Wheel of Dhamma

Bodhi Leaf

 
Sobhana
Dhamma Sobhana, Ödeshög, Östergötlands län [SE-05], Sweden
Centre Location: Website | Map
** Unless noted otherwise, course instructions are given in the following language(s): English / Swedish

Dhamma Sobhana means "Beauty of Dhamma" in Pali language and is the first Vipassana centre to be established in the Nordic area. It's located in central Sweden, near Ödeshög, Vadstena and Linköping. By car it's about two and a half hours from Stockholm and Gothenburg (Göteborg), and about three and a half hours from Malmö. The centre was established in 2007 to serve mainly the Nordic area but students come from all over the world. Dhamma Sobhana offers 20-25 courses a year, with about 1 800 students.
How to Apply to Attend or Serve a Course
  1. Access the application form by clicking Apply for the desired course. Old students will be given the option to serve.
  2. Please carefully read the Introduction to the Technique and Code of Discipline which you will be asked to follow during your course.
  3. Fully and completely fill out all the sections of application form and submit it. An application is required to register for all courses.
  4. 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.
  5. 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: Dhamma Sobhana, Holmen 1, S-599 93 Ödeshög, Sweden

Email: [email protected]

Phone: [46](0) 143 - 211 36

 

Due to Covid-19, all courses until now have been cancelled in 2021. Courses scheduled to start later may be cancelled on short notice depending on how the situation develops. Until mid June, courses open for registration two weeks before the start of the course.

Registration procedure for students on English/Swedish 10 day courses at Dhamma Sobhana:
- Three months before the start of the course, registration will open at 6 am (7 am when daylight saving time). Registration will stay open until midnight. 
- An electronic random selection will then be made to allocate available places for the course and to establish a waiting list. 
- Within two weeks, students who were not allocated a place on the course or on the waiting list will be notified. 
- Please note that it’s essential to send only one registration form per person and per course. Otherwise none of the applications will be taken into account. 
 
This procedure has been adopted since courses otherwise would fill up within minutes after registration opens.

Sweden 1-day courses

Norway

Denmark

Finland

 
 
Teenagers' and Children's Courses
Courses for young people.
See Comments for any special instructions for events in this section.
2021 Teenagers' and Children's Courses
Attend / Serve Dates Course Type Status Location Comments
Apply* 25 Jun - 27 Jun Children 8-12 years
Swedish 		Open Ödeshög The course is held in Swedish only.
 
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.
2021 Ten Day & Other Adult Courses
Attend / Serve Dates Course Type Status Location Comments
Apply* 05 May - 12 May Service Period In Progress Ödeshög Note: New Dates!For old students
12 May - 23 May 10-Day
English / Persian (Farsi) 		CANCELLED Ödeshög
Apply* 12 May - 26 May Service Period Servers - Open Ödeshög Note: New Dates!For old students
19 May - 23 May 3 Day Course for Old Students Applications accepted starting 15 May Ödeshög New Course!!For old students

Opening date postponed due to corona-restrictions.
26 May - 06 Jun 10-Day
English / Finnish 		Applications accepted starting 18 May Ödeshög

Finnish speaking students are prioritised for the first two days of registration.

If the regional quarantine guidance for those coming from abroad still applies when the registration starts, the course is held in Swedish and English.

Opening date postponed due to corona-restrictions.
Apply* 06 Jun - 08 Jun Service Period Servers - Open Ödeshög For old students
08 Jun - 19 Jun 10-Day
English / Norwegian 		Applications accepted starting 23 May Ödeshög

Students with Norwegian as their first language are prioritised for the first two days of registration.

If the quarantine requirement remains when the registration starts, the course is held in Swedish and English.
Apply* 19 Jun - 20 Jun Trust Meeting Weekend Open Ödeshög For old students
Saturday: Committee meetings
Sunday 9.15-12.30: Trust meeting
All old students welcome!
Apply* 19 Jun - 30 Jun Service Period Open Ödeshög For old students
30 Jun - 11 Jul 10-Day Applications accepted starting 24 May Ödeshög

For information on the registration procedure for this course, please see the top of this page. 

Number of students limited to 44. 
Only students who are residents in the Nordic countries can be accepted.
The participants must agree to follow the centre’s Covid-19 guidelines to minimize the risk of transmission.
Apply* 11 Jul - 14 Jul Service Period Servers - Open Ödeshög For old students
14 Jul - 25 Jul 10-Day Applications accepted starting 25 May Ödeshög
Apply* 25 Jul - 28 Jul Service Period Servers - Open Ödeshög For old students
28 Jul - 08 Aug 10-Day Applications accepted starting 26 May Ödeshög
Apply* 08 Aug - 10 Aug Service Period Servers - Open Ödeshög For old students
10 Aug - 21 Aug 10-Day Applications accepted starting 27 May Ödeshög
21 Aug - 22 Aug Trust Meeting Weekend Applications accepted starting 23 May Ödeshög For old students
Saturday: Committee meetings
Sunday 9.15-12.30: Trust meeting
All old students welcome!
21 Aug - 25 Aug Service Period Applications accepted starting 23 May Ödeshög For old students
25 Aug - 05 Sep 10-Day Applications accepted starting 02 Jun Ödeshög
05 Sep - 10 Sep Service Period Applications accepted starting 07 Jun Ödeshög For old students
10 Sep - 19 Sep Satipatthana Sutta Applications accepted starting 12 Jun Ödeshög For old students
19 Sep - 22 Sep Service Period Applications accepted starting 21 Jun Ödeshög For old students
22 Sep - 03 Oct 10-Day
English / Norwegian 		Applications accepted starting 24 Jun Ödeshög Students with Norwegian as their first language are given priority until July 7.
03 Oct - 05 Oct Service Period Applications accepted starting 05 Jul Ödeshög For old students
05 Oct - 16 Oct 10-Day Applications accepted starting 07 Jul Ödeshög
16 Oct - 17 Oct Trust Meeting Weekend Applications accepted starting 18 Jul Ödeshög For old students
Saturday: Committee meetings
Sunday 9.15-12.30: Trust meeting
All old students welcome!
16 Oct - 20 Oct Service Period Applications accepted starting 18 Jul Ödeshög For old students
20 Oct - 31 Oct 10-Day
English / Finnish 		Applications accepted starting 22 Jul Ödeshög Students with Finnish as their first language are given priority until August 5.
31 Oct - 03 Nov Service Period Applications accepted starting 02 Aug Ödeshög For old students
03 Nov - 14 Nov 10-Day Applications accepted starting 05 Aug Ödeshög
14 Nov - 17 Nov Service Period Applications accepted starting 16 Aug Ödeshög For old students
17 Nov - 21 Nov 3 Day Course for Old Students Applications accepted starting 19 Aug Ödeshög For old students
21 Nov - 23 Nov Service Period Applications accepted starting 23 Aug Ödeshög For old students
23 Nov - 04 Dec 10-Day
English / Danish 		Applications accepted starting 25 Aug Ödeshög Students with Danish as their first language are given priority until 8 September.
04 Dec - 05 Dec Trust Meeting Weekend Applications accepted starting 05 Sep Ödeshög For old students
Saturday: Committee meetings
Sunday 9.15-12.30: Trust meeting
All old students welcome!
04 Dec - 08 Dec Service Period Applications accepted starting 05 Sep Ödeshög For old students
08 Dec - 19 Dec 10-Day Applications accepted starting 09 Sep Ödeshög
19 Dec - 26 Dec Service Period Applications accepted starting 20 Sep Ödeshög For old students
26 December, 2021 - 06 January, 2022 10-Day Applications accepted starting 27 Sep Ödeshög
 
Non-Centre Courses
Courses and Activities conducted at other locations.
See Comments for any special instructions for events in this section.
2021 Denmark Courses    Website | Map
Attend / Serve Dates Course Type Status Location Comments
11 Aug - 15 Aug 3-Day
English / Danish 		Applications accepted starting 01 Jun Hvide Klit For old students
18 Oct - 29 Oct 10-Day
English / Danish 		Applications accepted starting 01 Jul Hvide Klit
2021 Finland Courses    Website | Map
Attend / Serve Dates Course Type Status Location Comments
26 May - 06 Jun 10-Day Applications accepted starting 18 May Ödeshög, Sweden The course will be held at the Nordic Vipassana center in Sweden. Please apply through the Dhamma Sobhana schedule: https://www.dhamma.org/en/schedules/schsobhana
17 Jun - 28 Jun 10-Day Applications accepted starting 28 May Liesjärvi
20 Oct - 31 Oct 10-Day Applications accepted starting 22 Jul Ödeshög, Sweden The course will be held at the Nordic Vipassana center in Sweden. Please apply through the Dhamma Sobhana schedule: https://www.dhamma.org/en/schedules/schsobhana
2021 Norway Courses    Website | Map
Attend / Serve Dates Course Type Status Location Comments
08 Jun - 19 Jun 10-Day Course English/Norwegian Applications accepted starting 23 May Dhamma Sobhana, Sverige The course will be held at the Nordic Vipassana center in Sweden. Please apply through the Dhamma Sobhana schedule: https://www.dhamma.org/en/schedules/schsobhana
25 Aug - 05 Sep 10-Day Course English/Norwegian Applications accepted starting 25 Jun Hornsjø Mountain Hotel Students with Norwegian as their first language are given priority until the 25th of July.
22 Sep - 03 Oct 10-Day Course English/Norwegian Applications accepted starting 24 Jun Dhamma Sobhana, Sverige The course will be held at the Nordic Vipassana center in Sweden. Please apply through the Dhamma Sobhana schedule: https://www.dhamma.org/en/schedules/schsobhana
 
 

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://sobhana.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.

Old Student Programs are similar to Service Periods where there is time to work on a variety of Centre maintenance, construction, household and gardening projects, but have a more full and structured program, an opportunity to meet with assistant teachers, and possibly committee and trust meetings. All Old Students are welcome to participate. The daily program will include three group sittings with morning and afternoon work periods and in the evening there will be tapes played of special discourses and talks that S.N. Goenka has given to Old Students.

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 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.

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.