Vipassana centres in India

S. N. Goenka arrived in India from Burma in June 1969 and taught his first 10-day course in Mumbai that July, to 14 students. Dhamma Giri at Igatpuri officially opened in October 1976, and the Vipassana Research Institute was set up beside it in 1985. The Global Vipassana Pagoda near Mumbai, whose hall seats about 8,000, was inaugurated in February 2009.

dhamma.org lists 129 centres in Goenka's tradition in India, spread across 24 states and union territories from Ladakh and Sikkim to Kerala and Tamil Nadu, plus 14 non-centre listings, where courses are held without a permanent centre. Maharashtra has the most, with 38 centres, followed by Gujarat and Telangana. The one centre of another tradition listed here is the Mahabodhi International Meditation Centre in Leh, Ladakh.

Apply through a centre's schedule on dhamma.org or through schedule.vridhamma.org, the Vipassana Research Institute's booking site, which many Indian centres now use. Fill in the whole form, wait for the centre's email and confirm your place if you are accepted. There is no charge for teaching, food or lodging, and donations are accepted only from people who have completed a course.