Dhamma Dhara

Dhamma Dhara ('Land of Dhamma') is in Shelburne, in a rural farming area of western Massachusetts, about 90 miles west of Boston and 200 miles north of New York City. Founded in 1982 by the Sayagyi U Ba Khin Memorial Trust of Massachusetts, it was the first Vipassana centre in North America; it began as a two-storey house and barn on eight acres and now covers 108 acres, with a meditation hall for 200, a 140-cell pagoda and separate residences for men and women. It can accommodate 70 women and 70 men on each course, and new residences with individual rooms and private bathrooms were added in 2004, 2012 and 2018. The centre schedules about 15 to 20 ten-day courses a year, nearly all full with a waiting list, as well as courses for children and teenagers and courses of 20, 30 and 45 days, and about 3,000 students complete courses there each year.

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).