Question Title

This is an image of a buddha statue on a green background, and a photograph of the teacher Jill Shepherd.
Thank you for your interest in the Insight Meditation Society online course Exploring Anattā with Jill Shepherd. This course will consist of three cohorts of students, and will require registered students to choose a time that they will attend live meetings with their cohort and teacher each week. To help us build the cohorts for this program, we are accepting applications for enrollment. If you are interested in registering for this program, please fill out the form below with your contact information, and please rank your first, second, and third choice for your cohort meeting time. The IMS online team will reach out to all applicants on January 10, 2023 to notify them if they have been accepted into the course, and what cohort time they can register for.

Course Description:

This four-week online course will explore what the Buddha was pointing to when he stated that experience is impermanent (aniccā), unsatisfactory (dukkha), and not-self (anattā). Focusing mostly on anattā, we will approach this key teaching in a variety of ways, to help understand how it leads to greater ease, happiness, and freedom in our lives.

Each two-hour class will include a short dharma talk, guided and silent meditation, and small group discussion.
 During the four weeks of the course, you are invited to maintain a regular sitting practice and keep a practice journal, to help inform the discussion during each meeting. 

During this course there will also be required weekly assignments that will be posted for students to complete. Weekly assignments will consist of reflections and discussion board posts. Assignments must be completed each week before access to the next week's teaching materials will become available. This course requires a minimum time commitment of 4 hours per week. Students will meet with the teacher live via Zoom once per week, at times suitable for different international time-zones, including US, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Asia (see time zones chart).

Live Session Schedule:
  • Week One: Saturday, February 25, 2023 EST or Sunday, February 26, 2023 EST
  • Week Two: Saturday, March 4, 2023 EST or Sunday, March 5, 2023 EST
  • Week Three: Saturday, March 11, 2023 EST or Sunday, March 12, 2023 EST
  • Week Four: Saturday, March 18, 2023 EST or Sunday, March 19, 2023 EST 

Course Price:
  • Sustainer: $180
  • Benefactor: $270
  • Scholarship: $90
Please provide the following information. 

Question Title

* 1. First Name

Question Title

* 2. Last Name

Question Title

* 3. At what email address would you like to be contacted?

Question Title

* 4. Please rank the live cohort Zoom meeting times based on your preferred time to meet.

  1st Choice 2nd Choice 3rd Choice Can't Attend at This Time
Saturdays 3:00 - 5:00 pm EST (start time will be at 4:00 pm EST on March 18)
Saturdays 7:00 - 9:00 pm EST (start time will be at 8:00 pm EST on March 18)
Sundays 4:00 - 6:00 pm EST (start time will be at 6:00 pm EST on March 19)
This program has four pre-requisites for all students. Please confirm you meet the following pre-requisites.

Question Title

* 5. Have you attended at least two insight meditation retreats of seven days or longer?

Question Title

* 6. Do you have basic familiarity with the core Buddhist teachings such as the Four Noble Truths and the Four Establishments of Mindfulness?

Question Title

* 7. Do you have familiarity with attending Zoom meetings?

Question Title

* 8. Do you have familiarity with using an Online Learning Center (LMS)?

T