About this IMS Online Program

July - August 2025


Course Description:

This six-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, dyad (pairs) practice, and small group discussion.

During the six weeks of the course, you are invited to maintain a regular sitting practice and to keep a practice journal to help inform the discussion during each meeting.


Course Time Commitment:

This course requires a minimum time commitment of 4 hours per week. Please be realistic about the amount of time needed to participate in the course, and make sure you will be able to meet the minimum time requirements. The time commitment for this course includes: 

  • A weekly two-hour meeting online
  • At least two hours of individual study, including contribution to an online discussion board. Posting on the discussion board each week is required, in order to access the next week’s teaching materials. 


Pre-requisites

  • At least two insight meditation retreats of seven days or longer, plus basic familiarity with core Buddhist teachings such as the Four Noble Truths and the Four Establishments of Mindfulness.
  • Familiarity with Zoom and online learning management systems.

How to Register

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 application 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 to notify them if they have been accepted into the course, and what cohort time they can register for.


Live Session Dates:

  • Week One: Saturday, July 5, 2025 ET or Sunday, July 6, 2025 ET
  • Week Two: Saturday, July 12, 2025 ET or Sunday, July 13, 2025 ET
  • Week Three: Saturday, July 19, 2025 ET or Sunday, July 20, 2025 ET
  • Week Four: Saturday, July 26, 2025 ET or Sunday, July 27, 2025 ET
  • Week Five: Saturday, August 2, 2025 ET or Sunday, August 3, 2025 ET
  • Week Six: Saturday, August 9, 2025 ET or Sunday, August 10, 2025 ET


Cohort Meeting Time Options:


Course Price:

  • Sustainer: $180
  • Benefactor: $270
  • Scholarship: $90

Meet Your Teacher

Jill Shepherd

Jill Shepherd began practicing insight meditation in Thailand in 1999, and since that time has lived and worked at several meditation centers and monasteries in the US, Australia, England, and Thailand. She 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. She is a graduate of the IMS / Spirit Rock teacher training program in the US, under the guidance of Joseph Goldstein and Gil Fronsdal. Currently, she divides her time mostly between the USA, Australia and New Zealand, teaching vipassana and brahma vihara retreats and offering ongoing study and practice groups focused on bringing the dharma into daily life. She also leads courses and non-residential workshops exploring the relational practice of Insight Dialogue, as developed by Gregory Kramer and colleagues.

More Information

  • Equity Pricing Model

    As one part of our ongoing effort to expand access to the teachings of the Buddha, all IMS Online programs feature equity-based registration fees, including the opportunity to self-select a low-cost scholarship rate. No-fee enrollment is available for those who request a fee-waiver at [email protected], no questions asked. Our system supports the cultivation of a dynamic and inclusive community and is made possible by our generous donors and those who choose to support other students by contributing at the “Benefactor” level.

  • Refunds

    IMS Online offers full refunds through the last day of a live program. Refunds for this program can be processed until August 10, 2025. Refunds can only be applied to the card that was used for the purchase. Please reach out to [email protected] with any refund requests. 

  • Additional Questions

    If you have additional questions please contact us at [email protected].