Japan Vipassana Center

Dhamma Bhānu

Japan Vipassana Center, Kyoto, Japan

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.


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.

Filters

30 courses
Popular courses
Other courses
New students can only apply to 10 day courses

Teenagers' and Children's Courses

0 courses
Courses for young people.
Dates
Course Type
Location
Comments
Status
No courses are currently scheduled.

Course types

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.

Ten Day & Other Adult Courses

30 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 application who has attended the 10-day course within half 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.
・If you are participating in the course from abroad, you must have travel insurance that covers you for the entire duration of the course, including medical fees, medication, and hospitalization.
 

 

Dates
Course Type
Location
Comments
Status
11 Nov - 22 Nov
10-Day
Kyoto
Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
10-Day
In Progress
25 Nov - 6 Dec
10-Day
Kyoto
Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan. 
 
10-Day
New Women- Long Wait List
Old Women- Short Wait List
Men- Long Wait List
Servers - Women- Long Wait List
Servers - Men- Open
11 Dec - 22 Dec
10-Day
Kyoto
Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
 
10-Day
New Women- Long Wait List
Old Women- Short Wait List
Men- Long Wait List
Servers - Women- Filling Up
Servers - Men- Open
25 Dec 2026 - 5 Jan 2027
10-Day
Kyoto
Due to the long holiday, only Japanese residents are allowed
10-Day
Women- Closed
New Men- Long Wait List
Old Men- Closed
Servers- Long Wait List
2027
12 Jan - 23 Jan
10-Day
Kyoto
Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
10-Day
New Women- Filling Up
Old Women- Open
Men- Open
Servers- Open
29 Jan - 9 Feb
10-Day
Kyoto
Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
Female Server: Japanese-English Interpreter Needed
10-Day
Applications accepted starting 30 Nov
13 Feb - 24 Feb
10-Day
Kyoto
Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
10-Day
Applications accepted starting 15 Dec
2 Mar - 13 Mar
10-Day
Kyoto
Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
Female Server: Japanese-English Interpreter Needed
10-Day
Applications accepted starting 01 Jan
17 Mar - 20 Mar
Work Period
Kyoto
For old students
Work Period
Applications accepted starting 17 Feb
24 Mar - 24 Apr
30-Day
Kyoto
Old Student Course Qualification Requirements
Preference given to Japanese students and to foreign nationals living and working in Japan.
Due to administrative arrangements, the application period has been changed from 24 November to 3 December. (Updated 3 October) We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding.
30-Day
Applications accepted starting 03 Dec
28 Apr - 9 May
10-Day
Kyoto
Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
Due to the long holiday, only Japanese residents are allowed
10-Day
Applications accepted starting 27 Feb
14 May - 25 May
10-Day
Kyoto
Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
Male Server: Japanese-English Interpreter Needed
10-Day
Applications accepted starting 15 Mar
28 May - 31 May
Work Period
Kyoto
For old students
Work Period
Applications accepted starting 28 Apr
4 Jun - 15 Jun
10-Day
Kyoto
Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
10-Day
Applications accepted starting 05 Apr
18 Jun - 29 Jun
10-Day
Kyoto
Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
Male Server: Japanese-English Interpreter Needed
10-Day
Applications accepted starting 19 Apr
2 Jul - 6 Jul
3-Day
Kyoto
For old students
3-Day
Applications accepted starting 03 May
9 Jul - 20 Jul
10-Day
Kyoto
Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
10-Day
Applications accepted starting 10 May
23 Jul - 26 Jul
Work Period
Kyoto
For old students
Work Period
Applications accepted starting 24 Jun
30 Jul - 3 Aug
3-Day
Kyoto
For old students
3-Day
Applications accepted starting 31 May
6 Aug - 17 Aug
10-Day
Kyoto
Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
Due to the long holiday, only Japanese residents are allowed
10-Day
Applications accepted starting 07 Jun
20 Aug - 31 Aug
10-Day
Kyoto
Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
10-Day
Applications accepted starting 21 Jun
9 Sept - 13 Sept
3-Day
Kyoto
For old students
3-Day
Applications accepted starting 11 Jul
17 Sept - 26 Sept
Satipatthana Sutta
Kyoto
Old Student Course Qualification Requirements
Due to the long holiday, only Japanese residents are allowed
Satipatthana Sutta
Applications accepted starting 19 Jul
1 Oct - 12 Oct
10-Day
Kyoto
Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
10-Day
Applications accepted starting 02 Aug
15 Oct - 26 Oct
10-Day
Kyoto
Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
10-Day
Applications accepted starting 16 Aug
29 Oct - 1 Nov
Work Period
Kyoto
For old students
Work Period
Applications accepted starting 30 Sep
5 Nov - 16 Nov
10-Day
Kyoto
Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
10-Day
Applications accepted starting 06 Sep
26 Nov - 7 Dec
10-Day
Kyoto
Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
10-Day
Applications accepted starting 27 Sep
10 Dec - 21 Dec
10-Day
Kyoto
Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
10-Day
Applications accepted starting 11 Oct
24 Dec 2027 - 4 Jan 2028
10-Day
Kyoto
Since Dhamma Bhanu is a small center, preference is given to Japanese individuals and foreign nationals living or working in Japan.
Due to the long holiday, only Japanese residents are allowed
10-Day
Applications accepted starting 25 Oct

Course types

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.

3-Day
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.
10-Day

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.

30-Day

30-day Courses are open only to serious Old Students committed to this technique who have completed a minimum of six 10-day courses (one since their first 20-day course), one 20-day course, one Satipatthana Sutta course, and have been practicing regularly for at least two years.

Satipatthana Sutta

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 Period

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.

Select language