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Dharma of Resistance: FAQ

This is the list of Frequently Asked Questions pertaining to Dharma of Resistance.

General

Yes. Given that the emphasis of this course is on relationships and how they can heal and empower us, we will not be able to accept your applications unless you apply as a group of at least 3.

A small group of 5-7 people will be required to meet at least once between formal sessions. In totality, the small groups (called minipods) will meet independently at least 14 times between May and November. All team members will be the same minipod but a minipod might have members that are not in your team. The memberships of small pods will be decided after the first session on May 1st. Once the membership of these small groups is finalized, we will let the members of the small groups decide when they want to meet.

Without exception, everyone is invited to apply for this course, especially if the individual(s) convening your group is/are familiar with Buddhist teachings. The course materials will draw from Buddhist teachings, Gandhian/Kingian Nonviolence philosophy, neurobiology and psychology of trauma as well as social permaculture. Our only criteria for participation with others is that you engage the material with a sense of curiosity and thoroughly respect differing points of view.

You do not need to have prior experience with direct action. Applicants should have a curiosity about the vital role of direct action in social change and a willingness to take part in the future as a team.

If your team wants to deepen the level of trust between team members and is open to learning about the vital role of direct action in social change, this course would be a good fit for you even if you are not focussed on climate actions.

Your registration includes access to all session materials on the Course Resources page: session videos, “homework” to prepare you for the formal and informal sessions, practices, and optional follow-up resources. All course materials will be available indefinitely to registered participants.

Accessing live and recorded sessions

We hope that everyone will commit to being an active participant in all 15 sessions.  However, we understand that life can be unpredictable. Each live session will be recorded and available for 1-2 weeks, so that all participants will have the opportunity to experience the full benefits of the course even if they miss a session or two.

Once you’ve registered, you’ll have access to our Course Resources page where all materials, including the recorded session videos, will be available. The recordings will only be available for a week because we want to ensure that everyone will catch up with the discussion before their homework is due.

We request that you don’t share any of the course materials with anyone who is not registered. We intend to make these materials available to the public in some form at an appropriate time, and we ask for your help enabling us to ensure they are presented carefully and only with the full context provided by our course instructors. However, we do not turn anyone away due to lack of funds.

For Zoom related questions, please shut down and restart your computer and check this page. Since recorded videos are such large files, they’re especially vulnerable to any network interruptions. Try replaying the session again as a new file.

Unfortunately, the videos will not be available for download. We intend to release a video version of this material in the future.

Registration Fees and Dana

We do not wish for anyone to be turned away from this course for lack of finances. If you cannot afford the lowest tier, we first ask you to come up with a plan to raise funds from your existing networks. This could mean being courageous and discussing your financial needs with your team or larger sangha to see if others can support your registration. It is likely that there are people you know who would eagerly support your education if given the opportunity on a platform like GoFundMe. If this kind of community support is not possible, we will waive the registration fee for you.

The main way to contribute is to select the highest registration tier you can sustainably afford. Throughout the course, we invite you to engage in the practice of Dana, or generosity, to support the behind the scenes work of One Earth Sangha. Each individual session page provides a link to make a donation.

Taking this course as a Team

We request that every individual who wishes to participate both apply and, when their application is accepted, register for the course. We will not approve your team until we receive at least three applications. If anyone lacks financial means and cannot arrange support from your team and/or sangha, we are providing a waiver.

You can share the public landing page of the course as a starting point for spreading the word about the course. We strongly recommend sending personal invitations to individuals you already know, care about and trust with respect to their socio-political leanings. 

Please enter a process of mutual discernment with your potential team members. Consider ability to meet in person after the pandemic is over. It is not essential but geographic proximity to your team members will help you in planning actions in the future. It will definitely help if all team members are passionate about disrupting the status quo wrt a specific issue (e.g., fossil fuel industry, racial violence, gun violence). 

We will post homework and informal gathering facilitation guidelines before every such gathering.

Please bring this course up in your sangha, family and local community through social media or otherwise. Most friendships start because of common shared interests. In this case, you are inviting people to join you in a journey that combines deep interest in Buddhism, Permaculture or Gandhian-Kingian Nonviolence with a deep longing to take meaningful collective actions for climate or social justice as an empowered group of friends. 

Between three and seven. This means that in addition to yourself, we should receive applications from two other people before your application can be approved. 

Other Questions

We have a small staff of volunteers doing our best, and will try to answer all of the e-mails we are receiving. We ask that you check this FAQ and the discussion forums and only if your question isn’t answered there, send us your question at with “Dharma of Resistance” in the subject line and we’ll do our best to get back to you.