All serious old students know that the greatest progress in the practice of Vipassana meditation comes through sitting longer courses. Such long courses are preferably held in a quiet environment where each student can both reside and meditate completely alone and undisturbed. Unfortunately, such an environment is becoming very difficult to find, even at Dhamma Giri in Igatpuri, due to the increased demand for 10-day courses. While 30 and 45 day courses are periodically conducted at Dhamma Giri and other centers, Dhamma Tapovan is the only center in the world today with an environment suitable for 60 day, 90 day and even longer courses.

To continue to prepare meditators in our tradition for the enormous responsibility of spreading Dhamma in the coming millennium, Goenkaji is preparing and recording instructions and discourses for these longer courses of 60 and 90 days while he is healthy and vibrant. A suitable long course center is required in order to conduct such courses.

An ideal long course center, named Dhamma Tapovana, which means "Dhamma Meditation Grove", is being built on the land to the West of Dhamma Giri's current campus. One part of the plan to finance the construction of this long course center is to also build a Vipassana Village of residential bungalows and flats for lifetime lease to old student's families and to use some of the funds received for contruction of Dhamma Tapovana. Participation in the Vipassana bungalow project provides old students with the opportunity to help build this long course center and at the same time obtain a comfortable residence in a community of meditators adjacent to Dhamma Giri and Dhamma Tapovana.

Dhamma Tapovana
The long course center, the first phase has been completed, has been used for 60 day courses during January - March 2002 and January - March 2003. It has also been used throughout the year for a schedule of 30 - 45 day courses and for periodic 10-day courses for business executives and government officials. Eventually Dhamma Tapovana will have individual rooms for 500 males and 500 females in self-contained single cottages each with attached bathrooms. The center will also include two pagoda complexes with cells for 1,000 plus two meditation halls, kitchen and dining facilities to support the center as well as Teacher and AT residences.

Goenkaji sees Dhamma Tapovana as playing a key role in the resurgence of the Buddha's teachings through the spread of Vipassana around the World. The best guarantee for the continued purity and spread of pure Dhamma is to have people in each generation who have meditated at deeper levels and have advanced further along the Path towards the goal of liberation. At Dhamma Tapovana they will have the opportunity of doing that.

Vipassana Village
Anyone who has spent an extended period at a well-established center such as Dhamma Giri knows how attractive is the idea of living for a longer period of time in its atmosphere. After an intensive course or a period of prolonged service, most of us need quiet time in a relaxed environment to return to the routines of ordinary life. Having a comfortable residence while attending primarily academic long term programs, such as the Pali course, at Dhamma Giri would also be an advantage. Eventual retirement in a Dhamma atmosphere and community is also on the minds of some old students.

All of these needs will be met by the planned Vipassana Village which is being constructed on Dhamma Giri land. The Village will consist of 42 separate and detached bungalows each with two bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a living room, a kitchenette and a meditation room and up to 96 flats, some with one room and pantry (kitchen) and some with two rooms and pantry. Each bungalow will contain approximately 1000 square feet of interior living area along with a covered veranda and a covered patio/car park area. Each 1 room flat will contain approximately 316 square feet with a living/bedroom, a kitchen and a balcony of approximately 46 square feet. Each 2 room flat will contain approximately 443 square feet with a living room, a bedroom, a kitchen and a balcony of approximately 87 square feet. The flats of located in separate buildings containing 8 flats each. The Village is located to the East of Dhamma Giri in the area below the road which runs alongside the Vipassana Research Institute land up toward the main entrance to Dhamma Giri. A full scale university teaching the Pali language and related subjects will be constructed on the land adjacent to the Vipassana Village and just below and to the South of the present Vipassana Research Institute campus. The Village compound also will have a canteen/restaurant offering a variety of cuisine, plus gardens, common recreation/health and fitness facilities, a library, a shopping area and other amenities for the residents.

Bungalows and flats are offered on a lifetime allocation arrangement to old students of Vipassana only (along with the first generation of their children who are also Vipassana meditators). Five Percepts must be maintained by residents at all times within the community. A sub-trust of Dhamma Giri will oversee policy guidelines for the Village in close consultation with Goenkaji. A model bungalow and several others bungalows have been completed, and in some cases, occupied. Significant progress continues to be made on the construction of bungalows, flats and infrastructure buildings in the Village.

Old students who donate the sum of 17 Lacs (1.7 million) of Indian rupees (approximately US$ 34,000) will be allocated a bungalow while students who donate 3.15 Lacs or 4.25 Lacs will be allocated a 1 room or 2 room flat, respectively. The terms of such allocation are in accordance with the bungalow & flat allocation scheme adoped by the Trustees of Dhamma Giri. This amount includes a generous donation toward the construction of Dhamma Tapovana. No more than two families may participate together as allocatees of a single bungalow and all residence of the Village must agree to obey the rules of the Village.

Old students who are interested in participating in the program to construct a long course center by applying for allocation of a bungalow or flat, should send and application form along with the sum of US$ 2,500 (or equivalent in other currency) as a deposit in the form of a bank cashier's check payable to "Sayaji U Ba Khin Memorial Trust" to one of the two addresses set forth below. The balance should be paid within 6 months following the deposit. Choices of location of a bungalow or flat within the Village will be given in order of receipt of deposit.

In Asia Mr. Premji Savla Vipassana Village Project Dhamma Giri Igatpuri, Maharashtra 422 403 India Fax: 91-2553-84176 Email: dhamma_nsk@sancharnet.in Wire Transfers: State Bank of India Branch No. 0386 (Igatpuri) Foreign Currency Acct. No. 01190024131 Act. Holder: "Sayagi U Ba Khin Memorial Trust"

In the West Thomas L. Crisman Vipassana Village Project P.O. Box 190248 Dallas, Texas 75219 U.S.A. Phone: 1-214-978-4005 Email: crisman@ix.netcom.com