Dhamma Bhanu

Dhamma Bhanu ('a ray of light of Dhamma' in the centre's own words; dhamma.org gives 'luminosity of Dhamma'), opened in 1989, was the first Vipassana meditation centre in Japan. The Japan Vipassana Association runs it in the hills of the Tanba region in north-western Kyoto prefecture, near the village of Hatta, 5 km from Mizuho and 20 km from Sonobe. From Kyoto station the JR San-in line runs to Sonobe (60 minutes) and a JR bus to the Hinokiyama terminus in Mizuho (35 minutes); a car from the centre meets students arriving at set times on the day the course starts. Those driving take route 173. The land was bought in January 1989 and enlarged in 1991. Meditators from several countries built the first building, a two-storey cedar-walled block with the meditation hall and rooms, in about four months. S. N. Goenka held a three-day course in September 1989 for the old students who started the centre, and returned two years later to lead the first half of a 10-day course there. More accommodation was added in 2014 and 2016. dhamma.org gives its capacity as 44 students plus teachers and management. Courses run all year in Japanese and English: 10-day, Satipatthana Sutta, 30-day, short and children's courses.

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).