Wednesday: Insight Dialogue Asia Pacific (IDAP)
With Anita Bermont, Elizabeth Faria, Jill Shepherd and Gregory Kramer
Open Dates
Insight Dialogue Asia Pacific offers an online study and practice series which meets twice a month on Wednesday morning (Asia/Aust/NZ) or Tuesday afternoon (Americas). This group is based in Australia.
The Divine Abidings and an Ethical Life
The four brahmavihāra are at the heart of ethics, and ethical living becomes the embodiment of the brahmavihāra on the path to freedom. We will return to the “divine abidings” of the four brahmavihāra, the heart qualities of kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity.
Together, we will go deeper into how they support us to live a more ethical life and how, in turn, an ethical life is an expression of a well-cultivated heart.
Every session builds on the teaching and practice from the preceding session, so this IDAP series is not offered as a drop-in meeting. In support of this, we ask all participants to register with the intention of attending the whole series in full. In this ten-session online course (meeting twice a month for 1.5 hours), through strengthening these practices both individually and together, supported by “wise attention and the voice of another,” we can directly experience the deepening freedom they offer.
2026
The 2026 theme will be the Whole-Life Path – this is in celebration of the 5th anniversary of Gregory Kramer’s book. Along with the global ID community, this will be a wonderful opportunity for us in IDAP to walk the path that the Buddha laid out towards greater well-being and freedom.
So please go ahead and save these dates if you’d like to join us. There will be 3 separate series of 6 sessions each that you will be able to register for. Sessions will continue at our usual time on Wednesdays at 10 am AEST.
Series 1 – Feb 4 to Apr 15
Series 2 – June 3 to Aug 19
Series 3 – Oct 7 to Dec 16
(a day earlier for North America participants)
Registrations will open for each series a couple of months before each series begins, and will be shared with you closer to the time.
Dates: 10 sessions from 6 August 2025 to 17 December 2025. Every 1st and 3rd Australian Wednesday of the month. 10:00-11:30 am AET. Suitable for Asia Pacific and North American time zones. Please see your local time here.
Please contact insightdialogueasiapacific@gmail.com for information about this online practice series, or if you would like to be added to our email contact list for information about future practice opportunities.
Leaders
Anita Bermont guides Insight Dialogue practice both online and in-person. When first encountering Insight Dialogue in the mid-’90s, the practice spoke immediately and strongly to her heart. With this recognition came a deep commitment to participating in the first face-to-face practice group. As the years have gone by, her commitment to the path inspired a return to school, earning an MA in Buddhist Studies. She participates in many of the Insight Dialogue Community teams and practice cohorts and coordinates the Insight Dialogue Teaching Community Coordinating team. Insight Dialogue gets called her ‘heart song’ practice and it is from this place…
Learn more about Anita Bermont
Elizabeth Faria has studied with Gregory Kramer and the Insight Dialogue Teaching Community since 2008. She began practicing vipassana on long retreats meditation in 1996. She took a two-year break from work to dedicate time to meditation practice in India, the US, Australia, and Thailand. Elizabeth is a graduate of the Australian Association of Buddhist Counsellors and Psychotherapists Professional Training Course in Buddhism and Psychotherapy. She is trained as a psychologist with 30 years of both meditation experience and practice as a psychotherapist. She is deeply moved by the Dharma and its potential to bring ease and wisdom through solitary…
Learn more about Elizabeth Faria
Jill Shepherd leads Insight Dialogue courses and non-residential workshops internationally. She began studying and practicing insight meditation in Thailand in 1999, and recently spent seven years on staff at the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Barre, Massachusetts, where she participated in several long retreats and Buddhist study programs, as well as offering weekly meditation classes at a nearby men’s prison. Jill is a graduate of the IMS/Spirit Rock teacher training program in the US, under the guidance of Joseph Goldstein and Gil Fronsdal, and has been practicing Insight Dialogue since 2007. Currently, Jill divides her time mostly between the US,…
Learn more about Jill Shepherd
Gregory Kramer is the Founding Teacher of the Insight Dialogue Community and has been teaching insight meditation since 1980. He developed the practice of Insight Dialogue and has been teaching it since 1995, offering retreats in North America, Asia, Europe, and Australia. He has studied with esteemed teachers, including Anagarika Dhammadina, Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Mahanayaka Thero, Achan Sobin Namto, and Ven. Punnaji Maha Thero. Gregory is the author of A Whole Life Path: A Layperson’s Guide to a Dhamma-infused Life (Insight Dialogue Community); Insight Dialogue: The Interpersonal Path to Freedom (Shambhala); Seeding the Heart: Practicing Lovingkindness with Children; Meditating Together,…
Learn more about Gregory Kramer