Vipassana

Wheel of Dhamma

Japan Vipassana Center

Offering courses in Vipassana Meditation as taught by S.N. Goenka
in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin
Course Schedule

Bodhi Leaf

About
How To Apply
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Dhamma Bhānu, Mizuho, Kyoto, Japan
Centre Location: Website | Map
** Unless noted otherwise, course instructions are given in the following language(s): English / Japanese

The first Vipassana meditation centre established in Japan (1989), Dhamma Bhanu lies in the northwestern part of Kyoto prefecture, near to Mizuho town.

The centre is easily reached by public transport from Kyoto JR station (90min) which has rail and bus services to all major cities and airports.

Dhamma Bhanu is located in rural countryside, in a peaceful location surrounded by forest and farm land.

Courses are held at the centre throughout the year and are conducted in both English and Japanese with participants attending from all over Japan.

Dhamma Bhanu currently has the capacity to accommodate 44 students plus teachers and management and is administrated by the Japan Vipassana Association, a non-profit organization.

How to Apply to Attend or Serve a Course

Access the application form by clicking Apply for the desired course. Old students will be given the option to serve.
Please carefully read the Introduction to the Technique and Code of Discipline which you will be asked to follow during your course.
Fully and completely fill out all the sections of application form and submit it. An application is required to register for all courses.
Await notification. All correspondence will be through e-mail if you give an e-mail address in your application. Due to the large volume of applications, it may take up to two weeks before receiving notification.
If your application is accepted then we require you to confirm you will be attending in order to secure your place in the course.

Additional information

Address: 2-1 Iwakamioku Hatta, Kyotanba-cho, Funai-gun, Kyoto 622-0324 Japan
Tel: +81(771)86-0765 - Email: [email protected] , [email protected]

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Registration start time has been changed. Course registration will open at 22:00 PM on the the listed opening dates.

Teenagers' and Children's Courses

Courses for young people.
See Comments for any special instructions for events in this section.

2025 Teenagers' and Children's Courses

Dates	Course Type	Status	Location
27 Oct	Children / Teens Japanese	Applications accepted starting 28 Aug	Mizuho
01 Nov	Children Japanese	Applications accepted starting 02 Sep	Mizuho
03 Nov	Teen Japanese	Applications accepted starting 04 Sep	Mizuho

Ten Day & Other Adult Courses

All ten day courses begin on the evening of the first day and end on the early morning of the last day.
See Comments for any special instructions for events in this section.

Please note that non-resident travellers may face delay while their application is held on a waiting list for courses during holiday seasons and at other times of the year. As the volume of applications is often very high and exceeds our capacity, priority is given to Japanese nationals and foreign residents living and working in Japan.

In order to provide many people with the opportunity to participate, if an applicant who has applied for the 10-day course and the Satipatthana course attended another course within a year, he/she will be placed on a waiting list to wait for an available seat. This restriction does not apply to the 3-day course.

2025 Ten Day & Other Adult Courses

Attend / Serve	Dates	Course Type	Status	Location	Comments
	26 Apr - 07 May	10-Day	In Progress	Mizuho	Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
	10 May - 13 May	3-Day	CANCELLED	Mizuho	For old students
Apply*	14 May - 17 May	Work Period	Servers - Filling Up	Mizuho	For old students
Apply*	21 May - 01 Jun	10-Day	Women - Closed Men - Long Wait List Servers - Long Wait List	Mizuho	Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan. Male interpreter needed (English to Japanese)
Apply*	04 Jun - 15 Jun	10-Day	Women - Closed Men - Long Wait List Female Server - Long Wait List Male Server - Short Wait List	Mizuho	Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
Apply*	20 Jun - 01 Jul	10-Day	Women - Closed New Men - Long Wait List Old Men - Short Wait List Female Server - Long Wait List Male Server - Open	Mizuho	Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan. Female Interpreters Needed
	03 Jul - 07 Jul	Work Period	Applications accepted starting 04 Jun	Mizuho	For old students
	10 Jul - 13 Jul	3-Day	Applications accepted starting 11 May	Mizuho	For old students Female Interpreters Needed
	16 Jul - 27 Jul	10-Day	Applications accepted starting 17 May	Mizuho	Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan. Female Interpreters Needed
	30 Jul - 02 Aug	3-Day	Applications accepted starting 01 Jul	Mizuho	For old students
	06 Aug - 17 Aug	10-Day	Applications accepted starting 07 Jun	Mizuho	Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
	20 Aug - 31 Aug	10-Day	Applications accepted starting 21 Jun	Mizuho	Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan. Female Interpreters Needed
	03 Sep - 06 Sep	3-Day	Applications accepted starting 05 Jul	Mizuho	For old students
	07 Sep - 10 Sep	Work Period	Applications accepted starting 08 Aug	Mizuho	For old students
	13 Sep - 22 Sep	Satipatthana Sutta	Applications accepted starting 15 Jul	Mizuho	Old Student Course Qualification Requirements
	26 Sep - 07 Oct	10-Day	Applications accepted starting 28 Jul	Mizuho	Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
	14 Oct - 25 Oct	10-Day	Applications accepted starting 15 Aug	Mizuho	Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
	08 Nov - 19 Nov	10-Day	Applications accepted starting 09 Sep	Mizuho	Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
	20 Nov - 23 Nov	Work Period	Applications accepted starting 21 Oct	Mizuho	For old students
	25 Nov - 06 Dec	10-Day	Applications accepted starting 26 Sep	Mizuho	Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
	10 Dec - 21 Dec	10-Day	Applications accepted starting 11 Oct	Mizuho	Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
	25 December, 2025 - 05 January, 2026	10-Day	Applications accepted starting 26 Oct	Mizuho	Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.

The online application form encrypts your information before it is sent from your computer to our application server. However, it may not be totally secure even though encryption is used. If you are concerned about the possibility of security risks of your confidential information while it is on the Internet, do not use this form and instead download an application. Print and complete it. Then please send the form to the course organizers. By faxing or posting your application form it may delay the registration process by one to two weeks.

To access the Old Student Regional Site please click http://bhanu.dhamma.org/os. A user name and password will be required to access these pages.

Questions may be addressed to Email: [email protected]

All courses are run solely on a donation basis. All expenses are met by donations from those who, having completed a course and experienced the benefits of Vipassana, wish to give others the same opportunity. Neither the Teacher nor the assistant teachers receive remuneration; they and those who serve the courses volunteer their time. Thus Vipassana is offered free from commercialisation.

Old students are those who have completed a 10-day Vipassana Meditation course with S.N. Goenka or his Assistant Teachers. Old students have the opportunity to provide Dhamma Service at the courses listed.

Bilingual courses are courses which are taught in two languages. All students will hear daily meditation instructions in both languages. The evening discourses will be heard separately.

Meditation courses are held at both center and non-center locations. Meditation centers are dedicated facilities where courses are held regularly throughout the year. Before meditation centers were established in this tradition, all courses were held at temporary sites, such as campgrounds, religious retreat centers, churches and the like. Today, in regions where centers have not yet been established by local students of Vipassana who live in the area, 10 Day meditation courses are held at non-center course sites.

10-day Courses are an introductory course to Vipassana Meditation where the technique is taught step-by-step each day. The courses begin after a 2 - 4 pm registration period and orientation, followed by 10 full days of meditation, and end the morning of the 11th day by 7:30 am.

Children's Anapana Courses are open for all children aged 8-12 years old who wish to learn to meditate. Their parents/guardians do not have to be meditators.

Teenagers' Anapana Courses are open for all teenagers aged 13-18 years old who wish to learn to meditate. Their parents/guardians do not have to be meditators.

In Japan, Teenagers' Anapana Courses are limited to ages 13~15.

Old Student Course Qualification Requirements

Old Student Short Courses (1-3 days) are for any student who has completed the 10-day course with S.N. Goenka and his assistant teachers. All old students are welcome to apply to attend these courses, including those where it has been some time since their last course.

Old Student Course Qualification Requirements

Satipatthana Sutta Courses have the same timetable and discipline as 10-day courses. The difference is that in the taped evening discourses the Satipatthana Sutta is carefully examined. This is the principal text in which the technique of Vipassana is systematically explained. These courses are open to serious old students who have sat (not including courses served) at least three 10-day courses, have not been practising any other meditation techniques since last 10-day course, have been practising this technique of Vipassana for at least one year, and who are trying to maintain their meditation practice and the five precepts in their daily lives, at the very minimum from the time of applying to the course.

Work Periods have been set aside to work on a variety of Centre maintenance, construction, household and gardening projects. All Old Students are welcome to apply. The daily program will include three group sittings with morning and afternoon work periods. On selected evenings, there will be tapes played of special discourses and talks that S.N. Goenka has given to Old Students.