffering is people-suffering.  We meditate to understand and be free from suffering.  Yet sometimes a gap arises when interpersonal suffering is being addressed in intrapersonal meditation.  We perpetuate the “island universe” of the individual self even as we seek freedom.

Insight Dialogue is a fully relational meditation practice based on Buddhist Vipassana Insight Meditation and a relational understanding of the Dhamma.  The mind is invited to stillness and keen mindfulness even as we remain in dialogue with others.  Here, we meet the shared human experience that transcends our very real differences in genetics, background, and worldly circumstances.

For each of us, the body is home. We have an unfathomably remarkable brain.  As humans, we are sensitive to light and sound and vibrate deeply with every interpersonal contact.  Recognizing our common foundations, the shared legacy of suffering is understood anew.  Through practice loving-kindness becomes a lived experience that encompasses each and every specific person we encounter here and now – whether he or she is a loved one or an enemy.

Gregory and Phyllis will offer a talk and guide Insight Dialogue meditation practice.