Started in November 2010, the Talking Dharma Project is a grassroots initiative of the Contemplative Order of Compassion – a postdenominational, non-sectarian intentional community of contemplative secular humanists – as a means of bringing the teaching of Khenpo Gurudas Sunyatananda to a broader, global audience.

Khenpo Gurudas Sunyatananda – an ordained Buddhist lama and Franciscan contemplative, who is also a semi-retired Eastern Catholic (autocephalous) bishop – calls his teaching “the Dharma of Compassion”. His teaching is a correlation of the laws of science, the wisdom of Buddhist philosophy, New Thought spirituality, and the timeless insights of the Great Wisdom Teachers: Sakyamuni, Rav Yeshua ben Yusef (Jesus the Nazarene), Rav Hillel, Je Tsongkhapa, Francis  of Assisi, Rumi, Kyabje Pabongkapa Rinpoche Dechen Nyingpo and Neem Karoli Baba.

It is a teaching, as the name implies, guided by the principles of compassion and wisdom (the heart of Bodhicitta), made accessible and relevant to the needs and aspirations of humankind. The Dharma of Compassion is a practical teaching — radically inclusive, dedicated to social justice, service to others, and alleviating the suffering of all sentient beings.

Over the past 30 years, Khenpo Gurudas Sunyatananda (who was known during his time as a Catholic bishop as Archbishop F. Francis-Maria G. Salvato of the Immaculata) has helped and guided thousands of men and women who seek a means of creating a happier, healthier and more spiritually balanced life, without the superstitions, primitive ideologies or dogmatic restrictions of institutional religion and theistic spirituality.

The Talking Dharma Project, under the guidance and oversight of Khenpo, envisions and is working toward the creation of an international distance learning centre and institute, where students from the age of seven onward can receive a balanced academic and spiritual education, guided by the principles of the Dharma, and enriched by a cultural and spiritual diversity unsurpassed in today’s sectarian society.

We welcome those individuals, groups and corporations who might be interested in becoming involved, and helping us to make this vision a reality. For more information, please contact Ani Ramapriya at the Contemplative Order of Compassion’s Development Office: development@dharmadudeunplugged.com.