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Vipassana Nepalविपश्यना नेपाल

From Nepal, where the Buddha was born · for meditators everywhere

Learn Vipassana meditation and find a course

विपश्यना ध्यान सिक्नुहोस्, शिविर खोज्नुहोस्

Vipassana, or insight meditation, is the practice of observing your own body and mind until you see, directly, that everything in them changes. This guide explains what it is and how each tradition teaches it, introduces the teachers who kept it alive, and lists 314 centres in 44 countries.

Find a courseWhat is Vipassana meditation? Sit now
The white Maya Devi Temple at Lumbini reflected in the still water of the brick-lined sacred pond, with the Ashoka pillar at left
Maya Devi Temple and the sacred pond, Lumbini, Nepal. Photo: Rangan Datta Wiki, CC BY-SA 4.0
Centres listed
314
Countries
44
Traditions explained
10
Teachers
34

Start here

The essentials, in order

Short guides that build on each other: what Vipassana is, where it comes from, the teaching behind it, and what happens on a ten-day course.
All guides

  1. Part 1: What is Vipassana meditation?

    7 min read

  2. Part 2: The Buddha and the origins of Vipassana

    7 min read

  3. Part 3: How Vipassana survived

    8 min read

  4. Part 4: The three trainings: sīla, samādhi and paññā

    6 min read

  5. Part 5: The four foundations of mindfulness

    8 min read

  6. Part 6: Anicca, dukkha, anattā: impermanence, suffering and non-self

    7 min read

Where to learn

Centres in Nepal and around the world

Vipassana is learned on a residential course, usually ten days long. Pick a centre, then apply on its own website.
All centres

In Nepal

All 22 in Nepal

Techniques

One practice, several ways to teach it

Some traditions begin with the breath, some with the rise and fall of the abdomen, some with deep concentration first. All aim at the same insight.
Compare traditions

  • Goenka (U Ba Khin)

    Donation-funded 10-day courses taught with S. N. Goenka's recorded instructions, in the line of Sayagyi U Ba Khin, at centres in Nepal and worldwide.

    10-day course minimum (12 calendar days)

  • IMC (U Ba Khin)

    U Ba Khin's Vipassana as handed on by Mother Sayamagyi: 10-day courses with a live teacher, five days of Anapana and a suggested donation.

    10 days, Friday evening to Monday morning

  • Mahasi noting

    Mahasi Sayadaw's method of noting the rise and fall of the abdomen and whatever else arises, practised in silent retreats in Myanmar, Nepal and beyond.

    Individual stays, from a week to several months

  • Pa-Auk

    The Pa-Auk method from Myanmar trains deep concentration (jhāna) first, then detailed insight that follows the Visuddhimagga, in long stays at a monastery.

    Long-term residence; approval needed first

  • Sunlun

    A Burmese method of strong, rapid breathing and a fixed posture, then close attention to bodily sensation, above all pain, without mental labels.

    Format varies; ask the monastery

  • Mogok

    Mogok Sayadaw's Burmese method: learn dependent origination first, then watch feeling and mind arise and pass away in your own experience.

    Varies by centre; no English schedule found

Teachers

The people who kept it alive

From the Buddha, born in Lumbini, to the Burmese and Thai teachers who opened meditation to lay people, and those who carried it across the world.
All 34 teachers
  • Stone sculpture of the Buddha seated cross-legged in meditation, hands resting in his lap, from Hadda in ancient Gandhara, photographed against a dark grey background

    The Buddha (Siddhattha Gotama)

    c. 5th century BCE · Nepal / India

    The teacher whose instructions on mindfulness and insight are the source of every Vipassana tradition.

  • Historic black-and-white photograph of Ledi Sayadaw standing in dark robes and holding a staff

    Ledi Sayadaw

    1846–1923 · Myanmar

    Burmese monk-scholar who wrote Dhamma for ordinary readers and opened Vipassana practice to lay people.

  • Sayagyi U Ba Khin

    1899–1971 · Myanmar

    Accountant General of Burma and lay teacher who designed the ten-day Vipassana course and taught S. N. Goenka.

  • S. N. Goenka seated indoors, wearing glasses, a cream knitted cap, a white scarf and a dark coat, with a news microphone in front of him

    S. N. Goenka

    1924–2013 · Myanmar / India

    Burmese-born Indian teacher who took U Ba Khin's Vipassana to India in 1969 and spread free ten-day courses.

  • Hand-tinted portrait photograph of Mahasi Sayadaw seated in maroon robes, holding a round palm-leaf fan

    Mahasi Sayadaw

    1904–1982 · Myanmar

    Burmese scholar-monk whose method of mental noting spread insight meditation across Asia and the West.

  • Ajahn Chah

    1918–1992 · Thailand

    Thai forest master whose plain teaching and Western disciples carried the Forest tradition abroad

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From the blog

Articles

History, research, and practical advice for your first course and after.
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HealthResearch

विपश्यना के नुकसान और साइड इफ़ेक्ट: क्या विपश्यना ख़तरनाक है?

विपश्यना के नुकसान (Vipassana side effects): गहन शिविर में कठिन अनुभवों पर शोध, शरीर का दर्द, किसे पहले डॉक्टर से पूछना चाहिए और शिविर में क्या करें।

· 9 min read