Dhamma Setu

Dhamma Setu ('Bridge of Dhamma') stands on 18 acres of former paddy land among fields on the outskirts of Chennai, at Thirumudivakkam near the SIDCO Leather Complex, about 10 km from the airport. The land was bought from 1991 onwards, and after years of preparing the plot the centre was formally established in 2000, when S. N. Goenka visited that September. The centre's website gives these directions: by road, drive past Chennai airport towards Tambaram, turn right after Pallavaram towards Thiruneermalai and follow the centre's signs for 6.5 km; by public transport, take a suburban train or a bus to Pallavaram, then bus 55A to the SIDCO stop, a five-minute walk away. Some local people call the centre 'Buddhar Kovil'. The centre's website describes double-occupancy rooms with attached baths for 96 men and 48 women, a main Dhamma hall for 120, two further halls for 75 each, a mini hall for 30, a dining hall for over 200, and a circular three-tiered pagoda that Goenka inaugurated in May 2006 while it was still being built. The schedule includes 10-day, Satipatthana Sutta, special 10-day, 20-day and 30-day courses, 1-day and 3-day courses for old students, and courses for children and teenagers. dhamma.org lists English and Tamil as the languages of instruction; the centre's website also mentions Hindi.

How to apply

Apply online through the centre's page on dhamma.org (in Nepal, start from np.dhamma.org). New students must first complete a 10-day course, and there is no charge.

What is taught here

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. Read about Goenka (U Ba Khin).