December 4, 2024
From December 4 to December 15, 2024, Dhamma Patapa will hold its second 10-day Vipassana meditation course for the Black community. This course contains the same information and will be conducted in the same way as any other 10-day Vipassana course.
Each year Vipassana meditation centers around the world, including Dhamma Patapa, offer courses for the Burmese, Indian, Vietnamese, and Thai communities, though all are welcome. These courses are a result of grateful old students from these communities coming together and sharing this wonderful practice with their families, friends and circles, who might not otherwise be able to attend courses unless presented in a way that could be easily received: with language translation and assistant teachers from those communities.
Similarly, with this course, Dhamma Patapa’s intention is to create community support for the practice of our Black students. And as always, all students are welcome to apply to all 10-day courses offered throughout the year. If you have any questions, please contact the center for more information.
The flyer below is from the first Black Heritage Course in 2023.
When we come to a Vipassana course, we are united by a common purpose: to discover the way to self-transformation through self-observation, encompassing our unique identities and experiences. Our centers respect the diversity of everyone, including all colors, identities, genders, religions, backgrounds, and cultures. We welcome all interested in learning Vipassana meditation as a way of developing wisdom and compassion for the benefit of all beings. We acknowledge, however, that many people face barriers in attending courses due to biases and social-economic structures based on race, class, gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, ability, religion, and other factors. We hope this meditation course will offer more access, inclusion, and support.
All of our courses are offered free of charge to the public, including room, board, and teachings. The Center operates on voluntary donations from students who have already completed at least one 10-day course.
Enrollment applications to register for this special course open on September 5th , at 6:00 AM (EDT).
Applicants should put a note in the “anything to add” section at the end of the application to identify as Black, African American, African Diaspora or other national and ethnic identifiers, such as Afro-Latino, Ethiopian American. In this way we can ensure that priority is given.