By Suzanne Olson
Greg Kramer
Gregory Kramer travels the world to teach Insight Dialogue, the meditation practice that he co-created as a way of bringing the tranquility and insight attained in meditation directly into interactions with other people.
It’s something strikingly new in the world of Buddhist practice—yet it’s completely grounded in traditional Buddhist teaching.
Where does Gregory go for tranquility and rejuvenation? Other than in meditation, it’s Orcas Island where Gregory and his wife Martha (and, occasionally, their three grown sons) have made their home in Victorian Valley.
On July 16th, Gregory will be back home on Orcas to do a reading of his latest book: Insight Dialogue: The Interpersonal Path to Freedom at Darvill’s Bookstore. The reading begins at 7 p.m. and Gregory will be available afterwards to sign books.
With Insight Dialogue: The Interpersonal Path to Freedom, Kramer presents the central Buddhist teaching of the Four Noble Truths seen through an interpersonal lens. Because dukkha (suffering or unsatisfactoriness) is often most forcefully felt in our relations with others, interpersonal relationships are a wonderfully useful place to practice.
He breaks the Noble Truths down into component parts to observe how they manifest particularly in relationship to others, using examples from his own life and practice, as well as from his students’. He then goes on to present the practice as it’s taught in his workshops and retreats. There are a few basic steps to the practice, deceptively simple to describe: (1) pause, (2) relax, (3) open, (4) trust emergence, (5) listen deeply, and (6) speak the truth.
Author Joseph Goldstein (Insight Meditation and One Dharma) says of Gregory’s latest book: “In this pioneering work, Gregory Kramer breaks new ground in applying the Buddha’s teachings to our lives, relationships, and meditative understandings. This book will be of tremendous benefit to all those seeking freedom in their daily lives.”
In September, Gregory is offering a retreat at Indralaya called “Insight Dialogue: Recognizing Stress and Discovering Ease in the Moment of Human Contact.” Limited space is still available. For more information, go to www.metta.org or www.indralaya.org.
Gregory Kramer, PhD, co-created and developed the practice of Insight Dialogue and has taught it worldwide since 1995. He has also taught Buddhist Insight Meditation for nearly 30 years. He is the guiding teacher and co-founder of the Metta Foundation where he has pioneered online meditation and contemplation practices. He is on the adjunct faculty of the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, and co-developed the Interpersonal Mindfulness Program for Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Center for Mindfulness.
He is the author of Insight Dialogue: The Interpersonal Path to Freedom (2007), and Meditating Together, Speaking from Silence: The Practice of Insight Dialogue (1999). His teachers include the widely respected monks Ven. Ananda Maitreya Maha Nayaka Thera, Ven. Punnaji Maha Thera, Anagarika Dhammadina and Achan Sobin Namto.
Gregory holds a Ph.D. in Learning and Change in Human Systems from the California Institute of Integral Studies. He co-founded Harvest with Heart, a hunger project in the Northeast United States, and Spiritual City Forum, an interfaith dialogue program in Portland, Oregon. Formerly a composer and NEA Composition Fellow, he has made significant contributions to music technology, and holds multiple patents in the field. He is recognized as the founding figure of the field of data sonification.
