A Whole-Life Path: A Lay Buddhist’s Guide to Crafting a Dhamma-Infused Life

by Gregory Kramer

For Gregory Kramer, a longtime, esteemed teacher of insight meditation, the creator of Insight Dialogue (an interpersonal insight practice), every aspect of everyday life provides an opportunity to practice the Buddha's teachings

Many lay Buddhists struggle to carry the benefits of their studies and meditation practice into their twenty-first-century lives. How might our daily experience of both life and the Buddha’s teachings shift if there were no separation between them? In A Whole-Life Path, Gregory Kramer invites us to see the noise, complexity, and challenges of today’s world as doorways to fully embodied Dhamma wisdom. Drawing on decades of meditation, study, and teaching, he explores the essence of each factor of the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path. He then looks at modern life with fresh eyes, calling out the myriad opportunities it offers to put all the Buddha’s teachings into practice—individually, relationally, and socially. More than 50 experiential practices allow us to test his guidance—right here, right now. Anywhere the Buddha’s teaching meets our unique life circumstances, our whole-life path is born anew. With A Whole-Life Path as a starting point and touchstone, our lives and our spiritual path can become one.

Genres: Buddhism, Nonfiction

422 pages, Paperback

Published September 14, 2020

About the author

Gregory Kramer teaches, writes, and is the founding teacher of the Insight Dialogue Community. His primary focuses are sharing a relational understanding of the Dhamma and teaching Insight Dialogue, an interpersonal form of Buddhist insight meditation. He has been teaching worldwide since 1980.

Formerly a composer, NEA Composition Fellow, and founder of the Electronic Art Ensemble, he has made significant contributions to music technology and holds multiple patents in the field.

Reviews

[Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t resonate with many of the practices trickled throughout the book, but I found some of the chapters to be very well written. I read the first half when I was in a fairly distracted state, and the second half during a meditation retreat. Not surprisingly it was the second half that I enjoyed the most.

“Having tasted stability, the unified mind comes to naturally value peace, and our attentional resources are freed up for us to care about and give to others. Also, because we have become more sensitive to what agitation looks like, and its suffering nature, when we encounter this agitation in others, we appreciate their pain and are readily moved to ask, “How can I help?” Less reactive and self-obsessed, we response to others with compassion.”

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an ongoing practice. It took me several months to read it and I will probably just start it again!

[Cynthia Romanowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book twice. The first time on my own. The second time with a study group and inquiry questions, and the second time was much more fruitful. If you are going to read it, I suggest the workbook or group reading to really grasp the teachings.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful, but did not keep me as engaged as some dharma books.

[Vita Pires, Ph.D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prefer Fronsdal or Bhikkhu Bodhi's more pithy versions.

[Vince · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not an easy read - dense, packed with passive voice, and not very personal. However, it's a wise book, and I got more out of it the second time around. For more accessible guides to the Noble Eightfold Path, check out Bhikkhu Bodhi's slim volume, or Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness by Bhante Gunaratana.