Ten-day Vipassana course
Ten days of silence, taught free, in the state where it was taught first
What it is
A residential course in the tradition of S. N. Goenka. You arrive on day zero, hand in your phone, and do not speak to another student for nine days. You sit about ten hours a day, in the hall and in your room, following a technique taught in stages on recordings made by the teacher. On the tenth day the silence is lifted and you talk to the people you have been sitting beside all week. You leave on the eleventh morning.
Why it matters
This is the technique the Buddha is said to have taught, and Bihar is where he taught it. Five centres in this state run the course. People fly here from Europe and East Asia to sit one sixteen kilometres from the tree he sat under, and most visitors to Bodh Gaya never learn the centre is there.
How it works
- Read the Code of Discipline in full before you apply. It is the course.
- Apply online to one centre for one specific course. Applications open months ahead and fill.
- Arrive by the afternoon of day zero. Phones, books, notebooks and valuables are handed in.
- Noble silence begins that evening and holds until the morning of day ten.
- Leave on the morning of day eleven. You may donate then, and only then.
- Who it is for
- A first course is open to anybody in reasonable physical and mental health, of any faith or none. You do not have to be Buddhist and you are not asked to become one.
- Not for
- It is not a holiday, a retreat with free time, or a place to recover from a crisis. Serious mental-health conditions, and any course of psychiatric medication, must be declared on the application: the centres turn people away for their own safety, not out of strictness.
- Best season
- Oct - Mar. Summer courses are run but the heat is serious.
- Difficulty
- Hard. Most people find days two to six the worst.
- Cost
- Nothing. No charge for teaching, food or the room. The centres run on donations from people who have already completed a course, and you are not invited to give until your last morning.
- When
- Courses usually begin on the 1st and the 16th of each month
- Booking
- Apply directly to the centre, online, months ahead. Tirtham does not book these and does not take a fee for them.
- Book ahead
- Two to four months
- Languages
- Hindi, English
Rules
- No speaking, and no gesture or eye contact with other students, for nine days
- No phone, no writing, no reading, no music
- No killing, stealing, lying, sexual activity or intoxicants
- Men and women are housed and seated separately throughout
- You cannot leave in the middle. Ask yourself this before you apply, not on day three
- No food after midday for new students, beyond fruit and tea at five
What to bring
- Loose, modest clothing for ten days. Nothing tight, thin or bright
- A shawl or blanket — the hall is cold before dawn in winter
- Soap, toothpaste, a towel. Basic bedding is provided
- A cushion if you have one you sit well on
- Any regular medication, declared on the application form
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