Chattha Sangayana CD - Vipassana Research Institute
Preface

Vipassana meditation is the quintessence of Buddha's teaching. It is a technique of self-observation, an objective observation of the mind-body phenomena with a view to achieving purification of mind which leads to total eradication of mental defilements and inculcates such wholesome qualities as loving-kindness, equanimity, sympathetic joy and compassion. The technique is simple, scientific, universal and available to all irrespective of caste, creed, nationality or beliefs.

For the practice of Vipassana meditation a quiet and congenial environment is an important requirement. When Sayagyi U Ba Khin, the most distinguished world teacher of Vipassana, established the first Vipassana meditation centre in Yangon (Rangoon) in Myanmar (Burma) he conceived a novel idea of building a hollow pagoda with cells inside for individual meditation.

India lost the technique about 500 years after Buddha's passing away, but fortunately it was preserved in its pristine purity by a chain of dedicated teachers in the neighbouring country of Myanmar. Sayagyi U Ba Khin received Vipassana in this lineage. He deeply felt that Myanmar owed a debt to India in receiving the precious gem of Vipassana Dhamma from India. India needed it, indeed, the whole world needed it!

S. N. Goenka, then a citizen of Myanmar, took his first Vipassana course from Sayagyi in 1955. Sayagyi trained him for several years and prepared him for his mission. Goenkaji came to India, the land of his forefathers, in 1969 and started teaching Vipassana meditation in makeshift campsites.  In 1976, the first Vipassana centre, the Vipassana International Academy, was established at Igatpuri in Maharashtra. Campsite courses (non-centre courses) continue to grow as do the established centres in India and abroad. People from all walks of life throng to these courses to receive the nectar of Dhamma. People from more than ninety different countries have participated in Vipassana courses. Goenkaji has set in motion the wheel of Dhamma, which once again has started rotating in the country of its origin.

Ten-day residential Vipassana courses are organised for new students. As a student becomes more established in the technique, more serious courses of Satipaµµh±na are offered, as well as long duration courses of 20, 30 and 45 days.  In addition, Anapana courses are held for children of eight to fifteen years of age.

Vipassana centres provide an institutional framework and environment for the practice and training of Vipassana meditation. Goenkaji has laid down guidelines for their maintenance and management. The guidelines are:

 The centre should confine itself to the practice and training of Vipassana only. No other activity, however wholesome, is permissible.

 The location and the layout of the centre should be conducive for serious meditation.

 The purity of a Dhamma environment should be maintained at all times.

 No fee should be charged for the course from the students including board and lodging.

 Donations should be accepted from grateful students only.

 No teacher imparting teaching in Vipassana should receive any remuneration. Selfless service, without expecting anything in return, is the basic principle.

 Members of trusts and managing committees should receive no remuneration.

With the above background, and the informative account that follows about the centres, we hope that readers will learn about the centres, the spread of Dhamma and the benefit the technique provides, here and now.

Vipassana Research Institute

Dhamma Giri, Igatpuri-422 403, India

INDEX

Nepal

 Dharmaœriªga, Nepal

Dhamma Janan², Nepal

uldb Dhamma Tar±i, Nepal

East and Southeast Asia

Dhamma K³µa, Sri Lanka

Dhamma Joti, Myanmar

Dhamma Ratana, Myanmar

Dhamma Maº¹ala, Myanmar

Dhamma Makuµa, Myanmar

Dhamma Maº¹apa, Myanmar

Dhamma Suvaººa, Thailand

Dhamma Kamala, Thailand

Dhamma ¾bh±, Thailand

Dhamma Kamboja, Cambodia

Dhamma Aªkura, Cambodia

Dhammodaya, Taiwan

Dhamma Maªgala, Mongolia

Dhamma Bh±nu, Japan

Dharmaœriªga

Nepal Vipassana Centre

Muhan Pokhari, Budhanilakanth, GPO Box 12896, Kathamandu, NEPAL

Tel: [977] (01) 371 655, 371 007

City Office address:Jyoti Bhawan, GPO Box 133, Kantipath, Kathmandu

Tel: 250 581, 225 490, 223 968; Fax: 224 720, 226 314

e-mail: rjyoti@jyotib.mos.com.np

Dharmaœriªga (Summit of Dhamma), the Nepal Centre, was founded in April, 1981. The centre is located in the village of Budhanilkanth, in the foothills of the Himalayas at the northern end of the Kathmandu valley.

The property currently comprises four to five acres with the north side bordered by the Shivapuri Wildlife Reserve. This site is accessible to cars by a paved road but the public bus comes to the small town at the foot of Shivapuri hill; from there it is a thirty-minute walk up to the centre. The remoteness of the centre enhances its meditative atmosphere. A chartered bus takes meditators to the centre for courses and every Saturday for the weekly group sitting.

 Ten-day courses are conducted twice a month, with periodic Satipaµµh±na courses. There are currently three Dhamma halls, kitchen, dining halls and full accommodation for nearly two hundred students. Twenty-five meditation cells were built in 1990. Immediate plans call for the construction of a new Dhamma hall, additional cells and a pagoda-shaped roof for the cell complex.

There is great enthusiasm for Vipassana in Nepal, the birthplace of Buddha. Although there were fewer than thirty old students in Nepal when Goenkaji gave his first course in 1981, the course was attended by two hundred and forty three students. Now more than fifteen hundred people attend courses at Dharmaœriªga in a year.

Dharmaœhriªga has three Dhamma Halls spread over two centres. Hall 1 and 2 are part of the first centre and have a seating capacity of approximately one hundred and twenty and forty meditators respectively. Seventy-five male and seventy-five female students can be accommodated at one time. Ten-day courses are conducted here.

Dhamma Hall 3, with a capacity of sixty students, is located in the second centre. It has its own dining hall and accommodation comprising of units with bath and meditation cells for twenty-one male and sixteen female students. Special courses are conducted at this centre. Dharmaœriªga held its first 30-day course in July 1997.

Dhamma Tar±i

Parwanipur, Birganj, NEPAL

Contact Address: Bhajuratna Pharma, Shreepur, Birganj, NEPAL

Tel: [977] (051) 21426; Fax: [977] (051) 22793

Dhamma Tar±i (Dhamma at the Tar±i region of the Himalayas) is located in Birganj in Nepal, just beyond the Indian border (near Raxaul, Bihar). Here lies eight acres of prized land. An additional four to five acres of land have been acquired.

A Dhamma Hall with a capacity of about sixty to eighty students is under construction. Twin-accommodation with attached bathrooms is there for twelve male and ten female meditators. Plans are afoot for a dining hall and kitchen as well.

Dhamma Janan²

Lumbini Vipassana Centre

Off: Jyoti Bhavan, Kantipath, PO Box 133, Kathmandu, NEPAL

Tel: [977] (01) 225 490, 225 230; Fax: [977] (01) 223 067

Dhamma Janan² (Mother of Dhamma) is located in Lumbini. In 624 B.C., Mah±m±y±, the chief queen of the S±kyan king Suddhodana, gave birth to a son under a s±la tree in the Lumbini grove. This child, Siddhattha, went on to become the Buddha-the Enlightened One.

King Ashoka visited this sacred place and erected a pillar during his rule with details of his visit inscribed on it. This has helped in identifying the birth-place of the Buddha.

The Nepal Government has allotted three acres of land just outside the sacred zone of Lumbini for the centre. The first ten day course at the centre was held in September, 1995.

Dhamma K³µa

Vipassana Centre, Mowbray, Hindagala, Peradeniya, Tel: Office: 070-800057

Contact Address: 262 Katugastota Rd, Kandy, SRI LANKA

Tel: [94] (08) 234649; Fax: c/o (01) 573 054 (Mr Brindley Ratwatte)

Dhamma K³µa (Pinnacle of Dhamma) is situated in the central disrtrict of Kandy, about 7 km from the Peradeniya junction. The thirteen acres of high terraced land, purchased in December 1991, were at one time a tea plantation and at an elevation of 3,400 feet above sea level, the centre commands a panoramic view-and the sight of the famous Adam's peak in the distance is awe-inspiring.

Initially a program of forestation and road construction was undertaken, then a building program was started in June 1992.

Spread over thirteen acres of land, facilities include a large octagonal hall with a capacity of more than two hundred students. The centre also has a Teacher's residence, a dining hall with pantry, kitchen, stores and dormitories. Construction is of stone and brick. Comfortable accommodation in a cluster of rooms and dormitories for 200 meditators has been built, with separate accommodation for old students. Modern amenities of water service with drainage and hot water have been provided for forty males and fifty-five female quarters. Separate quarters for a limited number of monks are also available. Plans are being finalised for an office and library complex and work should commence before the end of 1997. There are beautiful sites on the land for future development.

The first ten-day course was conducted by Goenkaji and Mataji in April 1994. Ten-day courses are now held every month. In 1995, twenty-eight cells were constructed and serious old students' courses were started.

Dhamma Joti

Vipassana Meditation Centre

Wingaba Yele Kyaung, Nga Htat Gyi Pagoda Rd.,

Bahan Township,  Yangon, MYANMAR (Burma)

Tel: [0095] (01) 549290

Office: 1) 134, Shwebontha Street, Yangon, Myanmar

Tel: [0095] (01) 72467, 248 174, 248 175; Fax: 289 965

2) Bandool Intl. Ltd., 299, Bosundat Street, Yangon, Myanmar

Tel: Res. [95] (01) 524 983; Office: 281 277

Dhamma Joti (Light of Dhamma, Star of Dhamma) is located in Northern Yangon (Rangoon). The centre in Yangon built by Goenkaji's teacher, Sayagyi U Ba Khin, still holds regular courses, but a larger site was needed to meet the demand of an increasing number of students. The strength of that demand became evident when Goenkaji returned for visits to Myanmar (Burma), starting in 1990. He had left Myanmar, the land of his birth, in 1969, to take up the task of spreading Vipassana around the world.

When Goenkaji came back to Myanmar he was received with great enthusiasm, and d±na (donation) was soon offered for a permanent site at which to conduct Vipassana courses.

Dhamma Joti was opened in October 1993 with a formal ceremony at which Goenkaji expressed his gratitude to Myanmar for maintaining Dhamma in its pristine purity, both in paµipatti, the practice, and in pariyatti, the theory. The next day the first course began in the presence of Goenkaji and Mataji. In each of the first three courses, more than 150 students participated, an auspicious beginning for the new centre. Since then courses have been held regularly, one or two each month.

The centre consists of about twelve acres of land, one third of which is a pond which borders the centre land on three sides. The construction of the initial buildings was completed in seven months. There are two double-story wooden dormitories for eighty men and 100 women. The attractive Dhamma hall seats about 170 students. The two dining halls are beneath the Dhamma hall. There is also a Teacher's residence. A wooden footbridge over the pond links a gate house to the reception area. There are also plans for an improved kitchen, individual accommodation for serious courses, and eventually a pagoda with cells.

Dhamma Ratana

Okpo Monastery, Myoma Qr., Mogok, MYANMAR.

Contact: U Kan Hla, Phone: 0959-60704, 60498

Dhamma Ratana (Jewel of Dhamma) is located in Mogok about 240 km from Mandalay. Mogok is famous for a variety of precious stones especially for rubies. The centre has grown rapidly since its establishment in 1998. It has already hosted more than thirty ten-day courses. The people of the land of rubies are eagerly embracing the jewel of Dhamma.

The area has many mountains and flat land is scarce.

The centre is built on two acres of land. The buildings include two storey buildings that contain Dhamma Hall, Teacher's residence, men's dormitory, women's dormitory and a single storey building of kitchen. The centre has the capacity of eighty.

Dhamma Makuµa

Mogok, MYANMAR

Dhamma Makuµa means the crest of Dhamma. In order to cater to increasing demand in Mogok area land has been purchased on the hill of Minn Ta Tar Qr. This 25 acre property will allow construction of a facility for 250 students. Contact address is same as that of Dhamma Ratana.

Dhamma Maº¹ala

Mandalay, MYANMAR

Dhamma Maº¹ala (Circle of Dhamma) a piece of land for another centre is located near Mandalay city. Construction work is expected to begin soon.

Dhamma Maº¹ala is four miles away from Mandalay, the birth place of Goenkaji. It is situated near the foothill of Yetagun (Waterfall) mountain. It was donated on request of an elder monk from Yetagun mountain. The 8.65 acre property is bordered by mountains on three sides. Contact address is same as Dhamma Maº¹apa.

Dhamma Maº¹apa

Contact:

Dhamma Maº¹apa Centre, near Mandalay Arts and Science University

Bhamo Monastic Compound, 39th St., Mahar Aung Mye Tsp.,

Mandalay, MYANMAR

or  Dr. Soe Aye, Phone 0095234854

Dhamma Maº¹apa (Pavilion of Dhamma) is located in the ancient capital city of Mandalay, in Myanmar. Mandalay is also the birth place of Goenkaji.

The centre can accommodate upto 100 meditators.

The centre though recently established is already hosting ten-day courses, Satipaµµh±na courses and Children's Anapana courses. It also hosts ten-day courses exclusively for bhikkhus.

There is increasing enthusiasm for Vipassana in the land of Sayagyi U Ba Khin and the chain of teachers before him who preserved the Dhamma in its pristine purity.

Dhamma Suvaººa

Contact address:  929 Rama 1 Road, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330, THAILAND

e-mail <sutthi@ksc.th.com>

This  20 acre property is named Dhamma Suvaººa (Golden Dhamma) by Goenkaji after Suvaºº±bh³mi, an ancient land where Dhamma prospered.  It is located near the Thai-Myanmar border at a high elevation in a wooded area of the city of Chumporn in Southern Thailand.  The beautiful beaches along the gulf of Thailand are not too far away. Construction will begin when sufficient funds are available.

Dhamma Kamala

Thailand Vipassana Centre

200 Baan Nerrnpasuk, Tambon Dongkeelek,

 Maung District, Prachinburi 25000. Tel/Fax: [66] (037) 403 515

Contact Address: 65/15 Soi 1 Chaengwattana Road, Bangkok 10210, THAILAND

Tel: [66] (02) 552 1731, 521 0392; Fax: [66] (02) 552 1753

Dhamma Kamala (Lotus of Dhamma), a centre in Thailand, was purchased in 1991 in a quiet rural area about three hours from Bangkok, in Prachinburi province. The land was previously used for growing rice, and is surrounded by open farmland, fruit orchards and bamboo plantations.

Development of the centre started in 1992. Initially, a canal was excavated around the perimeter of the land to provide a barrier against flooding. The canal has become a lotus pond in keeping with the name given to the centre. The first course was held in November 1992 and Goenkaji and Mataji came to conduct a course in September 1993.

Being on a flat piece of land, the centre has a well laid-out design. The architecture is modern Thai. In July 1998, a spacious cell complex a new pagoda complex with forty-eight cells and a spacious new Dhamma hall were inaugurated by Goenkaji during the first 30-day course. When complete, a total of 120 cells will be in use. The buildings lie in the midst of a large garden with areas for walking and relaxation.

Other current facilities include five dormitories, a temporary meditation hall, a Teacher's residence and a large multi-function building which is used as an administrative office, storage and Dhamma workers' quarters. With these facilities, the centre can accommodate up to ninety students.

Dhamma ¾bh±

138 Moo 3, Baan Hauyplu, Subpraiwan, Wangthong,

Phitsanulok 65220, THAILAND.  e-mail <sutthi@ksc.th.com>

Dhamma ¾bh± (Splendour of Dhamma) is  50 km from Phitsanulok, a city of historical significance and an administrative centre of the lower northern region of Thailand.  The second operating centre in the country, its first course was held in July 1999.

Located within a 40 acre piece of secluded property surrounded by scenic mountain range, the centre occupies 14 acres of land. Approximately 150 houses will be built on the remaining land surrounding the centre and offered to serious vipassana meditators for a lifetime stay. This is to raise fund for the development of the centre as well as to protect the Dhamma environment.   Current facilities include comfortable accommodations with a solar power system for hot water for 26 males, 52 females, a Meditation Hall, a Teacher's residence, a kitchen, a dining hall, a Manager's cottage and one Dhamma Worker's cottage.  Monthly 10 day courses are offered regularly. To apply for courses contact<pornphen@bkk.a-net.net.th>

Dhamma Kamboja

Cambodia Vipassana Centre

Next to Kompong Ko Buddhist Temple, Dist. Koh Thom,

Kandol province, PO Box 867, Phnom Penh 3, CAMBODIA.

Tel & Fax: c/o [855] (23) 26594

Dhamma Kamboja (Dhamma in Kamboja-Pali for Cambodia) is located on an island in the Bassac river, about 40 km south of Phnom Penh. The site covers five acres, planted with mango trees, palms, khaki, coconut, banana and jackfruit trees, as well as many colourful shrubs and flowers. Two water lily and lotus ponds edge the main entrance and the end of the centre.

The Dhamma hall is constructed of brick and concrete with a high arched roof for ventilation, and seats about 125 students. The dormitories are simple thatch structures. Courses have been conducted at Dhamma Kamboja since 1995, and currently there are about ten courses a year. Goenkaji and Mataji visited the centre in 1998 and conducted a group sitting for old students.

Over the longer term, there are plans to relocate to a site more accessible to Phnom Penh. Land has been obtained for a new centre just twenty minutes from Phnom Penh, and construction will start when sufficient funds are available.

In central Phnom Penh itself, there is a large two-storey central office located inside a Wat compound. It includes a library, meeting room and large group sitting hall for seventy-five students. The compound has accommodation for Teachers, Bhikkhus and Dhamma workers.

There is so much enthusiasm in the meditators of that country that in spite of financial/economic difficulties and many other difficulites, two more centres are being constructed there.

Dhamma Aªkura

International Vipassana Centre of Cambodia (IVCC). Nº 13, Wat Unalom, Phnom Penh, CAMBODIA

Tel: 855-23 210 850. P.O.Box 867, Phnom Penh 3, Cambodia. Email: ivcc@forum.org.kh

Or call Sheryl Keller, 855-12 851 770

Dhamma Aªkura (Bud of Dhamma) comprises 200 square metres of mango orchard land in Kandieng District, Pursat Province, on the highway between Phnom Penh and the Thai border in Cambodia. The construction on this land has not yet begun.

Dhammodaya

Taiwan Vipassana Centre

No. 35, Lane 280, Chung-Ho Street, Section 2, Ta-Nan, Hsin She,

Taichung 426, P.O Box No. 21, TAIWAN.

Tel: [886] (04) 581 4265, 582 3932   Fax: [886] (04) 581 1503

 e-mail: tvc@tpts6.seed.net.tw or shih@mail.tku.edu.tw

Website: www.dhamma.org.tw

Dhammodaya (Ascent of Dhamma) is a temporary facility located in the hills of central Taiwan, forty minutes from the busy city of Taichung. It is situated in a picturesque rural valley and is surrounded by banana, plum, loquat and orange orchards.

The modern comfortable house is used for female accommodation, and a temporary building has been constructed for the kitchen, dining room and male dormitories. A large workshop has been converted into a meditation hall seating eighty people.

In August 1998, Goenkaji and Mataji visited the centre to give mett± on the last day of a three day old students' course. During the past two years, two courses a month have been conducted in Mandarin and English. The ten-day course discourses are available in Hakka and Cantonese. Search is on for a suitable land for a permanent centre.

Dhamma Maªgala

Mongolia Vipassana Meditation Centre

Contact: Mongolian Medical Centre, Ulaanbaater, Songino Hairhan Duureg,

MONGOLIA 21/832. Tel: [00] (976) 682 636, 368 064. Fax:  681 176

Dhamma Maªgala (Auspicious Dhamma) is established near the city of Ulaanbaater. More than 200 students participated in each of the first two courses held in 1997 in a campsite in Mongolia. These two courses generated so much enthusiasm for Dhamma that it was decided to establish a centre immediately. Ten-day, Satipaµµh±na and twenty-day courses are now held at the centre.

Dhamma Bh±nu

Japan Vipassana Centre

Mizuho-cho, Funai-gun, Kyoto 622-03, JAPAN

Tel: [81] (0771) 860765

e-mail: info@bhanu.dhamma.org

Dhamma Bh±nu (Radiance of Dhamma), the Japan Vipassana Meditation Centre, was purchased in January 1989. Dhamma Bh±nu is in a peaceful, secluded, but not-too-remote valley. It is two hours journey from the large population centres of Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe. Land in Japan is very expensive, so at first only two-thirds of an acre was purchased; in January 1991 another half acre of terraced land was added.

An international group of meditators built the facilities for seventy students, with very little outside professional help. The main structural work was completed in just four months. It consists of a large, two-story cedar-clad building which houses the Dhamma hall, male and female accommodation, and a separate kitchen/dining building. The work of building a meditation centre from scratch was an immensely rewarding experience for the community of meditators who took part. Landscaping began in the spring of 1990. The advice of a Japanese landscape designer has helped to create an attractive, spacious feeling within the limited space of the centre.

Goenkaji inaugurated Dhamma Bh±nu with a three-day course for old students in September 1989, and visited again two years later to conduct the first half of a ten-day course. In the first years, six ten-day courses a year were held, but since 1992 at least one course per month has been scheduled. Among the students who come to the centre, approximately seventy percent are Japanese with the remaining thirty percent representing many other countries. All courses are bilingual, in Japanese and English.