Heart of the Buddha's Teachings of Freedom

Heart of the Buddha's Teachings of Freedom is a four-week online spiritual workshop on Buddhist teachings and insight meditation, led by Hugh Byrne, PhD, a lead teacher at the Insight Meditation Community of Greater Washington (IMCW). It meets on Zoom, so you can join from wherever you are. It suits anyone drawn to the dharma and to mindfulness as a path toward freedom, and who would like to study it steadily over several weeks rather than in a single sitting.

What to Expect

The series runs for four consecutive Sundays, with each session lasting two hours, from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM Eastern Time. The sessions are hosted by IMCW as an online retreat and workshop. Because the same group gathers each week, there is room to return to the teachings and let them settle between meetings.

Hugh's wider teaching centers on mindfulness and compassion, along with equanimity and loving-kindness, so those themes may well be part of the conversation. The series title points to the heart of the Buddha's teachings on freedom, and that is the focus of the four weeks.

About Hugh Byrne

Hugh Byrne, PhD, is a meditation teacher, trainer and author whose work centers on mindfulness and compassion for spiritual and social transformation. He is a lead teacher at IMCW.

Before teaching, Hugh spent more than twenty years working for human rights in Latin America and Africa and for U.S. policies supporting equality and genuine development. He has described the stress and sense of separation that came from an "us" and "them" approach and from being tightly tied to the outcome of that work. Encountering Buddhist teachings changed how he understood working for change. Through mindfulness, compassion, equanimity and loving-kindness, he writes, we can include everyone in our vision for justice and peace.

In Washington, DC, he has helped organize "mindful politics" meetings and a year of engaged dharma. His teaching carries that lived experience of bringing contemplative practice into public life.

Before You Go

The workshop takes place online through Zoom, so all you need is a device and a quiet place to sit for the two hours. Hugh also offers a free weekly Meditation and Dharma Class on Sunday mornings, supported by dana, the ancient Pali word for "spontaneous generosity of the soul". It is a way to get a feel for his teaching before the series begins.