PracticeHealth
Life after a Vipassana course: the first weeks back
Life after a Vipassana course: the first day home, the practice old students are asked to keep, after-effects research reports, and when to see a doctor.
· 9 min read
Blog
Articles on Vipassana
History, research, the places connected with the Buddha, and practical advice for your first course and after.
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
CoursesResearch
Is Vipassana worth it? Costs, evidence and who it's not for
Is Vipassana worth it? What a 10-day course costs, what studies and participants report, who it may not suit, and other ways to start.
· 9 min read
CoursesPractice
What is a silent retreat? Noble silence and who it suits
A silent retreat means days of meditation without talking. What noble silence means in each tradition, a typical day, length, cost and who it suits.
· 9 min read
PracticeTraditions
Yoga and meditation: the difference, and yoga vs Vipassana
Yoga and meditation overlap: in Patañjali's Yoga Sūtras, meditation is one of yoga's eight limbs. How they differ, and how yoga relates to Vipassana.
· 9 min read
PracticeTraditions
Mindfulness vs meditation, and where Vipassana fits
Mindfulness vs meditation: meditation is a family of practices; mindfulness is a quality of mind and a secular programme. Where Vipassana fits in.
· 9 min read
PlacesCourses
Dhamma Giri, Igatpuri: the Vipassana International Academy
Dhamma Giri at Igatpuri, near Mumbai, is the Vipassana International Academy: its history since 1976, the pagoda, courses, applying and getting there.
· 9 min read
PlacesHistory
Global Vipassana Pagoda, Mumbai: history, dome and how to visit
The Global Vipassana Pagoda at Gorai, Mumbai: why S. N. Goenka built it, how its pillarless stone dome was made, and how to visit, meditate and get there.
· 8 min read
Practice
How to start Vipassana meditation: first steps for beginners
Vipassana is learned on a residential course. How beginners can start now with breath awareness and walking, then choose and book a first course.
· 6 min read
Courses
Is Vipassana free? How much a 10-day course costs
Goenka's 10-day Vipassana courses charge nothing for teaching, food or lodging. What you still pay for, who may donate, and what other traditions charge.
· 5 min read
BuddhismHistory
The Buddha and His Dhamma: Dr B. R. Ambedkar's book explained
Ambedkar's last book, published in 1957 after his death: what it says, how it reads the Buddha, its Marathi and Hindi editions, and where to read it free.
· 7 min read
Buddhism
The Dhammapada: the Buddha's verses on the path, explained
The Dhammapada is a Pali collection of 423 verses attributed to the Buddha. What it contains, how it was compiled, famous verses and where to read it free.
· 7 min read
CoursesPlaces
Vipassana centres in India by state: phone, email and websites
144 Vipassana centres and course sites in India, grouped by state, with the phone number, email and website each one publishes, and how to apply.
· 2 min read
NepalCourses
Vipassana centres in Nepal: phone numbers, emails and websites
Every Vipassana centre in Nepal with its phone number, email and website, grouped by province, plus the Kathmandu city office and how to apply.
· 2 min read
Courses
Vipassana course types: 10-day, 3-day, 1-day and long courses
Every course type in S. N. Goenka's tradition and who can join: 10-day, 1 to 3-day, Satipatthana, special 10-day, 20 to 60-day, teens and executives.
· 8 min read
Buddhism
What is Dhamma? The meaning of Dhamma in Buddhism
Dhamma, Sanskrit dharma, is the Buddha's teaching and the truth it points to. Its main meanings, the three jewels, and how it differs from Hindu dharma.
· 7 min read
Practice
विपश्यना (Vipassana) क्या है? अर्थ, अभ्यास और 10 दिन का शिविर
Vipassana in Hindi: विपश्यना बुद्ध की शिक्षा से आई ध्यान विधि है, जिसमें शरीर और मन के अनुभव बिना प्रतिक्रिया के देखे जाते हैं। अर्थ, अभ्यास और शिविर।
· 7 min read
Courses
विपश्यना का 10 दिन का शिविर: दिन-प्रतिदिन क्या होता है
गोयनका परंपरा के 10 दिन के विपश्यना शिविर में क्या होता है: आचार संहिता, सुबह 4 बजे से रात 9:30 तक की समय-सारणी, हर दिन का क्रम और दान।
· 9 min read
NepalPractice
विपश्यना के हो? सरल भाषामा परिचय
विपश्यना बुद्धको शिक्षाबाट आएको ध्यान हो, जसमा आफ्नै शरीर र मनलाई प्रतिक्रिया नगरी हेरिन्छ। यसको अर्थ, १० दिने निःशुल्क शिविर र नेपालका केन्द्रबारे।
· 5 min read
Traditions
Famous people who have practised Vipassana, in their own words
Yuval Noah Harari, Jack Dorsey, Kiran Bedi and Richard Davidson are among the famous people who have practised Vipassana. What each said, and where.
· 6 min read
Practice
Guided Vipassana audio and online courses: what is available
In Goenka's tradition Vipassana is taught only on residential courses. What official audio exists, what other traditions teach online, and where to start.
· 6 min read
CoursesPractice
Official Vipassana website, app and social media: spot fakes
The official Vipassana website is dhamma.org, where every Goenka course is listed and booked free. The official apps, social accounts and signs of a fake.
· 6 min read
Traditions
Osho Vipassana, Art of Living, Sadhguru and yoga: how they differ
How Osho's Vipassana, the Art of Living, Sadhguru's Isha and yoga differ from Buddhist Vipassana, in each organisation's own words.
· 6 min read
HistoryResearch
The Tihar Jail Vipassana story: 1,000 prisoners on one course
In April 1994 more than 1,000 Tihar Jail prisoners sat a 10-day Vipassana course with S. N. Goenka. How it came about, what was said and what followed.
· 10 min read
CoursesResearch
Vipassana for professionals: executive courses and the evidence
Executive courses teach the same 10-day Vipassana with extra talks on work. Where they run, what professionals said, and how thin the evidence is.
· 7 min read
CoursesResearch
Vipassana for students: courses for children, teens and schools
Children learn Anapana on free 1 to 3-day courses, 15 to 19-year-olds can take a 7-day Vipassana course, and Maharashtra teaches Anapana in schools.
· 8 min read
HistoryCourses
Vipassana in government and police: leave and training in India
Indian states that give officials paid leave for a 10-day Vipassana course, how police and civil service training used it, and why Nepal has no such rule.
· 7 min read
ResearchHealth
विपश्यना के फ़ायदे: शोध क्या कहता है (और क्या नहीं)
शोध में 10 दिन के विपश्यना शिविर के बाद कम तनाव और बेहतर मनःस्थिति दिखी, पर अध्ययन छोटे हैं। क्या साबित है, क्या नहीं, और किसे पहले डॉक्टर से मिलना चाहिए।
· 7 min read
Courses
विपश्यना शिविर में कैसे जाएँ: आवेदन, तैयारी और भारत के केंद्र
विपश्यना शिविर के लिए dhamma.org या schedule.vridhamma.org पर ऑनलाइन आवेदन करें, ईमेल का इंतज़ार करें और जगह पक्की करें। तैयारी, सामान और भारत के केंद्र।
· 8 min read
CoursesNepal
How to join a Vipassana course in Nepal
Choosing one of Nepal's 20 Goenka-tradition centres, applying online, the Kathmandu city office, languages, costs and the Mahasi-tradition alternatives.
· 9 min read
HealthCourses
Difficult experiences on meditation retreats: what the research shows
What studies found about distressing experiences during and after intensive meditation, who may be more at risk, and why organisers ask about health.
· 7 min read
TraditionsPractice
Goenka and Mahasi: two Burmese ways of teaching Vipassana
S. N. Goenka's 10-day courses and Mahasi Sayadaw's noting retreats compared: the first object, labels, walking, retreat format, rules and maps of progress.
· 9 min read
PlacesNepal
Lumbini and the Buddha's places in Nepal
Lumbini, Tilaurakot (Kapilavastu), Ramagrama and Devadaha: what stands at each site, what is known about it, and the meditation centres nearby.
· 7 min read
HistoryNepal
Vipassana in Nepal: a short history
From a 1975 course at the Indian border to 20 centres in all seven provinces: how the Goenka and Mahasi traditions of Vipassana took root in Nepal.
· 8 min read
ResearchHealth
Vipassana benefits: what research shows, and what it doesn't
What studies of 10-day courses, prison programmes and long-term meditators found, and why small, self-selected samples limit what they can show.
· 7 min read
HistoryResearch
Vipassana in prisons: from Jaipur and Tihar to Alabama
How 10-day Vipassana courses reached prisons in India, the United States and Nepal, from Jaipur in 1975 to Nakkhu in 2024, and what studies found.
· 7 min read