Gregory Kramer One Day Workshop

for Therapists

Colin Library, The Marist Centre 1 Mary Street Hunters Hill 2110  
9am-5pm, Friday 27 March 2009

Dependent Origination:

Towards a Relational Buddhist Psychology

Gregory Kramer, developer of Insight Dialogue, also known as interpersonal meditation, will be conducting this workshop exploring the central Buddhist teaching of Dependent Origination. He has been teaching Vipassana meditation and Dharma since 1980.  Gregory is a visiting faculty member at Barre Centre for Buddhist Studies in Massachusetts and holds a PhD in Learning in Human Systems.

For further information on Gregory Kramer and his Australian and New Zealand events, see www.insightdialogueaustralia.org and www.metta.org/events/events-Oceania.htm

Description
The Buddha's teaching on Dependent Origination is the deepest heart of the Dharma. It is the wisdom that came to the Buddha on the eve of his enlightenment, and is a profound psychology of awakening. Twelve factors are described, each a condition for the others, and yet co-arising in this one moment. When unfolded in the forward direction, this causal chain reveals the origin of this life of identification and dis-ease. Taken in the reverse direction, the direction of cessation, this is a map of liberation, a deep insight into how this mind can be free from ignorance and pain.

During this daylong workshop, we will combine intellectual inquiry with direct practice, and unpack this teaching as a relational psychology. From the subject-object split to the nature of craving, we will see how Dependent Origination can illuminate our interpersonal and social experience, suffering and joy. Connections to a western psychological understanding of the mind will be offered, and we will explore how Dependent Origination provides a scaffolding with which to understand the whole of the Buddha's teaching on the nature of mind. Clear links will be highlighted between this teaching and the practice of psychotherapy. This mix of intellectual and experiential learning is specifically aimed at therapists who wish to bring subtle and demanding wisdom together with the simplicity of mindfulness. The experiential elements of this workshop will help deepen mindfulness, especially while speaking and listening. Throughout the day there will be a movement back and forth between cognitive and experiential learning, but even the cognitive elements will be constantly checked against this immediately felt human experience. We will learn through silent meditation, dialogic meditation, and Dharma talks focused on the core teachings of Buddhist psychology.

This is the first in a series of workshops that Gregory Kramer will be offering on a relational Buddhist psychology in Australia over the coming years.

Recommended Reading:
Gregory Kramer Insight Dialogue – The Interpersonal Path to Freedom Shambhala
(available from www.phoenixrisingbooks.com).

All members of the helping professions are welcome, including non-Buddhists.
For all enquiries and a registration form, THIS EVENT ONLY, contact:
Helen Sharwood (convenor for the Metta Foundation)                                            

Tel:      0419 405 287                                                             

email"   hsharwood_AT_gmail.com