Vipassana Meditation Center Dhamma Dhara

The Vipassana Meditation Center offers 10-day residential, non-sectarian meditation courses to the public. Vipassana means to "see things as they really are" and is a process of self observation that purifies the mind of mental and emotional negativities. Participants undertake a moral code of discipline, three days of observing the natural respiration to concentrate the mind and the rest of the course devoted to the observation of one's physical sensations as a tool to remove habitual reactions and develop a balanced mind by understanding sensations' impermanent nature. Courses are offered at no charge; students who have completed one 10-day course and who feel they have benefited, may give a voluntary donation toward future courses according to their means and volition. Returning students may also volunteer on ten-day courses, serving the students' needs while meditating part of each day. The Vipassana Meditation Center of Shelburne, MA is one of nine North American and over two hundred world-wide affiliate Vipassana Meditation Centers established by students of S. N. Goenka, a retired Indian-Burmese industrialist who was appointed by his teacher, Sayagyi U Ba Khin, of Myanmar (formerly Burma). Courses are offered to the general public, children, executives and leaders as well as to correctional facilities.