Global Vipassana Pagoda

The Global Vipassana Pagoda is a 96-metre stone monument on a hill next to Esselworld at Gorai, on the north-western edge of Mumbai, built as a replica of the Shwedagon Pagoda in gratitude to Myanmar for preserving Vipassana. Its dome, made of interlocking stones without supporting pillars, has an internal diameter of 85 metres and covers a meditation hall for about 8,000 people, with bone relics of the Buddha enshrined above. The foundation stone was laid in October 1997, building began in 2000, the relics were enshrined on 29 October 2006 and the then President of India inaugurated it on 8 February 2009. Entry is free: visitors can view the hall from a gallery, join free Mini-Anapana sessions in the North Pagoda and see galleries on the Buddha's life, while only old students may meditate in the dome, including at one-day courses held on most days. It is reached by road via the Mira-Bhayandar crossing, or from Borivali station by bus or autorickshaw to Gorai Creek and a ferry across.

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).