Dhamma Abha

Dhamma Ābhā ('radiance of Dhamma'), founded in 1999, was the second centre in Thailand in S. N. Goenka's tradition. It is at Ban Huay Phloo in Kaeng Sopha, Wang Thong district, east of Phitsanulok between Wang Thong and Lom Sak, about 427 km north of Bangkok. The land, once a tamarind farm, was donated by meditators. It lies on a green plateau with the Nok Krayang range rising to the east, and the modern Thai-style buildings stand in the middle of the grounds among ponds, fruit trees and bamboo (dhamma.org gives the area as 61 hectares; the centre's history page calls it a 50-acre property). The centre's site dates its first 10-day course to 17 July 1999. The centre has since added a meditation hall and cells for 110 students and residences with private en-suite rooms; its site (last updated in 2023) gives its capacity as 74 women and 36 men. Besides 10-day courses it offers 3-day, special 10-day and Satipatthana Sutta courses, and long courses of 20 to 60 days for qualified old students, with instructions in Thai and English; its site says one-day Anapana courses for children are also held regularly. Courses run on donations. Phitsanulok, about an hour away, has bus, rail and air links. Local buses from Phitsanulok run to Ban Sap Phrai Wan on Highway 12, 3.2 km from the centre, and on the day a course begins a centre bus leaves from Wat Prasri Mahathat in north Bangkok.

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).