Belonging, Courage and Love: Living the Pāramīs
A Ten-Month Journey with Booker, Learning the Heart Qualities of Freedom
Belonging, Courage and Love is a ten-month journey into the pāramīs, the ten heart qualities the Buddha cultivated to awaken.
Guided by Booker, a Black, queer Dharma teacher whose work bridges wisdom and justice, you’ll explore generosity, patience, truth, and love as living practices, ways to meet life with freedom, compassion, and belonging.
“The Eightfold Path shows how to walk toward awakening.
The Pāramīs reveal who you become along the way.”
Begins February 20th 2026
What Are the Pāramīs?
If you’ve practiced mindfulness, you already know its value, the ability to pause, breathe, and meet each moment with presence.
But awareness alone isn’t enough.
The Buddha taught that awakening requires the heart’s support qualities that steady us through difficulty and guide how we live and love in the world.
These qualities are called the pāramīs: ten virtues of the awakened heart: generosity, virtue, renunciation, wisdom, energy, patience, truth, resolve, lovingkindness, and equanimity.
Before he became the Buddha, he was a bodhisattva, a human being walking the long path of practice. The pāramīs were not ideals for him to perfect, but ways of being in relationship with a complex, imperfect world.
The Ten Heart Qualities We Explore
Generosity (Dāna)
Ethics (Sīla)
Renunciation (Nekkhamma)
Wisdom (Paññā)
Energy (Viriya)
Patience (Khanti)
Truthfulness (Sacca)
Resolve (Adhiṭṭhāna)
Lovingkindness (Mettā)
Equanimity (Upekkhā)
Why the Pāramīs Matter Now
In modern mindfulness, we often focus on how to pay attention.
The pāramīs are inviting us to ask: what kind of heart am I moving through the world with?
They remind us that practice isn’t only about calm or insight; it’s about becoming a more generous, truthful, and loving human being. They bring mindfulness off the cushion and into our relationships, communities, and work.
When the pāramīs mature, mindfulness becomes more than a tool for stress relief. It becomes a path of ethical presence, relational healing, and collective liberation, the awakening of the heart, not just the mind.
“It’s not about meditating your way out of life it’s about being fully alive.” — Booker
Course Introduction
Belonging, Courage and Love is a ten-month immersion in the pāramīs—the ten heart qualities the Buddha cultivated over countless lifetimes to prepare for awakening.
Before he became the Buddha, he was a bodhisattva devoted to perfecting generosity, patience, truthfulness, and lovingkindness. These were not abstract ideals, but living practices, ways of being in relationship with a complex world.
Guided by Booker—a Black, queer Dharma teacher and lover of liberation whose work bridges wisdom and justice, this program invites you to walk that same human path. Through embodied practice, storytelling, reflection, and community connection, you’ll learn to bring the pāramīs to life in your everyday experience at work, in relationships, and in moments of challenge or joy.
Course Journey
Generosity as an act of trust, not transaction.
Practice: Offer presence, time, or care where you usually withhold.
Outcome: Experience giving as freedom from fear and isolation.
Integrity as care, not rule-following.
Practice: Choose one domain—speech, consumption, or relationship—and live it more truthfully.
Outcome: Feel how integrity grounds and regulates the heart.
Letting go is not loss—it’s liberation.
Practice: Release one habit or attachment that no longer serves your peace.
Outcome: Feel the spaciousness that comes from simplicity.
Wisdom arises from curiosity and humility.
Practice: Notice how reactivity clouds clarity; pause before interpreting.
Outcome: Let insight emerge through listening, not effort.
We’ll continue deepening Mindfulness of the Hindrances, learning skillful ways to meet them with curiosity and compassion.
Teachings on the Seven Factors of Awakening—mindfulness, investigation, energy, joy, tranquility, concentration, and equanimity—show how awareness naturally matures into wisdom and freedom.
Effort that’s balanced, joyful, and sustainable.
Practice: Identify one area where you can persevere with kindness instead of force.
Outcome: Develop vitality rooted in purpose, not striving.
You’ll learn how these core insights bring together everything you’ve practiced, revealing mindfulness as both the foundation and the flowering of the spiritual path.
Patience as radical compassion with time.
Practice: When impatience arises, breathe space into the moment.
Outcome: Learn to stay present through difficulty without collapse.
Honesty as liberation.
Practice: Speak one uncomfortable truth with love.
Outcome: Experience integrity as wholeness—the alignment of word, body, and heart.
Steadfastness without rigidity.
Practice: Name one vow of the heart and live it daily.
Outcome: Cultivate unshakable clarity grounded in care.
Love as radical belonging.
Practice: Extend kindness to someone difficult.
Outcome: Transform protection into connection.
Equanimity as love that has learned balance.
Practice: Notice when clinging or aversion pulls you off-center; return to breath.
Outcome: Care deeply without control—rest in the middle of life’s flow.
What You Will Get
10 Months
Monthly Live Sessions
Community Sangha Circles
What You Will Learn
A Map for the Human Journey
See the pāramīs as the Buddha’s compass for walking through the world.
Practice in the Body, Practice in Relation
Let each pāramī take shape through movement, connection, and presence.
Meeting Life with a Steady Heart
Learn to hold grief, joy, and uncertainty with compassion.
Practice Beyond the Cushion
Weave mindfulness into your work, your relationships, and your community.
Living from the Awakened Heart
Rest into generosity, truthfulness, and balance as everyday freedom.
Trusting Your Inner Knowing
Grow ethical clarity, courage, and confidence from the inside out.
Meet Your Teacher
Booker
Booker is a heart-centered, spirit-driven activist and meditation teacher committed to creating a culture of belonging through her teaching and writing. She trained at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in their Mindful Yoga and Meditation (2012), Community Dharma Leaders (2017), and Retreat Teacher training programs (2020). Outside of her formal training, she shared the practices of yoga and mindfulness with New York City’s most vulnerable populations for over a decade, and served as the Director of Trainings for Lineage Project for 10 years.
She spent many years sharing her expertise nationally as a guest lecturer at conferences such as Mind & Life Institute’s International Symposium, Wisdom 2.0, and Mindfulness in Education—expanding our vision around culturally responsive teaching, and changing the paradigm of self and community care. Booker has been a featured speaker and facilitator at the Fetzer Institute, Vassar, and Pitzer Colleges, and at the Contemplative Sciences Center at the University of Virginia. She’s especially passionate about supporting the sustainability of folks on the front lines including activists, organizers, and educators, and has trained future teachers through the Peace Corps’ Jaffe Fellows and Teaching Residents at Columbia University’s Teacher’s College
Booker collaborated with long time friends and co-conspirators to create the trauma-informed anthology Practicing Liberation: Transformative Strategies for Collective Healing & Systems Change, and its accompanying workbook for folks working towards social justice. Booker has also co-authored and contributed to several publications including Best Practices for Yoga in a Criminal Justice Setting, Georgetown Law’s Center on Poverty and Inequality’s report on Gender & Trauma: Somatic Interventions for Girls in Juvenile Justice, and Dr. Rima Vesely-Flad’s book Black Buddhists and the Black Radical Tradition. She is a co-founder of the Yoga Service Council at Omega Institute and the Meditation Working Group of Occupy Wall Street. In 2020 she was invited to be a Sojourner Truth Leadership Fellow through Auburn Seminary and was voted by her peers as one of the 12 Powerful Women in the Mindfulness Movement.
Booker moved to Philadelphia in August of 2020 to vote in a swing state, and currently serves as the Guiding Teacher of New York Insight.
Who This Program Is For
This course is for anyone longing to live with more steadiness, compassion, and integrity—on and off the cushion. Whether you’re new to the pāramīs or returning to them with fresh eyes, this journey welcomes you as you are.
It’s designed for practitioners who want teachings they can actually live: qualities that soften the heart, clarify the mind, and support wise action in a complex, interconnected world. If you’re navigating grief, burnout, transition, or uncertainty, the pāramīs offer a grounded, accessible path back to yourself.
It’s also for people drawn to embodied practice and relational learning. If you value community, honest reflection, and the kind of practice that reaches into your work, relationships, and daily life, you’ll feel at home here.
Activists, caregivers, clinicians, educators, spiritual seekers, and anyone committed to personal and collective liberation will find depth, belonging, and support in this course.
If your heart is asking for a steadier way to meet the world—this program is for you.
Course Promise
This isn’t a course about Buddhism—it’s a course about being human.
You’ll learn to move through the world with clarity, generosity, and courage—awake not only in meditation, but in conversation, conflict, and love.
“The pāramīs help us treat others the way we wish to be treated—
they make us trustworthy to ourselves.”– Booker
Begin Your Journey of Belonging and Liberation
The pāramīs are not ideas to admire—they are qualities you grow through practice, relationship, and community. If your heart is ready for a steadier, kinder, more grounded way of being in the world, this is your invitation.
Join us for this ten-month journey and discover what becomes possible when you walk the path together.
Begins February 20th, 2026
Register Now
Payment Plan
- Over 20 hours of LIVE Instruction
- Online learning community
- Lifetime access to the content
11 monthly payments of
$69
Full Payment
- Over 20 hours of LIVE Instruction
- Online learning community
- Lifetime access to the content
$699
- Scholarships are very limited and reserved for those who are truly experiencing financial hardship. Click here to apply.
Course Schedule
Monthly Sessions:
With instructions and discussion, 9:30 am – 11:30 am, PT. Sessions will be online and recorded.
- Friday, February 20
- Friday, March 20
- Friday, April 17
- Friday, May 15
- Friday, June 12
- Friday, July 10
- Friday, August 7
- Friday, September 11
- Friday, October 9
- Friday, November 6
- Friday, December 4
Course FAQ
Although our Programs are available on any device, we suggest using a computer (if possible) and Chrome or Firefox browser to log in: https://courses.spiritrock.org
Note: The login for our Online Learning Platform differs from your Spirit Rock login.
Accessing Your Program Page:
Click on it from your Dashboard after you’ve logged in. Once there, navigate through the sections on “My Courses” on the dashboard.
Are you logged in? Use the “log in” button on the top right of the page. This will give you the access you need to see all the content.
Although the Online Learning Platform works on mobile and tablet devices, for the best experience, use a desktop or laptop. This might be an easier way to find all the areas of the site as you are learning how it works.
The course is delivered LIVE online over a ten month period over Zoom.
If you notice a link, content, or anything that isn’t working properly, please email us at courses@spiritrock.org
Try refreshing your browser and check your internet connection. Check another website to see if it’s just our site or something in your system.
Yes, once you’ve completed the course, you will retain lifetime access to all course materials, allowing you to revisit lectures, exercises, and meditations whenever needed.
We would love for you and your Sangha to join as a group. Please complete this form to request group registration.
This course is about the Four Brahmavihāras (Metta, Karuna, Mudita, and Upekkha), which are Buddhist heart practices that cultivate love, compassion, joy, and balance. The course will provide practical meditation techniques and real-life applications to help participants develop these qualities in their lives.
Spirit Rock offers scholarships for those in need. If the course fees are a barrier, please complete the scholarship form HERE.
We understand that plans can change, and we’re here to help.
If you cancel before the course begins, we’ll issue a refund, minus a $25 cancellation fee.
If you cancel by end of day on February 13, we’ll refund your payment, less a $120 fee.
After February 13, we’re unable to offer refunds. Thank you for your understanding.
To cancel your registration, please email us at courses@spiritrock.org.
Although our Programs are available on any device, we suggest using a computer (if possible) and Chrome or Firefox browser to log in: https://courses.spiritrock.org
Note: The login for our Online Learning Platform differs from your Spirit Rock login.
Accessing Your Program Page:
Click on it from your Dashboard after you’ve logged in. Once there, navigate through the sections on “My Courses” on the dashboard.
Are you logged in? Use the “log in” button on the top right of the page. This will give you the access you need to see all the content.
Although the Online Learning Platform works on mobile and tablet devices, for the best experience, use a desktop or laptop. This might be an easier way to find all the areas of the site as you are learning how it works.
The course is delivered LIVE online over a ten month period over Zoom.
If you notice a link, content, or anything that isn’t working properly, please email us at courses@spiritrock.org
Try refreshing your browser and check your internet connection. Check another website to see if it’s just our site or something in your system.
Yes, once you’ve completed the course, you will retain lifetime access to all course materials, allowing you to revisit lectures, exercises, and meditations whenever needed.
We would love for you and your Sangha to join as a group. Please complete this form to request group registration.
Spirit Rock offers scholarships for those in need. If the course fees are a barrier, please complete the scholarship form HERE.
We understand that plans can change, and we’re here to help.
If you cancel before the course begins, we’ll issue a refund, minus a $25 cancellation fee.
If you cancel by end of day on February 13, we’ll refund your payment, less a $120 fee.
After February 13, we’re unable to offer refunds. Thank you for your understanding.
To cancel your registration, please email us at courses@spiritrock.org
Our Guarantee
Satisfaction Guaranteed
Please read our detailed refund policy in the FAQ above. For any questions or to request a refund, please contact us at courses@spiritrock.org.
Group Program
Join us on the transformative journey of Belonging, Courage and Love: Living the Pāramīs and save 15% when you sign up with a friend or group using the link below!
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At Spirit Rock, we embrace the latest technology to ensure our courses are delivered with the utmost security, allowing you to focus on your journey of mindfulness and inner peace.
