Deep Dive Dharma

Essential Teachings on the Sure Heart’s Release

an eight-month program for experienced practitioners
with Erin Treat and Pamela Weiss

This program will offer essential Buddhist teachings on liberation, including:

  • Anicca, Dukkha & Anatta— The Three Characteristics

  • Shunyata & Tathata— Emptiness & Suchness

  • Paticca Samupadda— Dependent Co-Arising, and

  • Citta & Nibanna—The Nature of Awareness & Awakening

From October 2022 through May 2023, we will meet twice each month to study and explore these topics. Our meetings will include dharma talks, guided inquiry and discussion. Erin and Pamela will co-lead the sessions, weaving insights from both Theravada and Mahayana perspectives.

The program will begin and end with half-day Saturday sessions. Then we will meet one Wednesday evening each month. The teachings offered in these sessions will become the focus of our ongoing study and exploration. After each session, you will receive readings, reflections and practices to support the integration and embodiment of the teaching topics in everyday life. Access to recorded talks, readings and assignments for the program will be available through a dedicated program portal.

For those interested and whose schedule allows, we will also offer optional monthly Q&A/discussion sessions with one of the teachers and optional monthly peer group meetings for further dharma investigation. 

Participation is by application, and the program will be limited to a maximum of 60 people. The program is intended for experienced practitioners who are familiar with fundamental Buddhist teachings, have significant retreat experience, and a minimum of five years of dedicated practice. It is not intended for those new to practice.

Opening: Saturday, Oct. 8 2022
10-1 PT, 11-2 MT, 1-4 ET

Main Teaching Sessions: Wednesdays
4-6pm PT, 5-7 pm MT, 7-9pm ET:

October 12
November 16
December 14
January 18
February 15
March 15
April 19

Optional Q&A Sessions: Wednesdays
4-5pm PT, 5-6pm MT, 7-8pm ET:

October 26
November 30
December 28
February 1
March 1
March 29
May 3

Closing: Saturday, May 20, 2023
10-1 PT, 11-2 MT, 1-4 ET

Optional Small Group Inquiry Sessions: TBD

Session Materials

Our Teachers

  • Pamela Weiss

    Pamela is a Buddhist teacher, authorized in both Theravada and Zen. She is the author of “A Bigger Sky: Awakening a Fierce Feminine Buddhism,” and is a leadership coach and advisor to organizations seeking to reduce inequity and expand impact. Pamela is a guiding teacher at San Francisco Insight and sits on the Spirit Rock teacher council. She is passionate about reclaiming the feminine in Buddhism, and finding ways to bring the teachings off of the cushion into the heart of the world.

  • Erin Treat

    Erin is a Buddhist teacher and organizational leader. She serves as Guiding Teacher of Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center and the Durango Dharma Center, and is on the teaching council of multiple sanghas throughout the country including Sacred Mountain Sangha and Spirit Rock. She is committed to fostering communities of belonging, including decentering whiteness and heteronormative culture. She teaches the practical and the profound, from a heart grounded in respect for mystery and the many faces of awakening. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.