in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin
Course Schedule
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 65 students plus teachers and management and is administrated by the Japan Vipassana Association, a non-profit organization.
- 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.
Address: 2-1 Iwakamioku Hatta, Kyotanba-cho, Funai-gun, Kyoto 622-0324 Japan
Tel: +81(771)86-0765 - Email: [email protected] , [email protected]
Registration start time has been changed. Course registration will open at 22:00 PM on the the listed opening dates.
Important Notice
Corona 19 and New Requirements for Courses at Dhammabhanu
Please read before applying.
We ask for your understanding and cooperation.
Preference given to Japanese students and to foreign nationals living and working in Japan.
The maximum number of students in the meditation hall will be about 50, and the seats will be placed at a sufficient distance from each other.
(*The previous limit was 75 people in the meditation hall.)
Meditation courses may be cancelled even if their registrations are still open, depending on the status of the COVID-19.
Requirements to attend a course for both students and servers
- You do not have any of these medical conditions: high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, respiratory disease, or underlying diseases that cause immunodeficiency.
- You have no symptoms that would suggest Covid19 infections at the time of application.
- You are not pregnant.
- You are a resident of Japan.
- You have Japanese health insurance or an insurance certificate, and will present it at the course reception
- Someone willing to meet you, in an emergency, or if you feel sick and need to return home.
- You agree to follow the Centre's Covid19 guidelines
- In the past two weeks, you have not been
- in contact with a Covid infected person
- to places where there is a high risk of infection such as event.
- to a medical institution that poses a risk of infection (including a dentist)
See Comments for any special instructions for events in this section.
| Attend / Serve | Dates | Course Type | Status | Location | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Aug |
Children
Japanese |
Applications accepted starting 21 Jun | Mizuho | This program is for children who are around 8 to 12 years old and can speak Japanese. | |
| 22 Aug |
Courses for teenagers
Japanese |
Applications accepted starting 23 Jun | Mizuho | This program is for children who are around 13 to 15 years old and can speak Japanese. |
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.
| Attend / Serve | Dates | Course Type | Status | Location | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Mar - 09 Apr | 10-Day | In Progress | Mizuho |
Servers urgently needed for this course.Preference given to Japanese students and to foreign nationals living and working in Japan.
|
|
| Apply* | 13 Apr - 16 Apr | Work Period | Servers - Open | Mizuho |
For old students Course Preparation |
| Apply* | 20 Apr - 23 Apr | 3-Day | Women - Short Wait List Men - Short Wait List Female Server - Filling Up Male Server - Open | Mizuho |
For old students For old students Preference given to Japanese students and to foreign nationals living and working in Japan. |
| Apply* | 26 Apr - 07 May | 10-Day | Women - Closed Men - Closed Female Server - Short Wait List Male Server - Filling Up | Mizuho | Preference given to Japanese students and to foreign nationals living and working in Japan. |
| Apply* | 12 May - 15 May | 3-Day | Women - Short Wait List Men - Filling Up Servers - Open | Mizuho |
For old students For old students Preference given to Japanese students and to foreign nationals living and working in Japan. |
| Apply* | 19 May - 30 May | 10-Day | New Women - Closed Old Women - Short Wait List New Men - Long Wait List Old Men - Short Wait List Servers - Open | Mizuho | Preference given to Japanese students and to foreign nationals living and working in Japan. |
| 02 Jun - 05 Jun | Work Period | Applications accepted starting 02 May | Mizuho |
For old students For old students |
|
| 09 Jun - 20 Jun | 10-Day | Applications accepted starting 10 Apr | Mizuho | Preference given to Japanese students and to foreign nationals living and working in Japan. | |
| 29 Jun - 02 Jul | 3-Day | Applications accepted starting 30 Apr | Mizuho |
For old students For old students Preference given to Japanese students and to foreign nationals living and working in Japan. |
|
| 21 Jul - 01 Aug | 10-Day | Applications accepted starting 22 May | Mizuho | Preference given to Japanese students and to foreign nationals living and working in Japan. | |
| 05 Aug - 16 Aug | 10-Day | Applications accepted starting 06 Jun | Mizuho |
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 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 available for teens in different age ranges from 13-18 years old. Their parents/guardians do not have to be Vipassana meditators.
In Japan, Teenagers' Anapana Courses are limited to ages 13~15.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 participate. 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.
