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 / German / French / Italian
The Swiss Vipassana Centre, also called in Pali, Dhamma Sumeru, meaning “the heavenly mountain of the Dhamma” is located on the Mont-Soleil ("Mount Sun") in a village of the Swiss Jura mountains on an altitude of 3600 feet surrounded by pastures and forests. Mont-Soleil means in English "Mount Sun" as it is one of the sunniest places in Switzerland and is situated near St.Imier, between Biel and La Chaux-de-Fonds. It was founded in November 1999.
- 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.
- Note: Courses are also available throughout the World.
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Vipassana Meditation Centre - Dhamma Sumeru |
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Important message regarding Coronavirus
Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, all our activities are suspended until the mid-May at least; this includes all courses, work periods and meetings at Dhamma Sumeru.
For later courses, students and servers living outside Switzerland are not accepted, until further notice.
Please apply in your mother tongue by selecting the language on the top right of this page.
Course registration opens on Sundays at 10am (9am during winter time).
Please refresh your web browser from time to time (use F5) while waiting for registration to open so that the apply link will appear.
Note for new students:
If you have already successfully applied for another course. please understand that we won't accept multiple applications.
If you're just waitlisted for other courses so far, please feel free to apply again.
See Comments for any special instructions for events in this section.
| Attend / Serve | Dates | Course Type | Status | Location | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apply* | 01 Jan - 31 Dec | Service in between courses | In Progress | Mont Soleil |
For old students Service IN BETWEEN courses ONLY no long term server - only students who already completed at least one course |
| 25 Mar - 05 Apr |
10-Day
English / German |
CANCELLED | Mont Soleil | ||
| 08 Apr - 19 Apr |
10-Day
English / French |
CANCELLED | Mont Soleil | ||
| 22 Apr - 25 Apr |
3-Day
English / German |
CANCELLED | Mont Soleil |
For old students |
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| 26 Apr - 30 Apr |
Sit & Serve Garden
English |
CANCELLED | Mont Soleil |
For old students |
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| 05 May - 16 May |
10-Day
English / French |
CANCELLED | Mont Soleil | ||
| 16 May - 17 May |
meeting of the association
English |
Open | Mont Soleil |
For old students All old students are warmly welcome to attend the meeting of the association. Please inform the centre about your attendance by calling 032 941 16 70 |
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| Apply* | 20 May - 31 May |
10-Day
English / German |
Women - Closed New Men - Closed Old Men - Long Wait List Servers - Long Wait List | Mont Soleil |
Open only for residents of Switzerland. |
| Apply* | 02 Jun - 13 Jun |
10-Day
English / French |
Women - Closed Men - Closed Female Server - Short Wait List Male Server - Filling Up | Mont Soleil |
Open only for residents of Switzerland. |
| Apply* | 16 Jun - 27 Jun |
10-Day
English / Italian |
New Women - Short Wait List Old Women - Open New Men - Filling Up Old Men - Open Servers - Open | Mont Soleil |
This course gives priority to Italian native speaking students and servers. All other participants will be placed on a waiting list. One month before the beginning of the course, participants on the waiting list will be admitted, as long as there are places available. Open only for residents of Switzerland. |
| 28 Jun - 29 Jun |
Open Door Day
English |
Open | Mont Soleil | ||
| Apply* | 29 Jun - 08 Jul |
Satipatthana Sutta
English / French |
Women - Short Wait List Men - Short Wait List Female Server - Filling Up Male Server - Short Wait List | Mont Soleil |
For old students Open only for residents of Switzerland. |
| 09 Jul - 13 Jul |
European Dhamma Servers Meeting
English |
CANCELLED | Mont Soleil | The European Dhamma Servers Meeting is an opportunity for Dhamma Servers to meet, share experience and gain inspiration. It is open to all old students who have served at least one 10-day course. | |
| 22 Jul - 02 Aug |
10-Day
English / German |
Applications accepted starting 26 Apr | Mont Soleil |
Open only for residents of Switzerland. |
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| 04 Aug - 15 Aug |
10-Day
English / French |
Applications accepted starting 10 May | Mont Soleil |
Open only for residents of Switzerland. |
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| 15 Aug - 16 Aug |
meeting of the association
English |
Open | Mont Soleil |
For old students All old students are warmly welcome to attend the meeting of the association. Please inform the centre about your attendance by calling 032 941 16 70 |
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| 19 Aug - 30 Aug |
10-Day
English / German |
Applications accepted starting 17 May | Mont Soleil |
Open only for residents of Switzerland. |
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| 02 Sep - 05 Sep |
3-Day
English / French |
Applications accepted starting 31 May | Mont Soleil |
For old students Open only for residents of Switzerland. |
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| 06 Sep - 10 Sep |
Sit & Serve Garden
English |
Applications accepted starting 07 Jun | Mont Soleil |
For old students |
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| 16 Sep - 27 Sep |
10-Day
English / French |
Applications accepted starting 17 May | Mont Soleil | ||
| 08 Oct - 17 Oct |
Satipatthana Sutta
English / German |
Applications accepted starting 07 Jun | Mont Soleil |
For old students |
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| 21 Oct - 01 Nov |
10-Day
English / German |
Applications accepted starting 21 Jun | Mont Soleil | ||
| 03 Nov - 14 Nov |
10-Day
English / French |
Applications accepted starting 05 Jul | Mont Soleil | ||
| 14 Nov - 15 Nov |
meeting of the association
English |
Open | Mont Soleil |
For old students All old students are warmly welcome to attend the meeting of the association. Please inform the centre about your attendance by calling 032 941 16 70 |
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| 18 Nov - 29 Nov |
10-Day
English / German |
Applications accepted starting 19 Jul | Mont Soleil | ||
| 02 Dec - 05 Dec |
3-Day
English / German |
Applications accepted starting 02 Aug | Mont Soleil |
For old students |
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| 09 Dec - 20 Dec |
10-Day
English / French |
Applications accepted starting 09 Aug | Mont Soleil | ||
| 23 December, 2020 - 03 January, 2021 |
10-Day
English / German |
Applications accepted starting 30 Aug | Mont Soleil |
See Comments for any special instructions for events in this section.
| Attend / Serve | Dates | Course Type | Status | Location | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09 Apr - 13 Apr |
3-Day
English / Italian |
CANCELLED | Primadengo |
For old students Cancelled |
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| 18 Apr |
1-Day
English / German |
CANCELLED | Zurich |
For old students Open only for residents of Switzerland. |
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| 06 Jun |
1-Day
English / German |
Applications accepted starting 02 May | Berne |
For old students Open only for residents of Switzerland. |
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| 20 Jun |
1-Day
English / German |
Applications accepted starting 16 May | Zurich |
For old students Open only for residents of Switzerland. |
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| 12 Sep |
1-Day
English / German |
Applications accepted starting 08 Aug | Berne |
For old students |
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| 31 Oct |
1-Day
English / German |
Applications accepted starting 26 Sep | Berne |
For old students |
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| 26 December, 2020 - 06 January, 2021 |
10-Day
English / German |
Applications accepted starting 16 Sep | St. Arbogast |
See Comments for any special instructions for events in this section.
| Attend / Serve | Dates | Course Type | Status | Location | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 May - 03 May |
Children
French |
CANCELLED | Mont Soleil |
Open only for residents of Switzerland. Girls from 8 to 18 years. Boys from 8 to 13 years. |
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| Apply* | 17 Jul - 19 Jul |
Children
German |
Open | Mont Soleil |
Girls from 8 to 18 years.
Boys from 8 to 13 years.
Open only for residents of Switzerland. |
| Apply* | 11 Sep - 13 Sep |
Children
German |
Open | Mont Soleil | Boys from 8 to 18 years. Girls from 8 to 13 years. |
| 02 Oct - 04 Oct |
Children
French |
Applications accepted starting 05 Apr | Mont Soleil | Boys from 8 to 18 years. Girls from 8 to 13 years. |
As a privacy measurement, the online application form encrypts the information you provide us with before it is sent from your computer to our application server.
To access the Old Student Regional Site please click http://www.sumeru.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.
Open Days are held between meditation courses. All are welcome to attend and learn about Vipassana Meditation and the Centre.
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.
